Back to school with telepresence robot technology: A qualitative pilot study about how telepresence robots help school‐aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during treatment

Abstract

Aim To explore how an AV1 telepresence robot helps school‐aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during cancer treatment. Design Qualitative pilot study. Methods Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with school‐aged children and adolescents (N = 3, 12–14 years) diagnosed with cancer, their parents (N = 3), teachers (N = 2), classmates (12–14 years, N = 15, focus group interviews) and healthcare professionals (N = 4). Participant observation was performed in the child or adolescents' homes and in the classrooms during education participation via an AV1 telepresence robot. Results Five themes emerged: expectations, sociality, learning, spatiality and technology. Participants experienced the robots as facilitating social interaction processes with classmates and inclusion in learning activities, reducing their sense of loneliness and lacking behind educationally. Nevertheless, multiple factors determine whether the robot is perceived as exclusive, including the technical functionality of the robot, spatiality in the classroom and mutual expectations of the parties involved.

Friends from the Future: A Scoping Review of Research into Robots and Computer Agents to Combat Loneliness in Older People

“…88 Robots may also be effective facilitators of social interaction for children; an AV1 telepresence robot was found to help hospitalized children with cancer connect with classmates during remote learning activities. 89 …”

“…88 Robots may also be effective facilitators of social interaction for children; an AV1 telepresence robot was found to help hospitalized children with cancer connect with classmates during remote learning activities. 89 Intervention techniques that have been used in other populations could be applicable to older adults and research should explore these areas. Computer agents have been developed to teach social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder, 90 including in virtual reality.…”

A Review of the Usage of Telepresence Robots in Education

“…Shaw et al in [12] mention that approximately 17% of all students under age 18 suffer from a chronic illness. More than 40% of children diagnosed with cancer are absent from school when they are undergoing treatment [13]. The use of a telepresence robot can significantly help these children in the Student absenteeism, https://www.epi.org/publication/student-absenteeism-who-misses-school-and-howmissing-school-matters-for-performance/ educational process, the process of socialization and in the communication with their peers and teachers.…”

Life happens wherever you are!

“…Chronisch kranke Kinder und Jugendliche bekommen mithilfe der Avatare, die als therapeutisches Hilfsmittel zum Einsatz kommen, die Möglichkeit, trotz fehlender körperlicher Anwesenheit weiterhin am Schulunterricht teilzunehmen und sozial eingebunden zu bleiben. Der Avatar selbst ist eine Innovation im Bereich der Telepräsenzsysteme, und obwohl bisher nur wenige Studien zu dessen Einsatz existieren, verdeutlichen diese, dass mit dem Design des Avatars ein gewisser "Coolheits"-Faktor verbunden ist und der Avatar von Mitschüler*innen aktiv in den Unterricht eingebunden wird (Culén, Borsting & Odom, 2019;Weibel et al, 2020). Die Inklusion der Kinder bzw.…”