“iChat makes it possible for kids who are ill to still participate, without anyone seeing them.”
Patti Purcell, Principal,
Bel Aire Elementary School
Bel Aire Elementary School: For Ailing Student iChat Means 'iCan'
Tiburon, CA — When Christopher Laub was in the third and fourth grades, chemotherapy treatments for his leukemia kept him out of school, feeling sick and weak. But through a close collaboration between Bel Aire Elementary School and Apple — as well as a creative use of iChat AV — Laub was able to continue with his classes. Thanks to the system that he dubbed “iCan,” the young student remained connected to his classmates and his studies.
When Laub first underwent treatments for his illness, he experienced the typical grueling side effects. But equally devastating were his feelings of isolation from his friends and peers at school. Laub was required to remain at home during his chemotherapy, since his inability to fight infection meant that exposure to even garden-variety cold germs could prove a very serious health risk. Then Principal Patti Purcell and her staff did some brainstorming.
“One day we said, ‘What if we could hook Christopher up so he could actually see the other kids?’” Purcell says. “The technology was already available with iChat AV; then it became a matter of getting through the district firewall. Once we got that working, our District Director of Technology Al Hart and Lori Mustille, our site Technology Facilitator, went over to Christopher’s house and taught Christopher and his parents how to use the Apple notebook and videoconferencing software. They loved it! And it’s been wonderful ever since.”
A Presence in the Classroom
On days when Laub felt up to “attending” school, he would let his teacher know via email. Then he simply fired up iChat AV and his iSight camera (all Apple notebook and desktop computers now have a built-in iSight camera). Soon, Laub’s presence in the classroom via videoconference became commonplace.
“It was so cool!” Purcell raves. “Christopher’s chair — with a notebook computer sitting on top — would be pulled up to a group working on a math problem. He could see everyone, and they could see him. Then when the Spanish or reading teachers came in, Christopher would go ‘sit’ at those tables. When the kids went around the table answering questions they’d say, ‘Christopher, it’s your turn.’ It was amazing to see.”
“It was so important for Christopher to feel that he was connected to the class, especially for the nonbook lessons such as Spanish and Social Studies,” adds Purcell. “If a student’s not in school, he or she misses that interaction. The other, equally important thing was to be able to say hello to his classmates. I remember his teacher, Dianne Bouton, asking who wanted Chris in their study group. So many of the kids wanted him, and wanted to be his buddy, they’d have to ‘move’ him around the room.”
Playground Visits, Too
In time, Bouton also got Laub set up with a white board at home. This tool enabled him to “write his answers on the board,” and share them (via the iSight camera) with his classmates. Also, thanks to Bel Aire’s completely wireless environment, Laub wasn’t just limited to participating in his lessons. Even from home, he got to join in on some entertainment as well.
“The more we thought about how to include him, the more ideas everyone came up with,” says Purcell. “After a while the kids would carry a notebook outside so Christopher could watch everyone at recess. While he couldn’t exactly referee a game, he could at least be on the playground with his friends.”
‘Window-Shade’ Ensures Privacy
The physical changes that typically take place in leukemia patients are extremely challenging, and can be particularly embarrassing for children. On days when Laub might not feel like he looked his best, Purcell says iChat AV offered him the chance to continue being a part of the class, while retaining his dignity.
“With iChat, if Christopher were ever worried about how he looked, he had the ability to pull the ‘window-shade’ down and still participate in the conversation,” she reveals. “iChat makes it possible for kids who are ill to still participate, without anyone seeing them.”
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