UK Schools Recommend Using Game Consoles for Online Classes

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Category: Education/Family

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. household / ˈhaʊsˌhoʊld / (n) – a family or other group of people who live together
    Example:

    There are 6 people in my household.


  2. facilitate / fəˈsɪl ɪˌteɪt / (v) – to make something easy to do
    Example:

    The new chat app facilitates quick communication within the company.


  3. dissatisfied / dɪsˈsæt ɪsˌfaɪd / (adj) – not happy or satisfied with something
    Example:

    Many dissatisfied customers posted their complaints on social media.


  4. burdensome / ˈbɜr dn səm / (adj) – difficult to do or accomplish
    Example:

    We need to change our hiring process; it’s quite burdensome.


  5. inferior / ɪnˈfɪər i ər / (adj) – having poor or low quality
    Example:

    The new products I bought from the store are inferior to the ones I bought last time.


Article

Read the text below.

UK schools have advised parents and students to use their PlayStations or Xboxes to log into online classes.


Many schools in the United Kingdom have posted instructions on social media on how parents and students can set up game consoles for online classes. One nursery and elementary school in Oldham, England, said that households may use their PlayStations or Xboxes if they do not have enough electronic devices to support online learning. Another school in Birmingham announced that they will be providing keyboards to students who are using game consoles for remote classes.


Earlier this year, schools in the UK were advised to continue online learning because of the pandemic. To facilitate this setup, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that it would buy 300,000 laptops and tablets in addition to the one million devices the department has already purchased.


However, many parents and educators are dissatisfied with the equipment given by the government. According to one parent, home-schooling is burdensome for many students because of insufficient resources. Education leaders have also complained about the inferior quality of government-issued laptops and advised students to use PlayStations and Xboxes to connect to online classes instead.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think using game consoles for online classes is a good idea? Why or why not?
• Do you think students without proper electronic devices for online classes should be allowed to go to school during the pandemic? Why or why not?

Discussion B

• Do you think students/schools around the world are prepared for remote learning? Why or why not?
• Aside from lack of devices, what other issues related to remote learning should be addressed (e.g. lack of physical activities, online learning materials)? Discuss.