Testing of the St. Martin App
01/08/2019
Within the NewPilgrimAge project a modern infocommunication tool is being developed in Szombathely which will present the elements of the local tangible and intangible heritage of the St. Martin cult with 21st-century technological solutions and an innovative set of instruments.
The testing of the app to be created for several target groups was held in a kindergarten of Szombathely at 10 a. m. on July 18 2019 attended by kindergarten teachers, the developers of the application, the project owners and children in their last kindergarten year who were actively taking part in the testing of the application. The testing day was opened by mayor Dr. Tivadar Puskás welcoming everybody present after which the programme continued with an interactive puppet play as a warm-up which helped kindergarten children recall stories from St. Martin’s life through discussions and with the help of puppets.
This was followed by the presentation of the content and its visualization by graphic designer Ferenc Kassai, the designer of the application. First, the developer presented the concept the key element of which is that the app is aimed for several target groups (kindergarten, elementary school children and families) allowing them to choose from different options according to their age characteristics. Then he described the contents designed for the kindergarten children in detail, and presented the graphic design of the application, the colours of the games, the animation and the pictograms he applied.
The most spectacular programme point proved to be the actual test of the infocommunication tool, namely the testing of the games which happened with the active participation of the children. With the assistance of a competent kindergarten teacher they first looked at the typical episodes of St. Martin’s life (birth, baptism, his life as a soldier, as a monk, wonderworks, consecration as a bishop) followed by a virtual colouring game. The second game was similar to dress-up dolls during which children could put pieces of clothes and symbols dispersed on the screen on Martin’s stylised figure with their fingers. Here children could choose from three different stages of the saint’s life (soldier, monk, bishop). Finally, they played a puzzle where they could move the jumbled pieces up and down and pull them to the right place on the screen which resulted in a picture.
After the test game the developers and the guests started an informal conversation where everybody could get acquainted with further details of the application. The questions, remarks and the opinions noted during the testing day will contribute to the successful development of the application.
