Technology has truly helped us improve our way of life. A young girl from Maryland has managed to attend her elementary school normally using the robot that has her face, and her soft voice which she controls from her room in a hospital nearby.
Peyton is 10, skinny and blue-eyed who loves penguins and the color green, and well just like any other girl her age, clothes that sparkle. She goes to school 250 miles south of the radiation therapy hospital she is in and receiving treatment for a rare cancer type.
For three weeks, the robot- fondly known as PAVS, which stands for Peyton's Awesome Virtual Self, keeps her updated with the lessons she can't physically attend. She attends in the day's activities, talks to her teachers and go around her classroom, showing her face in real time on a raised iPad screen on the 4foot, 15-pound, rolling machine.
The fifth grader who admittedly expressed how much she loved math and science said that she likes just being there and learning what the teachers have to teach her.
For Peyton, the two-way robot system gives her the normalcy she wants, a stronger connection to her friends, and more focus on the familiar rhythms of childhood that followed her bump medical treatment ride. Her experiences are examined by officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the technology first started the program.
Kara Trenkamp, the district's director of technology integration and school support said that they are only beginning and are learning a lot. They are thankful that the initial start of the program has been very positive.
The school-based robot is the first in Maryland public schools and it sparked other interests, too according to state officials. Educators in neighboring Fairfax County, Virginia, recently paid a visit to take a look and they liked what they saw. Kurt Mills, Fairfax's program manager for out-of-school support said, "We have high hopes for the possibilities." He then later added by saying that the district has been looking for that kind of technology.
At Poolesville Elementary, students and staff have embraced Peyton's robot, which resembles a small Segway, with a rolling base and an iPad at the top.
