Sarina Talip
28 March 2014: Imagine being so sick that you miss not only days of school, but weeks, or even months. Not only do you miss out on that crucial learning process that can only take place in a classroom, with the dynamic interaction of teachers and students, you also miss out on socialising and being with kids your own age.
This is the situation for thousands of children and teenagers with chronic illness across Australia.
It is a situation that University of Canberra PhD candidate Megan Jackson knows all too well, both as a parent of children with a chronic illness, but also as a high school teacher who has taught children with chronic illness.
As a parent, Ms Jackson understood intuitively that what her children were really missing out on was the whole classroom experience.
That's why she is finding a way to bring the classroom to teenagers – and teenagers to the classroom. And what's more, they don't have to step foot outside their home.
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PhD student Megan Jackson. Photo: Michelle McAulay |
"I want to help teenagers who can't physically make it to school because they are not well enough to connect to their classroom digitally," Ms Jackson said.
"The best way to describe it is if you imagine you're at home and you've got a laptop or a tablet that has a program like Skype or FaceTime or Adobe Connect.
"And at your school, in your classroom, at your desk, where you sit, there's another device, another laptop or tablet, and you dial in and connect to that device."
Ms Jackson explained that this way, the sick children at home can still see and hear their teacher and friends, ask questions and engage in the class discussion in real time.
"So even though you're not physically there, you're still doing all of the work that happens in the classroom," Ms Jackson said.
"It's really important to understand that learning is actually constructed by the people in the classroom – the questions that other students ask, the teacher responses, the responses of other students.""That's all part of what creates or constructs learning, and when you're at home and all you're getting is: 'Here's the handout, here's the PowerPoint, answer these questions in the textbook,' you're missing out on almost half of what the learning actually is."
Ms Jackson, who is in her second year of her candidature, said missing out in the classroom affects children with chronic illness long after they have finished high school.
And again, she draws on her experiences with her own children.
"Despite the fact that I have all of this life experience and I have advocated for my children, they still have gaps in their knowledge and school has still been hard for them," Ms Jackson said.
"So, what happens to those students who don't have school teachers as parents, or who don't have well-educated, upper middle-class parents who are active in the school? And the answer is: they suffer."
Ms Jackson, who is completing her PhD part-time to balance work and family commitments, hopes to digitally connect three students to their high schools via laptops or tablets in 2015.
Her aim is to measure their motivation and engagement at the beginning, middle and end of the research project.
It will be a complicated project, as external wireless networks will need to be set up in the three high schools.
And as the runner up of the University's 2013 Three-Minute Thesis competition, which carries a $1,000 cash prize, Ms Jackson is also hoping to secure more funding – as well as tablets donated by one of the big tech companies.
And not surprisingly, her own family is right behind her.
"The girls in particular are very much like: 'You can make sure that other kids don't go through this.' And in fact, my youngest daughter will tell me: 'No, mummy, don't do the dishes, get into the study and change the world.'"
Their mum may do just that.
