®
iPad
for Kids
Using the iPad
to Play and Learn
Brian Proffitt
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Acknowledgments
O ftentimes, people I know picture my life as an author as a solitary,
lonely existence, where I randomly wander the moors in a tweed
jacket smoking a pipe, punctuated by the occasional session of typing.
Um, no.
In truth, putting together any written work is a collaborative effort,
because no author knows everything, and often needs someone to put him
in his place. Such is the job of my long-suffering editors on this book
Mitzi Koontz, Marta Justak, Brown Partington, and Sharon Shock, who
get thanks for taking my content and crafting it into something better.
This book, though, was even more personal than having good editors.
This book, it turned out, would have family.
My mother, whose name graces the masthead under the technical
reviewer heading, is a retired elementary school teacher with 36 years
of experience. When the idea of this book was first formed, I knew I
would need her help with figuring out the nuances of education that
would be ingrained in a teacher like her. She delivered stunningly, and
her influence is felt in many pages of this book.
There was some generational help going the other way, too. My daugh-
ter, Aberash, and Brown’s daughter, Alexa, came through with a coast-
to-coast FaceTime session that was used in Chapter 8. Alexa is also the
granddaughter of Marta, so three generations from two families have
impacted the creation of this work.
This book also covered many different types of software applications.
Several companies and developers generously donated copies of their
apps to this book so they could be reviewed and discussed. For all of the
people who graciously responded to my requests for help, thank you.
iii
About the Author
B rian Proffitt is a technology expert who blogs on ITworld.com on
Open Source technology and AllBusiness.com on matters con-
cerning small business. He Twitters as @TheTechScribe on these and a
whole wide range of technology sectors. Currently, he is an adjunct
instructor at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre
Dame. Formerly the community manager of the Linux Foundation, he
has also been managing editor of Linux Today (linuxtoday.com), a news
and information site about all things Linux and Open Source. He is the
author of numerous books on computer technology, including Take Your
iPad to Work. His other works focus mostly on Linux, with a Mac and
Windows book thrown in just for variety. He is also the author of a stu-
dent guide on Plato. He makes his home in northern Indiana.
iv
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Is the iPad? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Educational Case for the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Choosing the Right iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting an iPad Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Throwing in the Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Setting Up the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad. . . . . . . . 17
Touring the iPad Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Having the Right Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Keying in the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Moving Text Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Configuring the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad. . . . . . . . . 41
Connecting to iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using the WiFi Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using the 3G Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Troubleshooting Connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
v
iPad for Kids
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Opening and Arranging Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Get Your Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Updating Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Configuring Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Removing Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Secret Origins of the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Here Come the Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Navigating Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Managing Bookmarks and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Browsing Many Pages at Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Searching for Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Customizing Your Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Finding Your Reading Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Reading in iBooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Getting Multimedia: iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Multimedia Playback: iPod and Videos . . . . . . . . 116
Internet Video: YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
What Is FaceTime? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Setting Up FaceTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Making a FaceTime Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Video Mirroring with FaceTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
AlphaBaby: The Joy of Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Expanding Language: Baby Flash Cards . . . . . . . 155
One Counting iPad App! Ah Ha Ha Ha! . . . . . . . . 160
Hearing the Sounds of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
vi
Contents
Play for Creativity’s Sake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Fish School: Catching Some Knowledge . . . . . . . 172
Oh, the Apps You Will Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
One of These Things…What’s the
Difference? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Abracadabra with Math Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Word Magic Hocus Pocus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Build Skills with TeachMe: Kindergarten. . . . . . . 200
Super Learning with Super Why! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Formulating with Sentence Builder . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Put It in Writing with Letter Lab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Easing into Reading with Phonics
Made Easy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Get Counting with Time, Money & Fractions . . . 233
Geography Made Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Test Reading with Sight Words HD . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Fun and Games with Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Walk Among the Stars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Achieving Fluency with K12 Timed Reading . . . 270
Step Up to MathBoard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Walking the World with GeoWalk HD . . . . . . . . . 282
Vote for Presidents of the United States
for iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
vii
iPad for Kids
Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Oh, Come On, It’s Dinosaurs! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
It’s All in the Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Something to Send to Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Shutterbugging 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Quiet on the Set!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Drawing for All Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Choose Your Instrument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Playing Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Getting Smart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Appendix Apps for Learning Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Dragon Dictation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
iCommunicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
iConverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Look2Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Proloquo2Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
viii
Introduction
W ith the right applications, the iPad can become more than just
a device for watching videos, music, and electronic books. It
can be a device that’s used for teaching and imparting knowledge to chil-
dren in nearly any environment.
