Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1228170
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 APRIL 2020 NEWS CORONAVIRUS Goal! Kids could be graded on FIFA20, Minecraft and Fortnite MATTHEW VELLA CHILDREN aged seven to 14 could be graded according to their achievements on popular Playstation games and other online multiplayer role-play- ing video games, due to the schools' suspension from the COVID-19 pandemic. Advisors to the Maltese edu- cation ministry suggested that games like FIFA 20, Mine- craft, Fortnite, Rocket League, F1 2019, Need For Speed, The Crew 2, and Little Big Planet 3 amongst others, could be used for grading students instead of annual exams. According to a dossier seen by MaltaToday, the ministry was asked to consider allowing primary and secondary school teachers to assess their students according to accomplishments in "mock leagues" for sports simulation games like FIFA 20; or creativity in sandbox video games like Minecraft. Children who opt for this grading system will be eligible to have 50% of their annual assessment, graded according to their achievements in video game settings determined by their teachers. "Using age-appropriate video game categories, for example Fortnite for primary-level stu- dents and FIFA20 for second- ary school students, teachers will devise leagues and cam- paigns to assess capabilities of players. Games such as Mine- craft can be used to propose scenarios that require creative, problem-solving abilities. "There is some evidence that for young children, educational video games promote student engagement. Video games are inherently incentive-based sys- tems with the player being re- warded for solving a problem or completing a mission – as a result, video games train a sys- tematic way of thinking as well as an understanding for how different variables affect each other," the advisors told the ministry in their dossier. The dossier has angered vet- eran education ministry offi- cials, one source blasting the idea as "foolish". "The minister is actively con- sidering the proposal, believing that video games can replace traditional learning frame- works. Students will spend the rest of the school year playing video games instead of reading and revising their work." A spokesperson for the edu- cation ministry has confirmed the existence of the document: "This is one of several propos- als advanced to the minister for his consideration on how best to tackle the grading of stu- dents' accomplishments while schools remain shut due to COVID-19. It's still early days and April has only just started. We are assessing the matter from day-to-day." Travel between Malta and Gozo limited to commercial vehicles and work and medical reasons CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Officials will be asking pas- sengers travelling between the islands the reason for their visit before allowing them to board the ferry. Travel between Malta and Gozo will only be allowed for: work or medical reasons; fam- ily visiting other family mem- bers, including to see hospital- ised relatives; the carrying of merchandise; and for people returning to their place of or- dinary residence. Any other kind of travel, in- cluding for leisure or holiday purposes, will not be allowed, Camilleri said. All passengers boarding the Gozo Channel at Ċirkewwa, Malta or Mġarr, Gozo will be questioned as to their travel purposes. The measures come after the government announced on Monday that people gathering in groups of more than three people would be liable to a €100 fine. Although travel between Malta and Gozo has already been discouraged in the past weeks, Camilleri said that some people were still choos- ing to disregard the guidelines. The new rules were necessary to counter this issue, he said. Earlier today, former Gozo minister Justyne Caruana called on people to avoid all unnecessary travel between the two islands. "[Such travel] shows a lack of respect towards others and is a great injustice to residents and workers who have continue to offer vital [connectivity] services," she said. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The hospital and health authorities have had dis- cussions with the University of Malta over the past few days to assess what space can be used on cam- pus. The campus is currently not being utilised after educational institutions were shut down last month in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Similar talks are being held with the administra- tion of the Life Sciences Park, which is situated just outside the hospital's main entrance in the industri- al estate. Health Minister Chris Fearne told MaltaToday that government was "looking at all resources to be as prepared as humanly possible" and both the uni- versity and the Life Sciences Park were "very help- ful". He did not elaborate but this newspaper is in- formed that university has instructed some faculty offices to be cleared out immediately. It is possible that certain services like physiotherapy, offered at Mater Dei, will be shifted to a building on the uni- versity campus. The university and the Life Sciences Park are con- veniently situated close to the general hospital, mak- ing it easier for staff to shift between the facilities. Mater Dei has ramped up the number of available beds for Covid-19 patients, including those in inten- sive therapy. So far, Malta has registered 169 coronavirus cases and the majority of these are in good health and re- covering at home. The health authorities have also contracted the services of the private St Thomas Hospital in Qormi and until yesterday 17 patients were recovering there. The government has also issued a call for a prefab- ricated hospital to cater for 90 ITU beds, which will be located in the vicinity of Mater Dei. Services like physiotherapy might be shifted to university Chris Fearne