Essential iPad & tech skills
Even if your iPad apps are “dark” or missing – or your iPad is broken – you can still access the LMS, use Google Meet, access Google Drive, and even check your email by using a web browser [Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, for example].
To access Powerschool LMS, surf to this site:
lms.mountdesales.net
To join a Google Meet without the iPad app, surf to this site:
meet.google.com
To check your email without an app, surf to
webmail.mountdesales.net
The open up Google Drive, surf to
One of the attractions of using the iPads is the ability to handwrite on the screen. This is especially useful in Notability [which can convert your handwriting into text, unless you are the MDS Tech Director with exceptionally abysmal handwriting. Your mileage may vary.]
See https://support.gingerlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013361351-New-in-3-0-for-Mac-Handwriting-Recognition#:~:text=Drag%20a%20rectangle%20around%20the%20handwriting%20you%20want,to%20copy%20the%20text%20to%20your%20Mac%27s%20clipboard. for details on how to do that.
As of Fall 2020 iPads for the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades can use the Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon, or other styluses. 12th grade iPads and Middle School iPads can use other styluses – there is a rough list below looking at some of the options.
Please note that styli are NOT provided by the school.
There are a few general categories of styluses available:
Some general advice:
Gestures, Split View, and More make the iPad even more useful.
Most of this information covers IOS 13 – so if you have not updated, GET IT DONE tonight at home. Some of it also applies to IOS 12 and 11, which is as far as some of the older iPads on campus can go. In any case, give these features a try – they just might work!
VIEW APP DOCK
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, roughly an inch. The dock will appear – and then you can switch apps. You can also drag app icons to either side of the screen to split your screen and use 2 apps at a time.
NOTIFICATION CENTER
Swipe down from either the Center top to quickly access your Notifications. A suggestion from MDS Tech: fewer notifications are better than having more. YOU have control over what you get – check in the Settings App.https://www.cnet.com/how-to/16-gestures-that-will-make-you-love-using-your-ipad/
Control Center
Swipe down from the Top right corner to see the Control Center. That’s a good way to check wifi settings [is wifi REALLY on?], change your screen brightness, change volume. pause and start playback, and the like.
By the way – you can customize Control Center to show exactly what YOU want. See settings –> Control Center and pick what settings you’d like to have, and even what order you want them in.
Today View
Swipe from the left to the right as if switching screens. When you get all the way to the left and swipe once more, you’ll see the Today View. YOu cna load several widgets into that view.
You can customize what widgets are on the today view by clicking on the Edit button at the the bottom of Today View.
Quickly get back to the desktop
When you have an app running, you can quickly get back to the desktop by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
App Switcher
The App Switcher is the equivalent of Alt-Tab on Windows or Command-Tab on Macs. On those operating systems you get a list of icons or windows showing you all of the open apps running at that moment.
On IOS, swipe up from the bottom of the screen AND THEN HOLD YOUR FINGER for a second. You might have to swipe left or right – but you’ll see windows with every running app.
You can also force-close apps by swiping up on the app window. This even works when swiping several at the same time.
MORE MULTITASKING / MULTIPLE APPS TRICKS
There are details on
in the CNET article. It’s worth a look!