This ability to teach anywhere opens up a wider range of knowledge for
children than the obvious one of just having a mobile Internet-connected
device. The iPad has apps that are specifically designed to build skills
in reading, math, and writing. How many apps? Thousands. Some are
good, some are not so good, and having tried a lot of them, I think this
book has a collection of some very good apps that are available.
The apps offer parents and teachers flexibility, because they are small.
Small in terms of size, so they’re easy to download and install, and small
in terms of price. Many of the apps featured in this book are free, some
cost no more than $10, and many are somewhere in between. This way
of doing things means that parents can pick and choose exactly what
works for their kids and what’s fun for them to use.
While a computer could handle just about all of these tasks, software is
usually more expensive, and laptops can be inconvenient to carry
around, but the iPad’s flat form greatly simplifies mobility. Its longer
battery life is a bonus, too.
Is the iPad right for every educational situation? Yes, it can be. Naturally,
this is something this book will try to promote. But it won’t be a fawn-
ing description: if there’s a problem to avoid, this book will let you know.
Is This Book for You?
iPad for Kids is for all of you who want to get started using the iPad as a
teaching tool for your kids. Think of this book as a personal tutorial, a one-
on-one class with an expert user of the iPad. You get to stay in the comfort
of your own home or school and learn how to do the following things:
5 Familiarize yourself with the iPad controls and interfaces.
5 Connect to the Internet with the iPad using WiFi or a cellular con-
nection.
5 Learn how to add apps and multimedia content to your iPad.
5 Print documents from the iPad.
5 Communicate with others via email.
ix
iPad for Kids
5 Teach kids from toddler-age to fourth grade how to read—and then
read better.
5 Explore and practice mathematic concepts.
5 Discover the world of art and music.
5 Have your kids see the world around them in new ways.
5 Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for advanced
school work.
Companion Web Site Downloads of Bonus
Chapters
As this book was put together, it soon became apparent that there was a
lot more information we wanted to impart to parents and teachers that
wouldn’t fit in these pages, so we’ve provided the information in the
form of bonus electronic chapters on the Cengage Web site. You may
download the additional chapters at www.courseptr.com/downloads and
read them on your iPad. Here is a list of the online chapters:
5 Chapter 18: “Homework: Documenting with Pages”
5 Chapter 19: “Homework: Analyzing with Numbers”
5 Chapter 20: “Homework: Presenting with Keynote”
5 Chapter 21: “Homework: Printing”
5 Chapter 22: “Homework: Mail”
x
Chapter 1
First Step:
Introducing
the iPad
I t is not the first device of its kind, but there is little doubt that the
Apple iPad family has revolutionized the consumer electronics mar-
ket of the second decade of the 21st century. Okay, that’s a pretty hoity-
toity thing to say, full of all the market-y things that people hear about
electronics all the time. But let’s face it, there have already been millions
of iPad devices sold, so there must be something to these shiny new
devices, beyond the hype generated by Apple and its marketers that’s
making this device such a hot property.
With the iPad, like many successful products, there’s a combination of
things involved. Certainly all that marketing and sales timing helped.
The iPad was introduced at a time when smartphones were just hitting
their stride in the market: early adopters (which is code for “gadget-
freaks”) had pretty much found smartphone religion, and now normal
people were getting converted, too. After 2007, more and more “regu-
lar” folks were buying smartphones, discovering the advantages of
instant-on, highly mobile Internet and processing access. So, what
changed in 2007? That was the year of the introduction of iPad’s ances-
tor: the original iPhone.
