Remote learning through game consoles.

I wonder if this subreddit is the best place to bring up this topic. Maybe there are some educators here who have some suggestions for this or whether they think it would be a reality to move forward on.

Considering the continued emphasis on remote learning for US households there has been a great deal of effort placed on finding solutions to remote learning. It may be still too early to determine accurate participation rates for students with many school districts, but there has been an increasing concern for providing as many opportunities for students to become engaged in their education while at home. Some of that concern has been a lack of access to technology that provides remote learning. I wonder if companies such as Sony and Microsoft may have a unique opportunity to help children, parents, and school departments increase access and availability to technology for remote learning.

The PS4 and Xbox One have sold a combined 60.32 million units in the US. The average age for PS4 owners is 28 and Xbox Owners is 33. If the typical age for new parents is indeed somewhere around 24-30 years old it is likely that many young families of school aged children have these game system in their home. While the reported income for most game console owners is above $40k a year it may be difficult to gauge as there have been few economic studies done focusing solely around the ownership of game consoles. Considering the level of sales for all game consoles during the pandemic, up 155% since last year it may be worth discovering if many of those families may now have access to one of these consoles.

All this being said, I see an opportunity for these two companies to venture into the education market by providing a way for students to engage with teachers, and their peers, with remote learning. I don't think this kind of opportunity would have presented itself any other way, but it certainly is worth considering the possibility of increasing some students in remote learning. Maybe this isn't really an avenue for Sony and Microsoft to venture down but rather a possible developer. A Google Classroom downloadable app with both platforms could really help in providing a device that students can use for class work.

Thoughts? Objections? Unrealistic? It would be worth having a number of educators push on the subject if this is something that seems plausible and beneficial.

Submitted July 10, 2020 at 02:25PM by demalo https://ift.tt/2AR145U