Journal Entry #2: Video-conferencing technology brings a homebound middle grades student to the classroom

Beeman, R. Y., & Henderson, C. J. (2012). Video-conferencing technology brings a homebound middle grades student to the classroom. Middle School Journal. 

       While reading this article I was pleased with the lengths parents, school staff members and the community will take for the education and mental health for one young man named Nick.

             This article starts out by explaining the vast amount of days that a student with an illness will miss in a  school year which comes out to 14% missing 11 days. With this in mind the article maps out 5 key points that have been studied and considered during the process of helping a homebound seventh grader be apart for his school community on a daily basis if he is able due to his health.

              Key Points:

               Maintaining relationships

              Transitioning in and out of school

              Technology issues and cost

             Responsibilities of teachers, tutors, parents and student  

             New technology to consider

            

             The type technology that was being installed into Nick's school is called  Polycom, which give the homebound student and the classroom the ability to interact with each other and gives the homebound student the ability to move the camera and focus in on necessary views of the room.  With this tool students are able to interact more fully in class maintain relationships with their classmates. Allowing the child to experience the normalcy of a social life is critical especially when a child is in a fragile state. These opportunities help psychological development, increases social and leadership roles with the help of  supportive relationships, while most importantly reduces the feeling of academic abandonment.

             When the situation of a cryonic ill child arises, the frequency of absences also increase. The child often has to adapt to coming to school after a long period of time in which they missed, so transitioning emotionally and academically is incredibly stressful in may instances. Implementing this technology reduces the chance Nick would fall behind in school and increase his academic progression.

               The article describes that the principal and the district was on board with the idea of installing the accommodation, but the task proved to be more difficult than predicted.  There were challenges due to placement of the host system and fast enough speeds. With donations from local electric companies and over 57 hours of work Nick was able to be apart of everyday life as a seventh grader. This system allowed him to communicate with the teacher, students and visa versa. He was also able to manipulate the view of the camera to see better through out the classroom. 

                Next came the role of the teachers, tutors, students and the parents. Some of the teachers had mixed feelings about the add technology and how it would effect the classroom routine. In all instances Nick had the responsibility to call in when he was able to attend class and classmates and teacher's aids often moved the TV monitor from room to room every period. The teachers would have the challenging task of gathering all the tools for Nick that he could use at home (worksheets, tests, equipment etc.) so communication and preparation was crucial for Nick to be able to participate to the best of his ability.  The teachers also worked with his tutor, who now worked less with Nick now that he has this interactive tool to work with. The tutor would bring the materials to his home or his parents would work with the teachers to pick it up. Support from his parents and the staff was critical, the parent's first concern was for Nick to not fall behind in his academics and their second concern was maintaining  healthy psychological development especially at his age. As stated in the article, this accommidation avoids students from feeling lonely, inadequate and have a sense of personal failure. Nick stated that with this opportunity he felt included in the classroom as the students and teachers addressed him and included him as much as any student there.

                There is always the opportunity to seek out for better technology to solve the problems we have but the biggest challenge in this case seems to be financial and feasibility. The options are vast but expensive and there always seemed to be one downfall from one potion to another. With the case of one homebound student, it is most desirable to have a system that allows the student at home interact  with the class as much as possible. Although there are challenges that may arise when moving a $6000 robot from class to class, it seams that if a school can make that happen then they can make minor adjustments to make this a smooth transition too. 

                 In 2018 we have advanced even further than the technology options given in this article. I think we would be wasting time if we didn't implement options like this in our school and possibly homes. Could this option be a required activity for students who are sick on a one time basis or even during the chance of a snowday? I'm not so sure it  could be required unless it was approved and agreed upon in advance with the parents and district. If this was the case, I would think every student's home would have to be equip with the same internet ability and software. If this was the case there would be much academic time lost, just further opportunity to learn.