With its sleek form factor, broad range of applications, processing speed,
and superior coolness factor, the iPhone became a huge sales hit among
consumers and business personnel alike. In that same year, Apple
released what’s considered to be the real predecessor to the iPad: the
iPod Touch, an iPhone-like device without an onboard phone that con-
nected to the Internet via wireless access points (WiFi).
iPad for Kids
Tech Term: WiFi
Throughout this book, I’ll try to avoid heavy-duty tech terms, but some-
times they can’t be avoided. So here’s the first one: WiFi. WiFi is a way
to get to the Internet through radio signals that transmit from a nearby,
centralized station. Like 30–40 feet nearby. The plus side of WiFi is that
the signal is usually very strong and rather fast. But the downside is that
you have to be close to a WiFi device to use it. Cell phones use differ-
ent radio signals that can have a range of miles away—but at the cost
of slower speeds.
Today, the smartphone market is dominated by the iPhone, although
other excellent smartphones exist, such as RIM’s stalwart BlackBerry
product line and the various Droid phone models running multiple ver-
sions of Google’s Linux-based Android software. Even Microsoft has
offerings in the smartphone market with its Windows Mobile 7 software,
although sales of such devices are rather low.
Faced with some stiff competition, Apple has continued to improve its
iPhone product line, most recently with the release of the iPhone 4
model. But in 2010, Apple decided to raise the bar again, this time
announcing a long-rumored tablet device scheduled for release in April
2010: the iPad. In March 2011, success was repeated with the even big-
ger launch of the iPad 2.
What Is the iPad?
When Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January 2010, the initial reaction
was rather mixed. After the initial excitement died down, critics pointed
out that this “new” device was hardly more than a giant iPod Touch. Sure,
the screen was bigger, and the apps looked better, but other than that, what
could such a device offer to consumers? Tech pundits didn’t know if they
were coming or going with their opinions of this thing.
It turns out, they should have had some faith.
Perhaps the biggest draw to the iPad was the tablet form itself.
2
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
Tech Term: Tablet
In geek speak, a tablet is any device that has a flat interface and a size
that approximates a notebook sheet of paper. The size of the device is
key: personal digital assistants (PDAs) like the old PalmPilots certainly
had flat interfaces, but their handheld sizes placed them in a different
category than tablets.
Other examples of tablet devices include the Dell Latitude XT2 or the
HP EliteBook 2740p—both devices that have a touchscreen interface,
though with a swiveled screen that enables users to quickly convert
these computers to traditional laptop devices, the kind with the hinge.
iPads don’t have physical keyboards, and most applications don’t even
require a pen-like stylus to function. All you do is use your fingers to
enter text and manipulate objects onscreen. With such a simple interface,
and because the device itself is much lighter than laptops, notebooks,
and even those itty-bitty, ultra-light netbooks, it is a large-screen device
that is much more portable for users of all types.
Besides being large enough to read comfortably and watch the occa-
sional movie, the screen is also a multitouch interface, which can be a
unique experience for many electronic device users. In the past, touch-
screens on PDAs, smartphones, or even the occasional kiosk were pri-
marily single-touch interfaces, meaning that one and only one touch at
a time was registered by the application running on the screen.
Beginning with the iPhone, and continuing with the iPad and iPad 2,
there is multitouch, which enables users to touch and manipulate objects
on the screen with more than one finger (or device) at a time. This inter-
face enables users to shrink objects by “pinching” them or expand
objects by fanning out their fingers. Or they can type capital letters
onscreen by virtually “holding down” the Shift key on the keyboard on
the screen.
But it’s not just the hardware. Applications are the biggest key to the
iPad family’s success, if only by sheer numbers alone. Thousands of
applications are available in the Apple App Store, free or otherwise, with
a high percentage of them reviewed by other users. This social review
system lets you find out quickly what’s really going to work, and what
may not. More than that, the stunning variety of apps available makes
the iPad highly suitable for any number of uses.
Especially apps for your child.
3
iPad for Kids
The Educational Case for the iPad
With the right apps, the iPad can become more than just a content con-
sumption device for videos, music, and electronic books. It can be an
educational and content production device for kids as well, generating
documents, spreadsheets, presentations, music, and video, while also
giving children a window into a vast array of knowledge.
This ability to make content, given the right apps, immediately increases
the iPad’s value as a useful educational device. Students, parents, and
teachers can have the tools to learn about new concepts and then turn
around and create information based on that learning.
The potential education uses for the iPad are limited only by your inge-
nuity:
5 Parents can let their younger children play with qualified apps that
will provide hours of entertainment, while also practicing the basic
skills of reading and mathematics.
