Connecting Students on Hospital Wards to Hospital Classrooms and the Community Using Video Conferencing Technologies

Abstract

Students in hospitals suffer disadvantages through being disconnected from educational opportunities. To limit lost opportunities, hospital schools are using video conferencing as a form of transformative pedagogy. There has been research published on linking students in hospitals to their home schools using video conferencing. There is limited research examining connecting students from the hospital ward to the hospital classroom and to the community. This chapter focuses on the use of video conferencing to facilitate interactions of students on hospital wards in support of their education. The research was undertaken in a children's hospital where an intervention was put in place to facilitate interactions between the hospital ward, classroom, and a community setting. The study utilises qualitative methodology employing direct observation, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire. Results of the study demonstrate that teachers were able to provide opportunities to support students to connect to the hospital classroom and to the wider community in ways that support learning.