Sony goes back to school

UK managing director explains Sony's involvement in a project using PSPs in schools; Relentless demonstrates Buzz! The Schools Quiz.

Teachers have traditionally not been keen on students bringing handhelds or games into the classroom, but a new initiative supported by Sony aims to change that. At a "PSP in Education National Launch" event held today at its 3Rooms brand space in London, Sony Computer Entertainment UK's managing director, Ray Maguire, introduced a project organised by ConnectED that sees the PlayStation Portable being used in schools as a learning tool.

Maguire explained that Sony has been linked with education for some time--in 2003, there was a trial of using the PlayStation 2 and EyeToy as a communication method between students in different schools. However, the development of "connected" devices such as the PSP, and the increase in the availability of wireless broadband, has really opened up the opportunities for a link with education, Maguire said. While he commented that Sony was not aiming to be a leader in the education space, he pointed out that there were lots of opportunities for content providers to make use of the portable, connected nature of the PSP as a way to provide data and programs.

Richard Owen, from Maplesden Noakes school, which tested the use of PSPs in several different classes, said the experiment had been very positive. Owen said that teachers found that students benefited from being able to work at their own pace--for example, being able to rewind an audio file and listen again to ensure they didn't miss anything, or to view a video several times. Another trial is set to start shortly in Newcastle, involving 10 schools.

Continuing the "PlayStation in education" theme, Relentless Software also used the event to demonstrate its latest iteration of the Buzz! quiz series--a version of the game designed specifically for schools. The questions are all designed to cover the Key Stage 2 elements of the National Curriculum, and Jeff Gamon, executive producer at Relentless, said that classroom trials of the game had proved extremely successful.

161 Comments

  • salamancecool

    Posted Mar 14, 2007 11:59 am PT

    Teachers only like this because now they dont have to teach. Still a great idea though.

  • FallenOneX

    Posted Mar 14, 2007 9:20 am PT

    Before everyone starts crying foul........ You have to admit it's kind of funny Sony starts this program in the territory that they banned import sales of the PSP.

  • Proust

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 7:57 pm PT

    DS is doing this in Japan. PSP in UK. Makes sense. If either of these platforms would release a Japanese language learning program meant for English speakers (yes, I know they both have stuff for the Japanese) I would buy it in a second.

  • Zero254

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 1:47 pm PT

    I think that is cool. Oh and whats stopping someone from putting in RE?

  • Zero254

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 1:45 pm PT

    I think that is cool.

  • rpgisforme

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 8:54 am PT

    I think it's a great idea. Any way that they can help a kid learn and possibly enjoy doing it is a good thing. I don't think it has anything to do with unloading unwanted units, possibly though putting a psp into hands of kids who haven't had a chance to try one so they can go home and tell their parents to buy one cause they need it for school. I have a psp, and I have no idea why everyone is so down on the system. I like it. I take it with me evrywhere I go. I play it constanly. I love having a choice of listening to mp3's, showing off pictures or playing a game all on one little machine. I couldn't do all that with my little coral pink ds lite. Besides that, the games look a hell of alot better and not all puzzle games and they're getting better. Side story to God of War just announced for psp! Woohoo!

  • Lonelynight

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 7:56 am PT

    Why don't just use a laptop?

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 5:23 am PT

    yeah, how about a free tv for each school in the UK? ..oh but you can't use tv as a trojan-horse for UMD [R.I.P.] so that won't happen either.

  • razu_gamer

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 5:22 am PT

    Yes kids are going to dish out £150 for this....

  • ChitoKiryoku

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 4:37 am PT

    This idea would work if enough people wanted/had a PSP to begin with. If out of every class less than half own a PSP, then what's the point?

  • GrimBee

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 4:19 am PT

    "I think Grimbee just really hates the PSP...it's a shame. Given all of the PSP's multimedia functionality, I don't think the DS would out perform it in that area. How easy is it to put video clips and audio files on your ds?...Browse the internet?...View photos (which text documents and spreadsheets can be converted to)?"

