Special Education Teachers, Preschool

In preschool special education, most teaching tasks still rely on people. For example, storytime can be helped by technology – today families use audiobooks and smart speakers (like Alexa) to read to kids, and one report notes voice devices make it “easier than ever for kids to have access” to stories ^[1]. Researchers have even tried friendly robots (like the NAO robot) to tell stories or help with games in class, finding that young children “responded and engaged positively” when a robot narrated a book ^[2].

These tools can add fun and extra support, but they don’t do everything a teacher does. Robots and apps lack human warmth, and they still need a teacher to explain things and handle kids’ feelings.

Whether preschool classrooms start using AI tools quickly or slowly will depend on many factors. Availability and cost: Easy features like text-to-speech readers or voice apps already exist (many tablets and browsers can “read aloud” text), but specialized tools for young kids can be expensive. In one survey, teachers said robot tutors sounded promising but worried about “financial costs and limited teacher knowledge” of how to use them ^[2]. Schools have tight budgets, so pricey robots and software take time to adopt.