No TalkBack skills required
Difficulty: Easy
Gestures: Touch, flick left, finger drag, ‘touch and hold’.
Ballyland™ CosmoBally™ in Space is a fun game app that offers a simple introduction to the solar system, through the accounts of CosmoBally. She is an astronaut, and the first Ballylander to fly in space. Responding to touch with audio feedback, the story is presented both visually as well as through real human voices, audio effects, and songs.
FIRST: Move through the interactive story and listen to CosmoBally sharing her experiences in space with the resident Ballylanders in Ballyland. What do they need to do in the radio tower? Can you breathe in fresh air out there in space? Which planet is the hottest? What happens if there is a solar flare?! Explaining how the features and looks of some planets remind her of her friends in Ballyland, CosmoBally presents snippets of factual information about the Sun, the Moon and the 8 planets. The story game uses ‘touch’ and ‘flick left’ for independent use by young children.
THEN (optional): Play the Bonus Game. Find planets in a specific order along five routes to score points and connect to CosmoBally. The Bonus game uses ‘finger drag’ and ‘touch and hold’. The Bonus Game and end Song reinforce the order of the planets from the Sun.
Click here to download the lyrics of Ballyland CosmoBally Planets Song
Song credits: Composition: D. Damsma; Arrangement/Artist: J. Norgaard; Lyrics: P. Damsma.
Listen here to the Ballyland CosmoBally in Space Planets Song (©2019 Sonokids Australia).
Read a review of the app on the Perkins Paths to Technology website
Learning Outcomes
- Facts about space and the solar system
- Cause & Effect game
- Finger drag skills, mobile device interaction and Spatial awareness on the touch screen by students who are blind
- Bonus Game and end Song reinforce the order of the planets from the Sun
- Other:
“The story itself, though based on the solar system, gives scope for teachers and learners to expand beyond this: PSHE theme of friendship, feelings (they miss CosmoBally), Science (air to breathe, telecommunication), Art and Design (organize a cosmic fashion show, build a transport that can be raced against Wheelie and use different terrains from the planet), the importance of turn taking and not being grumpy for being last, and the list goes on…”
Expert Teacher, involved with testing ‘Ballyland CosmoBally in Space’
Special Features
- Engaging interactive audio story with high quality audio (narration, sound effects and song)
- No reading skills required
- Built-in speech
Accessibility
- Simple images and animations in bright colors and clear contrast
- Suitable for users who are blind or visually impaired (TalkBack accessibility skills not required)
- Easy to navigate when/if hand functions are limited