5 Teachers can use the iPad to create lesson plans and present engag-
ing multimedia presentations at home or in the classroom.
5 Older students can research new material and put that material
together in traditional reports or cutting-edge multimedia presenta-
tions of their own.
These, of course, are just a few possible scenarios of iPad use for edu-
cation. A computer could handle just about all of these tasks, of course,
but even laptops can be a hassle to carry around and can require a good
chunk of personal space to use. Not to mention the short life of a laptop
battery, which often has you looking for a plug. The iPad’s flat form
greatly eases transport, and the 10-hour battery life means you won’t be
married to an outlet.
Is an iPad device right for every situation? It would be easy to get all
excited and say “why yes, yes it is.” But this isn’t always the case. The
design of the device itself should make you think about using it in cer-
tain instances. For example, an iPad has a large amount of glass, so using
it in an environment where that glass can be damaged is obviously not
a good idea. Care especially should be taken when younger children are
using the device for just this reason. Still, with the right accessory—
namely, a good carrying case—and some common sense, even that
problem can be solved.
If you see possibilities for using the iPad with your child or students, the
first thing you need to do is get yourself an iPad, which sometimes can
be easier said than done.
4
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
Choosing the Right iPad
Before you buy an iPad, you need to figure out first which iPad
you’re going to get, particularly with the recent release of the iPad 2. A
lot of people liked the looks of the iPad and held off buying one until the
iPad 2 came out and shoppers mobbed the stores and Web sites looking
for them. I am not proud to admit that I was one of those shoppers, and
I paid my teenage daughter $50 to go stand in line at another store at the
same time, coordinating with text messages. I blame my publisher.
Shopping rushes aside, while all iPads may look alike, there are two key
differences found within all iPads that mean you get to choose between
a total of six different iPad models.
When choosing an iPad device, you may find yourself gravitating
2
iPad toward an iPad 2, the latest in the iPad family of devices. The good
news is that from a retail standpoint, iPad 2s are no more expensive
than the first iPad, and each model in the respective device families are
similarly priced and with the same basic features.
However, there are key differences between the iPad and iPad 2 that
should be taken into consideration.
First, the form factor of the iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than the origi-
nal iPad. This is not a huge difference, but nonetheless it should be noted.
Most of the time, you won’t even notice it, unless you spend your time
holding the device in one hand. Then the weight difference can be felt.
The two biggest differences between the devices are the faster proces-
sor in the iPad 2 and the onboard cameras in the iPad 2.
Tech Term: Processor
The processor in any computing device (iPad, computer, phone,
microwave) is the part of the device that actually does all the comput-
ing work after you push some buttons to tell the device what you need
(a movie, a document, a phone call, some popcorn). The faster the
processor, the faster the device responds.
The faster processor does not change the apps that run on either version
of the iPad, but it does increase the speed at which apps will run on the
iPad 2. And it is noticeable. iPad apps were never pokey, but when com-
pared with performance on the iPad 2, they are less responsive. Some
apps, like Garage Band, can be used on the iPad, but they are recom-
mended for the iPad 2 precisely because of its faster processor.
5
iPad for Kids
The cameras on the iPad 2, while not the greatest in the world, do give
you the capability to run apps like FaceTime, a two-way videoconfer-
encing app, and Photo Booth, a fun photo-morphing app. Many of the
apps you will see in this book also use the cameras to take pictures of
children to use as icons within the apps, should you choose. But even
without the camera, you can upload an image and use it for the same pur-
pose in the apps on an iPad.
The one big advantage of the iPad versus the iPad 2? Price. While only
a year old, first-model iPads are being sold on the secondary market for
big discounts from their original prices. Of course, this usually means
buying a used iPad, with all the pros and cons of such a transaction. But,
if you are on a budget, picking up an iPad on eBay or some other rep-
utable vendor is a great way to get started.
The first choice point for any iPad or iPad 2 model is whether to get a
WiFi or a WiFi+3G model. All iPads have the capability to connect to
the Internet using WiFi access—the kind found in your home or most
public businesses, like the coffee shop on the corner. This is usually
pretty adequate, particularly within your own house, which should have
its own wireless network.
