Journal: IPSI Transactions on Internet Research


Morning Circle Web Application
for Students with Special Educational Needs

Authors: Saloun, Petr; Simkova, Tereza;
Tomaszek, Lukas; Steingartner, William;
Triskova, Ivona; Klement, Milan; and Bryndova, Lucie


View PDF Cite this article

Abstract

Every student is unique, exhibiting differences not only in their abilities and learning styles but also in their personal needs and interests. An individualized approach is especially vital in special schools, where students with a range of disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, and various developmental or neurological disorders, receive education. In this paper, we aim to present an application designed to implement the morning circle method for students in special schools. The application was tested in two special elementary schools, where children’s behaviors were observed and interviews with teachers were conducted. The findings indicate that digital technologies enhance student motivation, and the application has a positive effect on students’ behavior.


Keywords

application development, morning circle, morning meeting, Unity


Published in: IPSI Transaction on Internet Research (Volume: 20, Issue: 2)
Publisher: IPSI, Belgrade

Date of Publication: July 1, 2025

Open Access: CC-BY-NC-ND
DOI: 10.58245/ipsi.tir.2502.06

Pages: 51 - 61

ISSN: 1820 - 4503



References

1. Fely C Allam and Matronillo M Martin. Issues and challenges in special education: A qualitative analysis from teacher’s perspective. Southeast Asia Early Childhood, 10(1):37–49, 2021.

2. Sufyan bin Uzayr. Mastering Unity: A Beginner’s Guide. CRC Press, 2022.

3. Susan Bruce, Cara Fasy, Jessica Gulick, Jill Jones, and Elizabeth Pike. Making morning circle meaningful. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 2(4):n4, 2006.

4. Monica Dunbar. Morning meetings and closing circles: Classroom-ready activities that increase student engagement and create a positive learning community. Ulysses Press, 2020.

5. Madona Giorgdze and Marine Dgebuadze. Interactive teaching methods: challenges and perspectives. International E-Journal of Advances in Education, 3(9):544–548, 2017.

6. Mark Granito and Ellina Chernobilsky. The effect of technology on a student’s motivation and knowledge retention. 2012.

7. John K Haas. A history of the unity game engine. 2014.

8. Anders Hejlsberg, Mads Torgersen, Scott Wiltamuth, and Peter Golde. The C# programming language. Pearson Education, 2008.

9. Kristina Higgins, Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo, and Lindy Crawford. Effects of technology in mathematics on achievement, motivation, and attitude: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57(2):283–319, 2019.

10. Shazia Jamshed. Qualitative research methodinterviewing and observation. Journal of basic and clinical pharmacy, 5(4):87, 2014.

...

×

Saloun, Petr

Petr Saloun graduated and passed the rigorous exam at the Faculty of Science Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic in 1986. Ph.D. gained in the field of Computer Science and Engineering at the Technical University in Prague in 2002. He is Associated Professor in Computer Science at both the Faculty of Education, Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic, and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB–Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. The professional orientation of Petr Saloun is the processing of large data peta-byte (astronomical observation), information systems, electronic and web publishing technology for e-learning, sequential and parallel parsing of formal languages and compilers, and object-oriented programming in C++ and Python, including their teaching at the bachelor’s level of study.
Email: petr.saloun@upol.cz, ORCID: 0000-0001-9276-067X

×

Simkova, Tereza

Tereza Simkova graduated with a master’s degree in Special Education and Didactics of Informatics from Palacky University in Olomouc. She is currently working as a teacher and ICT coordinator at a special school for children with intellectual disabilities.
Email: simkovat19@gmail.com

× Tomaszek, Lukas

Lukas Tomaszek is a PhD student in the Department of Technical Education and Information Technology at Palacky University Olomouc. His research primarily focuses on artificial intelligence, computer science, and emotion recognition.
E-mail: lukas.tomaszek01@upol.cz

×

Steingartner, William

William Steingartner, PhD. is an Associate professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of the Technical University of Košice, Slovakia. His research is oriented toward the semantics of programming languages, theoretical computer science, and software engineering. He is a member of the board of the Slovak Society of Applied Cybernetics and Informatics (SSACI), and president of the branch of SSACI.
Publications profile: https://publons.com/researcher/3317593/william-steingartner/
Email: e-mail: william.steingartner@tuke.sk, Orchid ID: 0000-0002-2852-9403

×

Triskova, Ivona

Ivona Triskova graduated at the Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic in 2010. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Didactics of Informatics and Digital Technologies at Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, focusing on the development of computational thinking in a cloud environment for learning how to program. Throughout her career, she has been involved in educational projects aimed at enhancing digital learning and integrating technology into mathematics education and computer science.
Email: ivona.triskova01@upol.cz

× Klement, Milan

Milan Klement works as a full professor at the Department of Technical and Information Education at the Faculty of Education of the University of Olomouc, where he is, among other things, the guarantor of the Bachelor’s degree programme Information Technology with a focus on education and the Master’s degree programme Teaching of Informatics for the 2nd grade of primary school. In his professional, publishing and educational activities he focuses mainly on issues related to the use of Information and Communication Technologies in education, the use of virtualization technologies in education, the development of digital literacy and digital thinking.
E-mail: milan.klement@upol.cz, ORCID: 0000-0001-9964-4057

×

Bryndova, Lucie

Lucie Bryndova graduated (Mgr.) in 2018 at Faculty of Education of Palacky University in Olomouc at the departments Information and Communication Technologies and English Language in Pedagogy. She received her Ph.D. in 2024 from the same faculty in Didactics of Informatics. Currently she works as Assistant Professor at the Department of Technical and Information Education, Faculty of Education of Palacky University in Olomouc. Her research primary focuses on the development of computational thinking in primary school pupils, methodology for this development, propaedeutic robotics, and the relevant curriculum legislation.
Email: lucie.bryndova01@upol.cz, ORCID: 0000-0003-3534-7621

×

Cite this article

Saloun, Petr; Simkova, Tereza; Tomaszek, Lukas; Steingartner, William; Triskova, Ivona; Klement, Milan; and Bryndova, Lucie
"Morning Circle Web Application for Students with Special Educational Needs",
IPSI Transactions on Internet Research, vol. 20(2), pp. 50-61, 2025. https://doi.org/10.58245/ipsi.tir.2502.06