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to the feeling of 'normality' that is created by
going to school and taking courses. Furthermore,
research on the classroom experiences of healthy
children by Nuthall and colleagues (Collins &
O'Toole, 2006) suggests that the classroom is
perceived as a place to learn. Moreover, their
results suggest that learning in a social context is
more motivating than learning alone and that emo-
tions influence learning. These findings support
the experience of Bessel (2001) and Searle et al.
(2003) that homebound instruction is not the most
favorable option for these children, as compared
to instruction in a classroom setting. In line with
these findings, recent research suggests a negative
relation between childhood illness and academic
achievement (Koomen et al., 2003; Lähteenmäki
et al., 2002; Wray & Sensky, 2001).
Furthermore, the socialization opportunities of
these children decline over time during periods of
school absence (Lightfoot et al., 1999; Mukherjee
et al., 2000). This is a rather alarming finding as
La Greca et al. (2002) argued that social support
of peers is essential for the recovery of children
suffering a long-term or chronic illness.
creates a social dynamic between the children
in the classroom and the remote student that is
very different from that which would be achieved
with an impersonal video monitor. In addition to
these self-stated advantages, some weaknesses
were discovered with regard to the PEBBLES-
solution. For example, no information was found
in the available literature on the opportunities of
asynchronous learning. Furthermore, moving back
and forth from hospital or home or moving from
one classroom to another is assumed to cause
interruptions or even an impossibility to continue
the instructional experience. Another critical issue
evidenced by empirical exploration in the field, is
the high cost of developing and maintaining the
PEBBLES-provision.
A second remarkable ICT-tool to support chil-
dren with health impairments is STARBRIGHT
World, an online community where these children
can connect to each other. Children on STAR-
BRIGHT World can chat, read and post to bulletin
boards, send email, search for friends with similar
illnesses, participate in fun events and contests,
surf pre-screened Web sites and play games (Star-
light). Further analysis of the available papers on
the use of SBW, however, pointed out that the
communicative possibilities were seldom used
by the children: only 3% to 15% of the time was
spent on communication (Battles & Wiener, 2002).
In the Dutch speaking part of Belgium (Flan-
ders) in which our study is carried out, a type of
video phone is already in use to support long term
sick children to stay in touch with their family
and peers at school (Jonge kamera). However,
an introductory empirical exploration revealed
that hospital staff members experience some
problems with these tools: for example, there is
an asynchronous delivery of sound and images,
they offer basic video connection capabilities of
rather low quality and if it is often used, it is a
rather expensive solution due to the payment per
minute of talking.
Besides the use of this video phone device, the
use of electronic learning environments (ELE),
Strengths and Weaknesses
of existing ICT-Tools
To date, a variety of solutions, based on the
integrated use of information and communica-
tion technologies (ICT), has been developed and
implemented in several settings. Unfortunately,
a systematic evaluation of these attempts is often
lacking.
The most well-known example is provided
by PEBBLES (Providing Education By Bringing
Learning Environments to Students), an advanced
prototype solution developed in the USA and
Canada (Pebbles). It was launched as the world's
first fully functional 'telepresence' application:
a social and technological solution that virtually
places a child within the classroom by putting
a robot in the regular classroom. According to
Fels et al. (2001) the playful form of PEBBLES
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