Creative connections to school: Teachers support the learning of students with chronic illness during absence

Educational research spanning many decades has sought to answer the question, 'What makes a student learn effectively?' The advent of increasingly flexible communications technologies offers both the need and opportunity to consider their application for effective learning. A research project, currently underway in a number of schools in Victoria and funded by the Australian Research Council, is investigating the use of communications technologies to address educational needs of students who are absent from school for prolonged or intermittent periods owing to chronic illness yet continue with their school studies. Early data from the project have demonstrated the desire of students to maintain contact with their own schools and the potential for continued learning and teaching, using videoconferencing, online whiteboarding and interactive whiteboard (IWB) application sharing. All these require particular resources and infrastructure, sustainable processes and support for teachers. This paper explores issues surrounding the educational application of technologies in a context where online interaction is being considered for the learning support and academic continuity of students unable to attend school.