How to use Video Game Consoles for Online Learning
With parents searching for all the help they can get with home schooling, here’s how to access online learning resources on video games consoles.
As schools remain shut for the foreseeable future, parents and guardians are taking on the additional roles of tutors and teachers – often while navigating working from home – on top of juggling all that comes with being a parent in a pandemic.
With much of the nation is caught up in the trials and tribulations of home schooling, the BBC recently launched its biggest education offering to date, but did you know that the PlayStation you’ve been battling with your kids to turn off can actually be used to access remote learning resources?
The gaming pros at GAME have come up with handy step-by-step guides on how to turn your children’s games consoles into online learning hubs.
How to Access Online Learning on an Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox One S and Xbox One X
“Xbox consoles are the easiest to use with online learning platforms and have excellent compatibility with Microsoft learning software in particular,” say the team at GAME.
“There’s also a large selection of compatible keyboards and computer mice, such as the G-Lab Combo Helium Gaming Kit, that will help provide the same experience as a desktop or laptop.”
Here’s what you’ll need to do to access online learning platforms on Xbox consoles:
- On the Xbox One variants and Series X console, simply press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide and select ‘My Games and Apps’
- Select ‘Microsoft Edge’ from ‘My Games and Apps,’ open it up and you’ll be able to access any websites and home learning suites as usual!
- Simply type the website you want to visit into the browser’s search bar.
What about the Xbox 360?
Unfortunately, for those of you with an Xbox 360, it’s not possible to access online learning platforms as the console uses the now-retired Internet Explorer as its browser.
How to use the PlayStation 4 Games Console for Online Learning
Locating the internet browser on a PS4 is just as simple as it is on Xbox consoles. Make sure you’re connected to the internet and then do the following:
- From the PS4 home screen, scroll until you find your ‘Library,’ and select it.
- In your Library, click on ‘Applications’.
- If you scroll through your apps, you’ll eventually find a ‘www’ sign. Select it
- You’ll now be online in your PS4’s browser!
- Simply type the website you want to visit into the browser’s search bar.
Using a PS5 Console
At the time of putting together this guide, GAME explained there’s no dedicated browser app available on the PlayStation 5. However, the console does have a web browser, it’s just very well hidden, which means not many people know about it. Here’s the easiest way to find it:
- Make sure you’re online and request that a friend sends you a message containing a link to a search engine, such as www.google.com.
- This will display as a hyperlink within the message, and clicking it will take you to Google (or any other search engine that was entered).
- You’ll be able to search for the learning platforms you want to access using the Google search bar.
- Note: It’s not possible to type website addresses into the URL bar that displays at the top.
There are other methods you can use to access Google through your PS5 console, such as going into ‘Settings’ and opening up the ‘User Guide.’ Many areas of the guide display video links that are hosted on YouTube. Clicking through to these videos will open up YouTube.
As there’s no dedicated web browser built into the PS5, certain website features may not display correctly.
Using a Nintendo Switch console for Online Learning
Accessing the likes of Google Classrooms, Class Dojo and other online learning platforms is a lot easier from consoles such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in comparison to the Nintendo Switch (and PlayStation 5), as the internet browser on the latter two is hidden. But there are still ways to access online learning on the Nintendo Switch.
To access Google Classroom and other online learning platforms on a Nintendo Switch, you’ll need to follow these steps and make sure you’re connected to the internet.
- Access ‘System Settings’ from your Nintendo Switch’s main menu
- Select ‘Internet Settings’ on the left-hand side
- Find the router you’re connected to (usually at the top) and select it.
- This will bring up three options. Choose ‘Change Settings.’
- Once you’ve done that, scroll down to where it says ‘DNS Settings’ and switch it from ‘Automatic’ to ‘Manual.’
- After that, scroll down to where it says ‘Primary DNS’ and select it. You’ll need to change the number that’s in there to the following: 045.055.142.122.
- Once you’ve done that, you’ll be asked to ‘Complete Registration.’ Select ‘Continue.’
- Once these settings have been saved, you’ll be connected to the SwitchBru DNS page. All you need to do is select ‘Continue to Google.’ You may need to wait a couple of minutes for the connection to be established.
- You can then access any web pages you need, such as Google Classroom.
- This method will work on both regular Nintendo Switch consoles and the Switch Lite.
Come 3:30pm and after a hard day’s learning, make sure you change the DNS settings back to ‘Automatic’ to switch back to using the Nintendo Switch properly.
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