    I owned 3 PSP's infact, and thats right - OWNED - I sold them. I began life with one, then, after the black, I had a white, and then, a camo versions I had imported. To make cash, I sold them as I didnt use them hardly EVER. And I am just thinking forward, as I think Sony will redesign it in a year or so.

    Anyways -

    To answer your questions - yes, you can browse the internet with a DS, yes you can watch videos on it, yes you can view pictures and documents which can be converted. Infact, I can do that RIGHT NOW. And the total price is less than that of a single PSP.

    And also - the battery lasts 12 hours...

    As for the bashing of the battery life of the PSP - Basically, when you play a game like Burnout, battery lasts about 3 hours.
    If you watch a movie, it lasts about 3 - 4 hours... but... when you have wifi enabled and are shipping data to and from a server via a psp and are streaming content - etc. The battery just eats up considerably more than JUST watching a movie.

    If you have to run the PSP dead twice a day, 5 days a week - this cannot be good for a humble handheld, especially when that kid in school will then want to play the thing over the weekend.

    For the record - I do think the DS is the better candidate, as the battery lasts much longer, and it has a more intuitive design which is more functional. It already has a web browser, the DS itself can fold (ideal for a school environment - say one student is one or two questions ahead, and doesnt want the person next to him/her to see, they can tilt the screen).

    Also, its table-top design can let you operate it with one hand, or two.
    For prolonged LEARNING, I reckon a DS is a more suitable unit.

    All that aside, this is a terrible idea. The functionality of a PSP is not really essential, you might as well give every kid a laptop, as they can then use it for ALL classes... Heck, schools have a hard enough time giving a laptop to students, imagine SONY giving laptops to students... its crazy, and it wont happen.

    If sony give the psp's to the students (highly unlikely) it is only to push the unit into a market to clear their annual stock. you do realise that if stores don't sell PSP's, they have the right to send them back to their supplier, then back to Sony.
    This might be Sony's idea of palming off those unwanted PSP's

    Anyways - This idea may be good for one class which requires a short-sighted student who cant afford glasses to actually watch a little video of some rocks corroding, but either way - it is only good to view small amounts of data. Of which can already be shown on a projector inside a class-room.

    Ideally, the psp idea is better for HUGE classes, like an auditorium or something, with grown-up students who actually want to learn.
    But - whats stopping them sticking on some GTA in the process?

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 3:18 am PT

    An interesting idea, but for that we can use laptops.

  • ManiacalCarrot

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 12:14 am PT

    Man, this reeks of complete desperation to unload all of their unsold PSPs to the Europeans. Honestly it's easier to use a laptop for school, also most textbooks or schoolwork are easier to access through a school server with a laptop connected to the internet/LAN. Also most programs are available on CDs or DVDs nowadays instead of spending extra money on UMDs, where you will have an EXTREMELY limited amount of space to store data compared to a laptop. It's also easier to do schoolwork on a laptop, does anyone honestly want to work on an entire essay on a small PSP screen and how are you going to manage to type it up? Sheesh! It's just another lame attempt to find an application of a console by sony where it doesn't belong.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 12:01 am PT

    I was just about to say that I thought it was a really good idea... and then I read slick_gio's commnt below and realised that it would make more sense to use laptops instead of PSP's.

    Good job pointing that out.

  • slick_gio

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 11:36 pm PT

    ...or how about using a laptop instead?

  • brittoss

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 10:26 pm PT

    Now do I buy a laptop or PSP for school? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

  • -Squirrel-

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 9:59 pm PT

    hmmmm.... I don't know what Sony is aiming for anymore, and I don't think they know either. This seems like a really weird plea to try and partially capture another market. But I have to say the Ds would make a decent tool for this same idea, not that i think it should really be done tho. Comps seem to be better for schools anyway, especially since schools already have them.

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 9:32 pm PT

    Sweet... Back to school to prove that I am no fool.

  • G-Legend

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 7:25 pm PT

    What a great idea...

