A new plastic classmate will soon be rolling the halls at New Hyde Park Memorial High School to help homebound students participate in classes.
Sewanhaka Central High School District administrative assistant Scott Greene presented a new option to the Board of Education Tuesday for homebound students who cannot attend school for months or semesters at a time: a robot.
The machine has a camera and a screen mounted on the front so the student can see the teacher or other students on an iPad and those in the school can see the student at home.
“I have been looking at an alternative way for our students who are homebound for a variety of ailments, and since we have 8,400 students, we do have a significant number unfortunately that are homebound, some perhaps for the entire year,” Superintendent Ralph Ferrie said. “The most they get from us is two hours of home instruction per day, and they are also very isolated from their peers.”
Greene said the VGo telepresence robot is ready to roll out in New Hyde Park Memorial High School, and one student in the school will begin using the machine before the district decides if more are needed throughout the five high schools.
According to the VGo website, the E-1000 model, recommended for schools, costs $3,995, while the healthcare and commercial model costs $4,995. Greene said the robot would stay in the school.
The machine is connected to an app on the student’s iPad and remotely controlled. While the robot cannot use stairs, it can be controlled similarly to a remote-controlled car to move from one classroom to the next on the same floor.
Greene said the machine can take still images of notes on smartboards throughout the school but it does not have a video recording feature.
Battery life is estimated for about six hours without a battery booster pack, and the device would charge overnight.
“Through this approach, we can not only provide better and more complex and complete education programs for the students, we’re also giving the student the opportunity to interact with his or her peers at a cost-effective approach,” Greene said.