If you don’t have WiFi, ask your Internet provider. Most home systems
include a WiFi network device, so you may have WiFi and not even
know it.
iPad WiFi+3G models, on the other hand, can tap into the AT&T cellu-
lar network and connect to the Internet anywhere the iPad can receive
the AT&T network signal. iPad 2s can use either AT&T or Verizon as a
cellular carrier. WiFi+3G models uniformly cost $130 more than their
WiFi-only counterparts retail, so using a WiFi-only device is obviously
a real cost saver.
The other difference between iPad products is the amount of solid-state
storage each device has. The iPad and iPad 2 are currently available with
16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of storage. The price of each model is directly
proportional to the amount of memory. Table 1.1 displays the retail pric-
ing of the iPad 2.
Table 1.1 iPad 2 Model Pricing (April 2011)
16GB 32GB 64GB
iPad (WiFi) $499 $599 $699
iPad (WiFi+3G) $629 $729 $829
6
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
5
NOTE Your iPad Price May Vary
Because iPads are now only available on the secondary market, pric-
ing on the models can vary significantly, depending on the seller.
Tech Term: Memory
The question of how much memory you need is one that plagues most
iPad device users. While you may understand in the abstract that 16
gigabytes equates to 16,000 megabytes, which in turn represents
16,000,000 kilobytes, you may not know how that equates to real-world
terms. (Not to mention, you may need a hobby.)
Check out Table 1.2, which puts together some numbers from Apple that
do a better job of relating how big this storage is.
Table 1.2 iPad and iPad 2 Storage Comparison
File (Average Size) 16GB 32GB 64GB
Images (1.5MB) 10,922 21,844 43,688
Songs (5MB) 3,276 6,552 13,104
Movies (700MB) 23 46 92
TV Shows (325MB) 50 100 200
eBooks (1.2MB) 13,653 27,306 54,612
Documents (50KB) 335,544 671,088 1,342,176
Presentations (100KB) 167,722 335,544 671,088
Looking at Table 1.2, you might wonder why in the world you would
ever need to store 1.3 million documents, and that certainly seems
unlikely. But these size comparisons can give you a more practical idea
of what kind of storage capacity we’re talking about.
From an education standpoint, you need to factor in how you will use the
device. If you are going to be based in one central location, and plan to
sync the device with a PC or Mac computer on a regular basis, then you
will not need a lot of storage space. You can simply use your computer
7
iPad for Kids
(and any storage device to which the computer has access) to handle stor-
ing files. In such a case, you should stick with one of the 16GB models.
If, however, you plan to be more mobile or otherwise be unable to sync
on a regular basis, and will be handling a significant number of files,
then consider purchasing one of the larger memory devices. It’s likely
that 32GB’s worth of capacity is enough for most mobile use cases,
unless you have a huge amount of multimedia files to lug around.
One good way for you to pin down the answer to the memory question
is to look at all the files you must have to educate and entertain kids away
from home, calculate the amount of memory those files need, and then
triple that number. This calculation should account for the original files’
storage and the potential of creating twice as many files while away from
your base PC.
As for the decision on WiFi-only versus WiFi+3G, here the recommen-
dation is not really going to be along financial lines. It would be easy to
say, for instance, that all stationary iPad users should be fine without
plunking down an extra $130 for 3G cellular connectivity. You’ve got
WiFi set up in your home or school, so why bother with 3G?
This is where you should ask a key question: What happens when your
Internet connection goes down? If losing Internet connectivity would
harm your experience on the device, then it may be worth it to spend the
extra money and get the WiFi+3G model. Most of the apps in this book,
however, do not require always-on Internet connectivity, so you may
want to consider that, too.
5 NOTE When 3G May Not Be a Good Idea
If you work in a region where AT&T or Verizon coverage is trouble-
some or nonexistent, you may need to reconsider the 3G options. One
possible work-around, for instance, would be to use a mobile WiFi
device from another cellular carrier and connect to the Internet via
that device’s WiFi network.
The final decision in buying an iPad 2 is color: you have a choice
iPad
2 between a white or black benzel (screen border) on the new iPad 2.
This is strictly a preference issue, but the choice will need to be
made, nonetheless.
With these choices in mind, you should be able to make an informed
choice on getting the iPad or iPad 2 you need.
