A school in Birmingham, UK, is to use PSP consoles in an attempt to motivate its pupils. Staff at Handsworth’s Holyhead Secondary School have been given two weeks’ training to learn to whup their students’ sorry asses at Grand Theft Auto create podcasts, download pictures and videos and upload their students’ work in subjects such as history, French and geography.
One of Holyhead’s members of staff, Lora Diprose, said that there was an “incredible buzz” going round the school. “You can use it to tailor-make lessons for pupils who need support or stretching. The console is just like a minicomputer, but fast.” You know. Like, but fast and stuff. Lora, Lora, Lora… sigh… let’s say we forget about the fact that you used to work for Sony’s marketing department and let me ask you one question: Have you ever heard of something called a book—or even a real computer?
To paraphrase Al Swearengen: WTF let the gimp out of her box? More on this bad idea right after the jump.
The trial forms part of Sony’s “PSP in Education” program, which was launched last month. “I see a situation where class notes or homework assignments can transfer to a PSP, so that when kids go home they can access the information rather than having to go onto the Internet and having to search through many websites,” said Sony boss Ray Maguire.
The whole point of learning (and, most important, the most effective way of filling your brain with useful information) is to search out the information yourself, process it and write notes, rather than load it onto your PSP, before you conveniently forget about it until the next lesson. Ray Maguire, see me after class. And Lora, you’re expelled, because you can’t even spell your name properly.
School Swaps Textbooks for PSPs [Computing.co.uk]
