Closing event ASCIT

In closing of the interesting and instructive IBBT research project  ASCIT (Again at my School by fostering Communication through Interactive Technologies for long term sick children) the research results were presented during a workshop on Wednesday January 16th 2008.  During a live demo the attendants were part of the classmates of a sick child that was virtually present in the classroom. The project was aimed at answering the long term sick children's need for social contact with friends and classmates and at supporting their learning process through new technologies.

Sick children are ripped out of their familiar social school environment against their will to be confronted with the often harsh medical world. Unwished-for the contact with friends and teachers is disrupted. Several initiatives are responding to this issue already. An analysis of the subjects' needs taught us, however, that these valuable initiatives do not suffice. ASCIT  completes them by putting very user friendly information and communication technology into practise in consultation with the target group (sick children, parents, teachers, schools, ...) in order to repair the alliance between school and sick child. The interactive virtual school environment which was developed by IBBT together with a number of different partners and organisations in answer to this problem was successfully tested out by several sich children and their schools.

More information can be found through http://events.ibbt.be/workshopascit.