Not Even on "The Jetsons"

Have you seen this article about robots in the classroom? I don't even think they conceptualized this on The Jetsons! Here are the basics from the PEBBLES Project website:

PEBBLES was developed in Canada by a private company called Telbotics in cooperation with Ryerson University and the University of Toronto.

A PEBBLES system consist of two child-sized robots capable of transmitting video, audio and documents to each other. One unit is placed with the hospitalized child and the other unit is located in the child's regular classroom. The units are connected via a high-speed communications link. The classroom unit has a swiveling monitor that duplicates human head movement and a hand that serves as an attention getting device. PEBBLES creates a virtual presence for the remote child in the classroom. The presence that is so real that teachers and fellow students come to react to the school unit as if it were the hospitalized child.

I think it's a fantastic concept...what a great opportunity for children who are bed-ridden. Life in the hospital must be so isolating for children, especially those with terminal cancer, and this can help them to feel like they're having at least a more normal childhood. I am curious why they chose the hospitals that they did for the pilot program. Not that I know anything much about these hospitals that they did choose, I'm just curious.

One of the hospitals that was chosen was the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. This hospital holds a special place in my family's heart, because their NICU is where my little sister lived for a while after she was born two months prematurely. It's amazing what these nurses and doctors can do for preemies. I remember that at the same time my sister was in the NICU, there was another baby who was born three months prematurely, and her future was quite uncertain. There were no traditional baby clothes that would fit her, so they dressed her in Holly Hobby doll clothes. I am not sure what happened to her, but I do know that this hospital did a great job with my little sister, and that she's a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished woman now!

Ok, back to robots. If I was made of money, I think that I would invest in this program. I did a post-doctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and I saw first-hand so many brave children who are struggling with their illnesses and who cannot leave the hospital. They do have teachers come in and teach them so that they don't fall behind their peers, but imagine if they can spend each day (or a portion of each day) with their friends in "real time"! I firmly believe that a part of recovery process for these kids is feeling "normal", not different from the others. This program may give them the hope that they're not falling behind their peers and that when they recover, they can fully integrate into the life that they knew prior to becoming so sick. Kudos to The Learning Collaborative Inc. and the PEBBLES Project for implementing this program in the US. I wish it continued success!