  • Pete5506

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 7:24 pm PT

    sure it will work I gess

  • Andres001

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 7:07 pm PT

    You idiots the school can buy informational UMDS and put it in the PSPs. The students can rewind to find answers and so they dont bother other people they use headphones. And about the battery thing who said that the kids had to bring the psps to school, the schools can supply them for them and they stay in the classroom with power cords on.

  • Gamer443

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 6:49 pm PT

    sweet. burn those text books because the PSP is coming

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 6:03 pm PT

    That's an interesting idea.

  • tajwar101

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:41 pm PT

    In all honesty, I think this is a great idea. Bravo Sony for jumping in the bandwagon as more and more people are seeking ways to help educate the kids in a more futuristic way. And no, I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I really think its great that Sony is organizing a program for schools to use PSP's to help kids learn better by allowing them to learn through listening audio files as much as they would like and viewing videos. However.....I don't know if the PSP was the greatest tool to use.

    If Sony really wanted to help the kids, a Sony laptop (one that doesn't explode) would have been a greater help. The kids are here for learning about history, science, mathematics, etc., not learning how to use technology that in nooo ways is going to be the future technology that everybody in this world is going to use. The PSP may have sold enough units for some people to say its a hit (prolly most of them in Sony headquarters) but most people in this world know how to use a laptop or a PDA and that type of technology would most likely be used in the real world later on. Meaning, knowing how to type or write using touch-type technology is more important in the future than knowing how to use technology that presses buttons.

    I know people, especially fanboys, are gonna try and accuse me of being biased, but I think the DS would have been a better handheld for such a program. Yes I know that Sony is the one organizing this program, not Nintendo, but the DS, with its stylus and the programs it already has for learning new languages and the Brain Age phenomena, has already shown its ability to teach just about anybody. If Nintendo would sponsor such a program for kids from the second grade to high schools and even college, I'm sure it would be a sure fire hit.

    Of course, I would prefer the PSP to be used, mainly because the DS has waaaay too many fun and exciting games to play when compared to the PSP and it would be hard not to be tempted to just play games and not learn. =-P

  • fonzieahmed

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:37 pm PT

    all my school ever had was dusty old books. having a psp in class could make school bearable...almost.

  • SpyderA

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:20 pm PT

    The battery being able to play audio for at least 8 hours (probably more...never really needed my psp for more time that that at once. Usually try to sleep a little between Detroit and Kansai (13 hour flight))...I was referring to Swarm19's comment

    "PSP's battery can barely handle 4 hours of just audio let alone a school day."

    Oh and PSP's are not only cheaper than laptops but are less flexible, which I would imagine actually appeals to school administrators as it allows them to more narrowly tailor their students' focus. Also as far as porn...the PSP has parental control on it's browser. Certainly easier to implement than Novell and certainly harder to crack from right within the PSP's interface. Yeah they can get external software and hardware but they can do that with a laptop too. Becomes moot point then.

  • DJ-PRIME90

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:18 pm PT

    lol, most of my teachers could care less if someone is playing their PSP in the middle of class

  • SpyderA

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:13 pm PT

    I think Grimbee just really hates the PSP...it's a shame. Given all of the PSP's multimedia functionality, I don't think the DS would out perform it in that area. How easy is it to put video clips and audio files on your ds?...Browse the internet?...View photos (which text documents and spreadsheets can be converted to)? I would imagine that Sony would probably ship the media manager with the PSPs. As for the people complaining about the PSP's battery life...do you actually own a PSP? I do. One of the US launch one's. Received my Spiderman 2 UMD and everything. The shortest battery life I have had was about 3 1/2 when watching a UMD. Anywhere from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 with games (depends on the game) and at least 8 with music. So, unless mine has a super battery. I think people might be blowing the PSP's battery life out of proportion.

  • TimoTheThug

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 5:01 pm PT

    How cool would that be ... me sitting at school, messing around with the psp .. that´s ooo cool!

  • rbranma

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:52 pm PT

    back to school...errr...i want to go back to school, together with a PSP in my hands, whorayssssss, banzaiiiiiiii

  • jacnewforce07

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:42 pm PT

    omg! that is so cool!!!