8
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
Getting an iPad Device
If you are fortunate enough to live near one of the hundreds of Apple
retail stores, purchasing that needed iPad 2 should be a relatively pain-
less process. Just walk in, pick out the one you want, and then take it
home. To date, most U.S. Apple stores have caught up with the huge
demand for these devices, and usually have them in stock, although it is
still sporadic. Some of the WiFi+3G models are still lagging behind a
bit. You may want to call ahead and see if the model you want is in stock
before driving in to purchase it.
If you don’t reside near an Apple store, you have two basic options: pur-
chase the iPad 2 online or through an Apple retail partner, such as Target,
Wal-Mart, or Best Buy. Be careful about expecting to actually see an iPad
2 at a retail partner, though; these stores often only get a handful of
devices at a time, and they are usually snatched up very quickly.
The other route you might go is to check an AT&T or Verizon retail store,
but here iPad 2s are even more scarce: only the largest stores in a given
region will actually have the device in stock, while a big majority of such
stores will have to order them from Apple directly.
The good news about any of these options is that the cost of the iPad,
either online or at another retail store, is always the same. There’s no
markup when you purchase the iPad 2 somewhere other than an Apple
store, and the online store will ship iPad 2s free of charge, so there’s no
additional cost there.
The bad news is, since most iPad 2 buyers use the online option to get
their device, the delivery channel is exceedingly slow. As of this writ-
ing, Apple indicated one to two weeks to receive an iPad 2, and while
this has been mostly true, anecdotal evidence has suggested otherwise;
in some cases, shipping times of three weeks have been reported.
The option to go to a partner retailer, if there’s one near you, may not be
any better. You should definitely call ahead and see if there’s an iPad 2
in stock. Be sure to specify which model you want. You don’t want to
get there and find out the retailer has models that don’t meet your tech-
nical or budgetary requirements.
If you are not in a hurry to receive the iPad 2, you should definitely order
it online. That way, you’re working directly with Apple, and you won’t have
to dodge and weave past other shoppers to get the exact device you want.
Of course, getting an iPad is a little easier. If you find one at a reputable
online vendor, you could have the device in your hands in a matter of
days, at a lower cost.
9
iPad for Kids
Throwing in the Extras
When you purchase an iPad device, you may be tempted by all of the
nifty-looking accessories you see around you in the actual or virtual
store. You might be tempted to try one over the other, but here are some
recommendations based on business-use cases.
5 Cases. Available from Apple and a number of third-party vendors, a
case is essential for anyone planning to transport the iPad device from
one location to another. With a glass screen and a burnished metal
exterior, the iPad device could easily be damaged without some sort
of protective covering—not to mention that carrying the iPad device
in full view in some public locations is an invitation to theft.
5 Smart Cover. While not a full cover, the Smart Cover is very useful
2
iPad for protecting the iPad 2’s screen, and when folded correctly, it serves
as a portable stand. Magnets hold the cover in place and also serve to
turn the device off and on when the cover is used. Plus, they’re kind
of cool.
5 Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit. If you plan to connect any
USB camera or SD flash drive to your iPad, then this accessory is
essential. The ability to transfer photos, videos, or other files to your
iPad without using an iTunes-equipped computer is a real time-saver.
5 Apple iPad Dock. This is a great stand to park your iPad in an upright
position while you sync or charge the battery.
5 A Bluetooth-capable wireless keyboard. Available from Apple and
third-party vendors, a wireless keyboard is a very essential tool for
iPad. You might be tempted to purchase the Apple iPad Keyboard
Dock and just get all-in-one functionality. I don’t recommend this,
because the Keyboard Dock means that your screen and keyboard are
mated and any change in position between the two will be impossi-
ble. Also, if you prefer a more ergonomic keyboard, the Keyboard
Dock will be ill-suited for you. It’s better to get the Dock and a wire-
less keyboard separately.
Setting Up the iPad
When the big day comes and you bring that white box home, you will
be very tempted to turn the iPad on and start playing with it right away.
As with all good things, you will need to put a little effort into your iPad
or iPad 2 before you can play with—er, use it wisely.
At the beginning of their operational lives, iPads must be connected to a
PC or Mac computer that has iTunes 9.1 or higher installed at least once.
iPad 2s need iTunes 10.2 or later. Linux machines, unfortunately, are not
10
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
fully compatible with any iPad because of this iTunes requirement. You
need iTunes at least once in the life of your iPad, in order to set up the
iPad to talk to the Apple systems on the Internet.
