Whether you’re a parent wanting to support your child’s education at home, or a teacher looking to create a more inclusive classroom, the right activities can really help engage children in learning.

As every child is wonderfully unique, it’s important to choose activities that allow for different needs and abilities. Activities need to be physically accessible but also easy to understand. And most importantly, they should be fun!

Ideally, activities are inclusive by design. This means that there is a good amount of flexibility, so children can imprint their own identity and explore at their own pace. 

We can think of inclusion as a salad, not a soup. In a soup, everything is blended together. With a salad, the ingredients are different but complementary. Inclusion is about recognising everyone’s own “flavour”, not blending it all together to create a single flavour. 

Inclusion means that children’s different interests and abilities become a core part of the activity. Everyone has their own special something to contribute, we just need to make sure they’ll have the chance to do so.

With its tactile, visual style, HUE Animation Studio may be particularly helpful for children with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) or Speech, Language, and Communication needs (SLC). 

Children who may struggle to communicate by speaking, listening, reading or writing have so many opportunities opened up for them with HUE Animation Studio. Through a range of video projects they are able to communicate their ideas without the need for language, which can do wonders for their confidence.

Those who have special interests, such as a particular love of technology or LEGO®, also get the chance to make this an integral part of their projects. Additionally, stop motion animation greatly appeals to the strengths of children with autism because of the precision and intense concentration required. HUE Animation Studio has also been successfully used to teach children with a hearing impairment and those with English as a second language. HUE has won multiple awards in Special Educational Needs categories, including the Creative Play Awards two years running (2016 and 2017) and a gold medal in the Independent Toy Awards (2020).

HUE Animation Studio is a great resource for inclusive activities in the classroom. The flexible camera and unlimited stop-motion possibilities make it a very hands-on way for children to learn. The easy-to-use software with large intuitive icons, plus a colourful guide book, means that animators aged 7-13 can quickly get started making videos even if they haven’t used the software or made animations before. 

Children can also work to their strengths by allocating roles. For example, one child might particularly enjoy writing stories, another can make the models and sets, and a third child can handle the technical side. The whole class can therefore be involved in the project, without anyone feeling left out.

As well as being used by pupils for class projects, the HUE HD camera works as a handy document camera or visualiser for teachers. For example, Speech Therapist Paula Whittle loves that it can be used for close up views such as picture cards, pages in a book, or magnifying small objects; then just a quick bend of the camera’s flexible neck and you can present from a distance, draw on the board, play games, and much more.

The camera includes an integrated microphone and is compatible with your favourite video calling software too, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Seesaw. This makes it perfect for teaching students in the classroom or remotely.

HUE Animation Studio is a tool that can be used in most, if not all, school subjects. It can be a great way to visually demonstrate counting, addition and subtraction using objects or even real currency.

This New York school also used theirs for digital book reports, using clay to show fictional characters and photographs to show real people, to visually distinguish between the two.

Building a narrative can be a really engaging and imaginative way for children to learn about various educational concepts.

For example, a school for the deaf created a stop motion animation as a class, to visually show the cycle of the moon and the sun, as well as telling stories about ecosystems and food chains.

This is great for developing skills that will be key to the 21st century workforce including imagination, flexible thinking, and digital literacy.

Being creative is a wonderful sensory experience for children, whether that’s modelling with clay or making characters from paper shapes.

HUE Animation Studio gives children a purpose for their creations and opens the door to digital creativity too. This also supports development of fine motor skills that are required for handwriting and self care.

Key Takeaways

• Inclusive learning is a salad, not a soup. Activities should be accessible to as many children as possible and play to their different strengths and interests.
• Visual and tactile activities help children understand explanations and share their ideas, even if they struggle with speaking, listening, reading or writing.
• HUE Animation Studio provides opportunities for inclusive activities through a combination of physical and digital play, helping children, with and without SEND, to learn valuable skills for the modern workplace.

HUE Animation Studio, £49.95 (incl VAT), has been independently tested by children and endorsed by experts at the Good Toy Guide. Get it in your favourite colour here!