Ayla is a six-year-old enrolled at Bondi Beach Public School and has a serious chronic illness, which has kept her away from school for reasons other than the coronavirus – in and out of wards, and being cared for at home.

When the diagnosis came, it was devastating. Suddenly, a new epoch of disruptions and upheavals began. For Ayla, the time away from her friends and school life was “torturous” (a word you do not ever wish to hear from a young person’s mouth). Not only was she in pain, exhausted, but she had been cut adrift from the normal rhythms of the classroom. 

“Sometimes it made me feel a bit angry, because I wanted to be at school, but I couldn't,” she remembers.

Then Belle came along. 

Belle (“like Beauty and the Beast!” exclaims Ayla) is an OhmniLabs telepresence robot – in a groundbreaking innovation service developed by MissingSchool, officially named SEE-BE. Under a three-year pilot program and with a $600,000 grant from the St. George Foundation, it has so far empowered 86 children to stay connected to their regular learning community. 

When Ayla’s parents – both working professionals within the field of technology – heard about SEE-BE, they recognised its potential. They approached the school with the idea of getting one especially for Ayla.

School principal Alexia Duncan thought it was a wonderful idea. They all missed Ayla too. After a few bumps (including a cracked screen during delivery), Ayla returned to class – rolling in via Belle, while at the same time receiving treatment elsewhere.

For Ayla and the school, the results have been remarkable. 

“It's like having a classroom in my house,” says Ayla. “I can see my friends without having to go there and collect the germs.”

“It's been a huge boon to Ayla's wellbeing,” her parents say. “It's helped maintain a connection and keep her on track.”

In the classroom

While some students confessed they initially found the robot a little “creepy”, overall the classroom response to SEE-BE has been one of great excitement – particularly for Ayla’s friends.

“It's cool having a robot in our classroom and also sort of funny because she's always moving it around,” says one breathlessly. “I think she's really happy to be learning in the classroom with us.”

“You could hear her, you could see her,” another joins in. “It's just really cool.”

Ayla’s teacher Alexa Hareb, a no-nonsense lady with a booming voice, thought deeply about how to use the technology to its full potential. She’d send worksheets to Ayla in advance, address questions to her directly through Belle, and encourage her to ask questions in turn. 

After lessons with the whole class, she will send Belle/Ayla trundling off to participate in a small group situation, “where she can talk to a few people that are sitting at her table and just catch up on life and what's going on in the classroom”.

She’s adapted her teaching practice a little – increasing floor and group work, for instance. But she believes being mindful of Ayla’s specific needs, and creating an environment which is as normal and inclusive as possible, has been the most important adjustment.

Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.

“When we did things, she always made sure that I could hear and see the classroom,” Ayla says. “Sometimes when they were practising singing, they put on a sing-along and I put it on too. I learned singing while being at home.”

She was even able to play in a band through SEE-BE.

MissingSchool

Megan Gilmour, co-founder of MissingSchool, knows all too well the isolation kids with serious illness experience, and the profound mental health risks that cluster around it – anxiety and depression being the most common. When he was 10 years old, her own son Darcy became critically ill, diagnosed with three rare blood disorders. In a TEDx Talk she recounts how evident it became to her that her son was getting left behind, not just academically but socially. After two years of missing school, he began opting out. 

“What was all the suffering worth, if the life he loved and was fighting for had already disappeared?” she wondered. 

“I needed to show him he had a future. That he was remembered by his friends and his teachers.”

The robot rolls forth

Belle trundles down the corridor with friends. Photo: The Story Mill

The SEE-BE robot service is just one initiative MissingSchool is striving towards in its goals. It is undoubtedly the ‘shiniest’ plank in their advocacy – and it has put Australia at the vanguard of social and technological innovation in this field. While there are similar trials in places like the US, UK and parts of Europe, SEE-BE is uniquely sophisticated: in its public system engagement, scale, and capabilities. 

“I don't know of another service using mobile telepresence robots across a whole country, across all education systems and across all illness groups,” says Gilmour. “I haven't come across one.”

What really distinguishes the robots used in SEE-BE is their mobility. Through a dashboard powered by Ohmni, the bots use whisper-quiet Glide Drive technology, so that Ayla and others like her can move their robot around – giving them agency and a freedom that a simple locked computer screen can’t

The mobility lends the robot an anthropomorphic aspect, too. Classmates are known to dress up their robot; sometimes in their absent friend’s own clothes.

To date, the program is in various stages of implementation in all Australian states and territories – and Gilmour has plans to push the idea globally. With her co-founders long gone, she’s at the helm. 

Read the full article here

Find out more on the MissingSchool website.