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Background: Collaborative storytelling can be a helpful tool to promote cognitive and social skills in adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Aims: The current study aimed to explore the benefits of collaborative storytelling using traditional (TST), digital (DST), and tangible digital (TDST) methodologies. Materials and Methods: Fourteen Spanish students with mild to moderate intellectual disability and other neurodevelopmental comorbid disorders participated in collaborative storytelling sessions in the classroom, following an experimental, mixed, and cross-sectional design. The study comprised three individual assessments of narrative skills and eight collaborative storytelling sessions using different storytelling methodologies. Individual and collaborative stories were videotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analysed for formal and content characteristics. Behaviours and interactions during the collaborative storytelling were analysed for each group and session. Results: The results show a positive effect of collaboration on students' stories, compared to individual performance, regardless of the methodology used. Conclusion: Collaboration, technological device handling, and shared storytelling did not present a barrier for the participants.

Modern technology progresses at an incredibly fast pace. With personal computers, mobile phones, tablets, and the Internet, technology is used in all spheres, affecting our daily lives greatly. Educational games are also taking advantage of the technological process, for example, many useful apps are available for children. Gaming and educational opportunities have expanded because of the development of tablets and smartphones. Teachers have the opportunity to combine physical and electronic objects when creating education materials, so they are not confined to the use of traditional physical objects. Storytelling remains one of the oldest teaching methods for children: the development of technology has given impetus to the creation of tangible digital storytelling, which combines programs with physical objects, creating a single field for learning. Creating stories in which a child can interact with his/her peers has also provided new opportunities for inclusion and cooperation in young children. Indeed, the increased use of speakers, videos, pictures, and other tools that can help to quickly create and easily adapt objects for children with various backgrounds has fostered inclusive teaching. This paper will consider the evolution of the storytelling practice, focusing specifically on tangible digital storytelling and its benefits in young children.

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The transition to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered criticalities in the participation of students with special educational needs. The BESt-DaD project responded to these difficulties by developing a user-friendly online platform aimed at accommodating these students' neurocognitive profiles, ultimately promoting inclusion. Together with the platform, specific adapted activities and personalized digital didactic materials were designed, and a training program was implemented to support teachers in using BESt-DaD's tools and functionalities. The effectiveness of BESt-DaD platform and the associated teacher training program were evaluated by questionnaires. Results showed that teachers who participated in the project appreciated the platform's accessibility and its positive effect on learner motivation and classroom interactions. Moreover, the ad hoc training motivated teachers to revise their educational-teaching methods with an inclusive approach. Although developed for distance learning, the BESt-DaD can be integrated into face-to-face teaching to promote the participation and inclusion of students with special educational needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]