The introduction of Bee-Bot robots – bee-shaped programmable floor robots designed for young children ages 3-11 to learn sequencing, debugging, and logical reasoning – has provided an inclusive and developmentally supportive learning experience, particularly for students with difficulties in spatial orientation and fine motor skills. The teacher introduces basic movements such as “left” and “right,” enabling students to practise sequencing, planning, and error correction in an engaging and concrete way.

Children using the robots were astonished to discover that pressing an arrow button made the robot move forward. The robots were used to create stories and fairytale characters, and the teacher complemented these activities with digital tools such as Canva to support creativity and visual expression. Storytelling through robotics stimulates students’ imagination and helps them present their stories in a creative and engaging way.

The teacher combines technology with analogue activities, recognising that many students struggle with copying, transcription, and spatial orientation. They need opportunities to develop basic skills, including navigating a page and organising information on paper. The Bee Bots provide practice in spatial awareness, while fine motor exercises remain essential for strengthening hand–eye coordination. In this approach, technology functions as a parallel support system rather than a replacement, ensuring that cognitive, motor, and creative development are addressed in a balanced and inclusive manner. 

Robotics can successfully be used for inclusive learning. Many types of activities and learning goals can be achieved through working with them. Using robotics helps create classroom experiences in which students with different abilities can participate meaningfully in the same activity.  

Research shows that robots are especially effective in promoting hands-on learning, computational thinking, communication, social interaction, and motivation (Díaz-Boladeras, Claver i Díaz. & García-Sánchez, 2023). However, improved educational outcomes and engagement do not come from the robot alone, but from thoughtful educational design. When implementing activities with robots in the classroom accessibility measures should be taken. Depending on the robot available, software modifications, simplified and clear instructions, and visual prompts are essential, particularly for learners with sensory, motor, or complex support needs. 

How to implement an inclusive robotics activity

Start with a needs assessment aiming to create an appropriate learning scenario and prepare the activity in a way that is accessible to all learners. Introduce the robot first in an unplugged way, so students can become familiar with it. Use materials already in the classroom or co-create new materials together with the students, strengthening ownership and participation.  When using technology many things can go work and affect digital wellbeing in the classroom. Initialising the robot and preparing the materials in advance, setting a clear time frame for the activity, giving students the right to stop if they feel overwhelmed and anticipating possible difficulties can all help ensure a positive learning experience for all. Finally, continuous evaluation and regular student feedback are essential, especially when introducing new activities.

Robotics are a flexible pedagogical tool that, when combined with careful preparation and appropriate adaptations, can help classrooms become more participatory and inclusive for all learners.

For many students, written expression is a challenge, and interactive whiteboards can provide support in the special needs school. Using an interactive whiteboard, students can simply click on their answers, allowing the teacher to immediately see whether they have understood, without creating stress or pressure. The same applies to the apps and interactive worksheets used in the classroom. They allow for images, quick edits, and flexible adjustments, making learning more accessible for students who struggle with traditional written tasks.

The teacher in the case study keeps each child’s individuality in mind, organising lessons so that they focus on the learning goal, and how it every student can best achieve it. Technology supports inclusion in many ways, because it can help children by simplifying tasks, replacing challenging activities and making learning more visual. It also allows the teacher to supplement teaching materials and gives each student the opportunity to express themselves individually. The teacher prepares the lesson by imagining each child and considering what she wants them to experience and how, offering something more complex for more able students and something different for those with learning difficulties. Interactivity is sustained by using the smart board, online materials, and giving each student a chance to use the interactive whiteboard. A student may even be invited to use the board to teach or explain a task to the others. This approach – removing barriers through digital tools – also applies to tests, where the teacher uses simple formats to assess comprehension, recognising that even seemingly easy questions can be overwhelmingly difficult for some learners. As comprehension is one of the main challenges teachers face in the special needs classroom, the use of technology supports both understanding and motivation, helping students enjoy the lessons.

Although technology is part of students’ everyday lives, it remains challenging for teachers to learn how to use it in a way that truly connects with children. For the teacher, it is the school’s role to help students make meaningful use of technology, to connect it to real life, and to develop digital skills beyond gaming or chatting on social media, so that they become informed users rather than passive consumers. The school leadership supports this process by encouraging participation in events organised by the National Policy Institute, including workshops and online training. 

Digital technologies play a key role in promoting accessible and inclusive learning. Interactive whiteboards are a common sight in today’s classrooms, but research shows that, even though interactive whiteboards can support teachers in enhancing teaching practice, the number of teachers who explore their full potential is still limited (Kyriakou & Higgins, 2016). 

The interactive whiteboard is especially useful for inclusive learning because it combines visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic modes of learning, supporting both whole-class and small-group participation (Bakhmat, et al.,2024). Teachers can use built-in quiz tools, instant feedback functions, interactive games, videos, and digital annotations to improve attention, participation, and comprehension.  

In practice, teachers can begin by identifying the main learning difficulty a student faces; for example, they may struggle with reading, concentration, language processing or participation. Then they choose an appropriate tool: an interactive whiteboard for visual explanation and shared class interaction, a digital app such as Kahoot, Quizizz, GeoGebra, Book Creator, for practice and engagement, and interactive worksheets such as Wizer, LiveWorksheets for differentiated individual work. An example would be presenting new vocabulary on the board with images, followed by a short quiz on tablets or on the board where students match the new word with the image. The activity can then continue with the audio spelling of the words, allowing students to hear and repeat them. Finally, the teacher can escalate the level of difficulty by asking students to match the word with a sentence, read the sentence out loud, or complete similar tasks that foster comprehension and confidence.

