Game 3 is designed as a Sonification Maker Space. Active learning, directly interacting with the sonification, can improve understanding of this technology. Students can create, or trace and listen to a sonified drawing. The Toolbox menu provides various options from which the student can select.
Specifications
Gestures: (Single finger) finger drag, flick up, flick right, flick down, flick left, pinch, and/or double tap. Dragging needs to be light and slow. Other Ballyland apps can help students learn and practice these gestures if required.
In Drawing or Tracing mode, a ‘pinch’ gesture (thumb and finger sliding inwards) prompts spoken feedback telling the student what flick gesture to make to go to the Toolbox Menu or change the mode. In Settings you change this default ‘pinch’ gesture to ‘double tap’. Note that some students’ finger gestures during the process of drawing may come across as ‘double tap’, which may unintentionally trigger the program to activate the spoken prompt.
To Undo the last action in a drawing, use a ‘pinch’ + flick left. This can be repeated multiple times.
This version of the app allows for only one image to be saved. The saved drawing can be accessed in the Tool box menu.
Lesson Suggestions
This game doesn’t have a score or time limit. It supports the development of creativity, listening skills, shape recognition, and fine motor skills. It offers many opportunities to align activities with your lessons within the STEM and the Art/Music curriculum.
Students can work alone or collaborate in pairs. Encourage them to be creative and make lines, shapes, or just twirls or dots.
By default, drawing is in yellow. In the Settings you can change colour contrast.
In Settings you can also choose to hide the visual drawing, turning it into an audio-only experience for all. What are students imagining when they listen to the sonification?
As educator you can use the game as a ‘sketch pad’ to create a pattern or draw a sonified maze, simple map that your students can trace, explore, and analyse.
Examples
What does your sonified letter sound like?
Draw a series of dots in the vertical plane. Can the student identify and name the change in sound between the dots?
Select ‘New drawing with a rectangle’ or ‘New drawing with a circle’, then ‘pinch’ and flick down to set to Tracing mode. This enables a student to reinforce the concept and sonification of shapes. The circle can also become a face. Introduce a student who is blind to the shapes through tactile graphics or tactile models before or in conjunction with the sonification in the app.
Draw 2, 3 or 4 vertical bars, like a simple bar chart. In Tracing Mode, ask the student to find, trace, compare and analyse the sonifications and, based on the pitch at the top of the bar, identify which is the tallest/has the highest value.
We welcome your suggestions to support@sonokids.org