Tapology for iPad, on IOS

The Tapology App is a way of engaging people with interactive touch screen technology through playful interactions in social settings.

Tapology is available now on the App Store, free to download to your iPad.

Smartphone and tablets are a great way for people to keep in touch with friends and family and to access services and build independence. But touch screens can be intimidating and those not use to them can prefer not to use them.

Tapology aims to introduce tablets and smartphones in a playful way to help people build confidence and share good practice in internet use.

This site tells some of the story of how we got here and also shares tips on accessible designs and fun things to do.

**We are grateful for funding for this from the In For Care project.**
**Project name (EN):** Informal care and voluntary assistance: Innovation in service delivery in the North Sea Region
**Web:** http://northsearegion.eu/in-for-care
The views and images represented here do not represent those of the funder.

Covid19 Update:

The world has undergone a crash course in IT since the start of lockdown. But many people still struggle with new technology. In particular we have come across people who can’t get the internet to work on their phone or tablet. Some problems come from difficulties with tapping for the right duration. Tapology is here to help people learn the right techniques for tapping. Over the next few weeks we will be releasing more guides online to help.

Whats the name of the game?

Design aims

Accessibility

Tablets such as the iPad, and smartphones such as the iPhone; and of course their Android counterparts are amazingly accessible. Your device can read things out to you and can scale text and images up in size to make them readable. They are portable and can make all sorts of things easier to do – if you know how. Tapology is here to help a little for people to take their first steps into the world of apps and internet.

Learning

We believe in learning through play, so we have developed a set of mini games on an app to help you get used to the actions required to learn how to use touch screen devices.

Fun

We believe learning can and should be fun, that’s why we started with games, even though you might want to do other stuff like reading and online banking. We start with fun games to allow you to make mistakes, games are all about learning from mistakes (because there is no downside to mistakes in a game).

What people have said to us..

Although your app was originally designed for older people, my young son loves it.
― A Mother at Dare Protoplay Festival

When will you be putting Tapology on the App Store? I want to start using it with my clients.
― Sight loss specialist.

Tapology – Getting Started

Once you have downloaded from the App Store, you are ready to play. Search for ‘Tapology’ on the IOS App Store on your iPad. You must be on an iPad and you will need to have IOS 13 or higher (sorry, that’s they way it is).

To start playing, we recommend you start with the Target Game. This was the original game designed for the App, when we wanted something simple that could bring hand and eye coordination together. Its really simple, just tap the target rings as they appear to get a high score. We have found this is remarkably playable, even for people with advanced Macular Degeneration.

Target

Pairs

We were inspired by our users to develop a card game, everyone loves cards. We wanted to test memory too though. So we came up with Pairs. You have to check your own card, then match it to the deck that is dealt out, one at a time. You will need to look at the dealt cards and remember them. Tap one at a time to pair them off. Don’t worry if you get one wrong, you can keep going.

Garden

Next up we recommend Garden. Our users explained that they really didn’t want to play shoot em up games. Why couldn’t we come up with something different. So we said, why don’t you design a game. They did. Our friends at SeeScape helped us develop a gardening based game, you drag the flower pot to catch the rain drops! Simple but effective. Each level gets a bit harder. If you get it right the flower grows. You can read more about our design process in the Design Story pages.

Pong

We spent a lot of time on tech roadshows with SeeScape users. One of the things they really wanted was a two-player game. We went back down memory lane and re-imagined an arcade and video game classic, the first ever video game – PONG!

Instead of the twiddly dials, you drag your bat up and down and play video tennis. Either against the iPad or against your opponent. Try it, its as addictive as ever.

There are plenty more games, including word games, go on, give them a try….

And finally…

React

Its not fun if its easy, or so they say. Well using an iPad or iPhone can be tricky. Especially those pesky double taps. Get your timing in tune with React. You have to do different tasks like tap, swipe etc. You will need these skills to be able to clear the memory of your device. To double tap the home key and then swipe up all your open ups to quit them. This people tell us is tricky. React is hard so its very much a level 2 game but give it a go if you feel up to it. Apparently swiping is a popular command gesture in other social apps.

Get Tapping

Well, what are you waiting for? Get on and tap! We have made a guide for people in Informal Care settings to get the most out of Tapology. [Update: This was before social distancing was a thing. If it is safe, then try this out on family or household members.].

Request a copy of our Tapology Field Guide here. We can tailor it to your needs. We would like to develop a guide for using in Care Homes. We will share our results from our pilot study soon. Get in touch if you would like a preview of our findings. Use the contact page or the e-mail at the bottom of this page.

Share your experiences with us via the contact pages.

We are grateful for support from the In For Care project:
Informal care and voluntary assistance: Innovation in service delivery in the North Sea Region.
Web: http://northsearegion.eu/in-for-care

The views on this website do not represent those of the funders.