  • GrimBee

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:28 pm PT

    Wouldnt it be better to use a ps3, with a virtual psp on it from the playstation home? hehe.

    I still reckon that the DS will be the better unit for this kind of job, it already has access to video content.(etc etc etc)
    Besides, I don't think that this idea will catch on...
    I reckon sony should just take the mcdonalds route and put their logo on the schools sports equipment or something...

    Actually, I would like that. Your own sports (or even music) sponsored by sony. Freakin sweet. Why they have to curse schools with psp's its insane. Hey, heres an idea, instead of a whole classroom of PSP's, what about one giant bravia tv?

    hmm??

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    Great move by Sony, but I doubt they will be able to deliver. It's another big ambition, but the execution and keeping it up is all that matters. More educational UMDs will definitely be more beneficial, probably even encouraging for students.

  • BOSSMAN_2004

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:22 pm PT

    DS>PSP

  • Sonic43090

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:22 pm PT

    What prevents kids from playing Liberty City Stories in Chemistry?

  • KaptainKernal

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:16 pm PT

    Nice. To bad I will be just surfing my PSP in College and not in High School by then

  • judge__judy

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:13 pm PT

    What a stupid idea

  • murlow12

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    Using PSPs to cater to stupid students that can't keep up? What a bad idea. We might as well stop handing out Fs because they make students feel bad.

  • gamewhat

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:56 pm PT

    Goes to show you how versatile the psp is. Good strategy to market the psp too.

  • racerx737

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:55 pm PT

    Dr_Evil_PhD "laptops > PSPs

    and schools know this."

    yeah, and giving the kids PSPs in schools is just giving them an excuse to be able to play games in class.

  • tigerfan1993

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:52 pm PT

    That would be nice, but the PSP can sometimes be SEVERLY slow whn wirelessly communicating withs omething, so laptops would be a better choice, but PSPs might be cheaper DEPENDING on which laptop the school uses.

  • joeyacevedo

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:30 pm PT

    The school I went to had laptops for every student in its Junior High, i was in high school so I didnt get one, but I think thats a better way to go, they did the homework on the laptops, listened to music, and got assignments online.

    The big issue they had was some kids downloaded porn onto the lap tops at home and were caught, but you know one of my brother has porn on his psp, so I think Laptops are better for educational purposes, leave to psp at home.

  • yhgt

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:30 pm PT

    So why don't kids just take a DS? I'm pretty sure it's cheaper, has more than one educational game, has the cool touch-screen, and has a lot of fun games that involve puzzle-solving, logic, and math.

  • jahoousa

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:16 pm PT

    Yeah man, this is going to erase all the world's problems and usher in a utopian society......NEXT

  • S2333

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:12 pm PT

    The DS has a better chance at Schools.
    But I'm all for gaming devices in school, give me a reason to play MKDS during class.

  • bigbadbobbyb

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:09 pm PT

    "laptops > PSPs

    and schools know this."

    agreed. granted laptops are more expensive... but they can do a heck of a lot more than a PSP.

  • ChaosXeno

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 3:03 pm PT

    Oh my god you ppl make **** so **** stupid sometimes, I swear to god if people started to say they were going to use a Wii or a 360 you'd be like "Awesome dude, dis roxxorz my sockorz...MS is soooooooo leet" this is not a bad news nor good news article so why turn it in to one... purely stupid.

  • matrixman2k

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    At least they're trying to find some good use for the thing - as i ain't bought a game for a while for it. It's a shame its only going to be used by students at a schools and not the rest of us like the brain train thing for DS.

  • Dr_Evil_PhD

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 2:49 pm PT

    laptops > PSPs

    and schools know this.

  • jrmyecomp

    Posted Mar 12, 2007 2:48 pm PT

    What a bunch of crap, can u imagine teachers hurrying to charge batteries every 4 hours and struggling to get some 3 minute audio file on to a bunch of psp's and the cost of memory and stuff, before you invest in a retartded idea how bout you fix the #@*%@# computers and dear i say it... buy a goddang radio to play audio cd's

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