Teachers take part in eTwinning projects for kindergarten and lower primary grade children that give them the opportunity of working with AI. For example, students introduce themselves by creatively altering photos using AI tools and writing short self descriptions. The teacher uses active learning approaches such as running dictation and task stations around the classroom. Running dictation is an activity where students move around the classroom to collect pieces of information and then return to their group to build a word/sentence. Playful approaches such as this align naturally with the use of AI in the classroom. For example, students take photos of others from behind (to respect data protection regulations), and the class then votes on which one to use before animating it through AI, making the activity more enjoyable for the children.

A “Little Explorers” project in which children take ownership of their tasks. They create a vision, based on information provided by the teacher, come up with an idea, input it into AI, and adjust it if the output was not what they expected. The activity encourages independence, creativity, and decision making. 

This activity shows how AI can be a creative partner for both teachers and students, but appropriate training is essential to ensure it is used responsibly.

AI tools can be integrated into the classroom as creative learning partners for both teachers and students. They can be used in collaborative projects such as generating illustrations for presentations, creating visual prompts for writing activities and designing characters for storytelling. In this way, AI can help teachers diversify instruction while giving students new ways to express ideas and engage in learning. 

AI tools can support a wide range of inclusive classroom activities. For example, students may use AI to create images for a science presentation or generate prompts for school plays or creative writing. These activities can be especially supportive for learners who experience difficulties with drawing, handwriting, or fine motor skills, as they enable them to produce something that can be displayed in the classroom or school, strengthening their confidence and self-esteem. A simple exercise would be for students to create their own comic using AI image generators (e.g. DALL E). The teacher might first set out the scope of the comic, connecting it to a lesson objective and thematic area. Students then brainstorm ideas and write the first sentences of the story along with short dialogues. With the teacher’s guidance, they create the characters and input prompts into AI tools to generate the comic’s graphics. The students should be aware that the AI tool might not create what they need, despite its apparent attractiveness, so they need to critically review it, changing and adapting prompts and refining their ideas. In this way they learn not to rely on AI results. Once the images are ready, students can add the dialogues and finalise the comic. For students who have difficulty writing the full story, the teacher can help them create a visual story, putting together AI generated pictures.

Research findings show that generative AI can support curriculum design, resource development, idea generation, and adaptive content creation, but that its educational value depends on maintaining human guidance and critical reflection (Creely & Blannin, 2024). Another analysis highlights that ongoing AI use can even reduce creativity (Urmeneta & Romero, 2025). Therefore, teachers should always connect the AI use with learning goals and lesson objectives, and the human touch.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a powerful tool to support children with moderate to severe disabilities as it allows them to explore environments they would not otherwise be able to access and stimulates senses in a controlled and supportive environment. For example, students can experience a virtual forest environment in VR, combined with the smell of the forest and the feeling of sitting on grass. In this way, their senses are stimulated and refined, and children who find traditional classroom settings stressful are able to relax. These experiences broaden students’ horizons while keeping them safe and comfortable, making VR a valuable tool for inclusive and experiential learning.

In addition to VR, the school also uses a relaxation room (“Snoezelen”) equipped with a projector, tape recorder, sonic aroma lamps, and visually attractive tools that produce colours and lights. This space complements the sensory experiences offered through VR, providing students with opportunities to calm down, regulate their emotions, and engage with sensory input in a structured way. 

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology can improve learning by making lessons more immersive, interactive, and easier to understand, especially for students with disabilities who benefit from adaptive and controlled learning environments. Research indicates that VR can support deeper engagement, better retention of complex concepts, safe hands-on practice, and personalised learning experiences, while also offering important benefits in special education, such as practising social, cognitive, and motor skills at an individual pace (Analyti et al., 2024). 

Teachers wishing to organise activities with VR equipment should first invest time in experimenting with the technology. A step-by-step approach to VR experimentation in the classroom could include the following:

• Start with accessible VR tools, such as Google Arts & Culture, exploring their basic functions.
• Define clear learning objectives and expected outcomes before introducing VR to students. Objectives should relate to the curriculum and topics should be identified where VR can support students’ needs.
• Focus on the specific skill VR will help students to improve.
• Prepare students before the session by explaining the task and expected outcomes, keeping the first VR experience short and structured to avoid overload or discomfort.
• Observe students closely during the activity, offering guidance and adjustments when needed. 
• Discuss the experience afterwards and evaluate both learning progress and students’ reactions.

An example of VR in a history lesson would be a virtual visit, allowing students to explore locations such as ancient cities or archaeological ruins in an immersive way. Students can visit the Colosseum and the Pantheon in Rome through VR and compare them with the Acropolis in Athens, helping them understand the different historical periods and how these are reflected in architectural styles. Other possibilities are showing laboratories or enabling virtual meetings with famous personalities.

Although VR offers opportunities, its limitations should be considered. It relies on expensive equipment, and it needs to be accompanied by appropriate professional development and accessible learning materials aligned with the curriculum. Ensuring equitable access for every learner is also challenging as not all schools have such equipment.