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Tips and Tutorial Ballyland Magic Plus for Blind Educators

Useful tips

  • For the Ballyland Magic Plus app the iPad needs to be kept in “Landscape Mode” (as opposed to “Portrait Mode”). This means having the Home button either to the left or to the right.
  • VoiceOver is not to be used inside the app. Parents or teachers with visual impairments who use VoiceOver to open the Ballyland Magic app can use the app’s accessible navigation. Please make sure that the triple click Home function on your iDevice is set to turn VoiceOver on and off (only). You can adjust this in the Settings of the iDevice.
  • When Selfvoicing of menus is turned ON, you can use a ‘hot spot’ to return to Main Menu from the Scenes: double tap in the bottom right corner of the active screen.
  • Adjust Settings in Scenes: Open Options Menu with double tap in the top left corner of the active screen. Flick down with one finger to close
  • Zoom or Guided Access should NOT be enabled on your device.
  • Although the app provides self-voicing instructions as you go, it is recommended to download the short instructions for each level (displayed on the screen)  so that at any stage during the game play you can easily check what the child is required to do.

VoiceOver off, accessible navigation on

The app’s accessible navigation can only be turned on and off at the Main Menu of the app, which is the landing page. There, VoiceOver reads the instructions to first turn OFF VoiceOver, and to then turn ON the accessible navigation (only in this specific order). To repeat the VoiceOver instructions, swipe up with two fingers. After you turn off VoiceOver, flick up with one finger, to turn on the accessible navigation. When the accessible navigation is turned ON, this activates:

  1. The self-voicing menus in the app. Flick right/left with one finger through the menu items, and double tap to open.
  2. The “Hot spot” in the bottom right corner of the screen. Do a double tap in that space to go back to the Main Menu. Note that the space for tapping is about 2 cm x 2 cm wide. You can use it in all levels, excluding menu pages.

Turn VoiceOver back on when you exit the app. Press the Home button to exit. Press the Home button twice to get to the app switcher and do a three finger flick up, to close the app. Closing the app ensures that on your return it always starts at the Main Menu.

Audio Tutorial

If you are a blind educator or parent wanting to support a child in learning VoiceOver with Ballyland Magic app (the predecessor of Ballyland Magic Plus), this excellent audio demo/tutorial 'from a blind person’s perspective', created by accessible technology expert David Woodbridge, will help you on your way.