Tuesday 4 June 2013

Back to Basics

I thought I would describe some of my favourite iPad features for those just starting out or still getting to know their iPad. I will include some really basic stuff that I didn't know when I got my first iPad. I will start with a few features and post more later.

So in no particular order:

Deleting or moving apps
- to delete apps you need to hold your finger down on the icon until it shakes and has a cross. Touch the cross and you have deleted the app from the iPad. In this mode you can also move icons around on the screens.

Putting apps into folders
- to do this first hold your finger on the icon until it shakes. Then move an icon on top of the icon of the app that you want to put it in a folder with. You can now name your folder and drag any other apps into there as well.

Safeguarding Settings etc.
- I always have a folder that students are not allowed in. I call it Teacher Only or No for younger students and in here I place Settings, App Store, iTunes and any other apps I don't want students accessing without my permission. More recently I have placed Safari in there as well. If, for any reason, I want students to use an app in this folder it is a rule that I start the app.

Caps Lock
- this is a very basic one, especially for iPhone users. To use capitals when typing text you touch the up arrow and (it took me a while to work this one out) for caps locks tap it twice. The whole button becomes blue in caps lock.

Closing Apps
-to close apps that are running in the background use four fingers to slide your screen up and you will see a row of icons at the bottom. To close these hold your finger down on one until they shake and touch the red minus. This closes the app but does not delete it from the iPad.

Adjusting Brightness etc
-to adjust the most things you do this easily in the Settings menu but there are some simple ones you can do from the screen. Use the four finger slide up to reveal the bottom icons and slide this icon bar right to reveal the left side of it. Here you can lock the rotation, adjust screen brightness, adjust volume and control music.

Locking Students into an App
- sometimes free exploration is fantastic and when completing work flows students need to go in and out of apps but there are times when you want to set students up on an app and you want them to stay on this app. Guided Access is a feature available on iPads and is useful for young students and students with special needs and can be accessed through the Settings menu in Accessibility. There are more details on how to set this up in a May post titled Guided Access.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks! The guided access is really useful.