PCs with Windows should have Windows XP Home or Professional
(Service Pack 3), Windows Vista, or Windows 7 installed. Macs should
have OS X 10.5.8 or later. Both kinds of machines should have avail-
able USB 2.0 ports.
If you don’t have one already, you need an iTunes Store account. The
iTunes Store is where the iPad will get apps even if you never sync to a
computer again. While many iPad applications are free, you may want
to purchase some applications later, so it’s a good idea to get your
account set up first.
To set up iTunes and an iTunes Store account, follow these steps:
1. Visit the iTunes Web page at www.apple.com/itunes/ (see Figure
1.1).
Figure 1.1
The iTunes home
page.
2. Click the Download iTunes link. The Download page will appear.
3. Confirm the operating system you are currently running and click
Download Now. The installation file will be downloaded and saved
to your system.
4. Follow the normal installation procedures you use to install software
on your operating system to install iTunes.
5. After iTunes is installed and running, click the iTunes Store link in
the left column of the application. The iTunes Store page will open,
as shown in Figure 1.2.
11
iPad for Kids
Figure 1.2
The iTunes Store
home page.
6. Click the Sign In link located in the upper-right corner. The account
dialog box will open (see Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3
The account
sign-in dialog
box.
7. Click the Create New Account button. The Welcome page will
appear.
8. Click Continue. The Terms & Conditions page will appear.
9. Click the I have read… checkbox and then Continue. The Store
Account page, shown in Figure 1.4, will appear.
12
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
Figure 1.4
The iTunes Store
Account page.
10. Enter the pertinent information and click Continue. The Payment
Method page will appear.
11. Enter your credit card or iTunes gift card information, your billing
address, and click Continue. Your account will be created.
Once the iTunes account is created, you will now be able to set up your
iPad device. When you first press the Sleep/Wake button along the top
edge of the device, you will see a graphic depicting a USB cord being
“plugged into” an icon representing iTunes. This means exactly what it
signifies: you need to plug the iPad into your computer using the 10W
USB Power Adapter that came in the box with the device. Simply pull
off the power adapter from the USB end of the cord and plug it into an
open USB port on your computer. Then plug the other end into the Dock
Connector at the bottom of the iPad.
That’s all you need to do. Your computer will automatically detect the
iPad, start iTunes, and begin the Setup Assistant (see Figure 1.5).
13
iPad for Kids
Figure 1.5
The iPad Setup
Assistant.
1. Click the Set up as a new iPad option and then click Continue. The
second page of the Setup Assistant will appear (see Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6
Define your iPad
settings.
14
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
2. Type a name for your iPad.
3. Confirm that the two Automatically sync options are checked. This
will enable your iPad’s contents to be backed up on your PC or Mac.
4. Click Done. The iPad will be configured to your specifications and
synced with your computer.
It is important to note that this first synchronization between your iPad
and computer could take quite some time, particularly if you have any
music or video files already in your iTunes library.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned about the not-so-secret origins of the iPad
and iPad 2, and why this device has become so successful. You also were
presented with the pros and cons of purchasing a particular iPad model.
Finally, you learned how to set up iTunes, an iTunes Store Account, and
the iPad itself.
While you’re waiting for the iPad to finish its initial setup, grab a cup of
tea while you wait, and come back for Chapter 2, “Second Step:
Interfacing with the iPad.” There, you’ll learn about all of the iPad and
iPad 2 controls and even some undocumented control features that may
come in handy later.
15
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Chapter 2
Second Step:
Interfacing with
the iPad
L ike most iPad customers, you were probably already aware of quite
a few of the iPad’s capabilities. Apple’s massive marketing plan
did a good job of highlighting the device so that by now most people
know that the iPad is a touchscreen device, capable of connecting to the
Internet and viewing a large variety of really cool stuff.
When you first get to use the iPad, you will find a sleek, simple device
that doesn’t seem to change that first impression. A few buttons, a single
switch—seriously, how hard could this be?
The simplicity is certainly there, but there’s also a lot more going on with
the iPad than you’d think. In this chapter, you will learn how to use
5 The controls of the iPad.
5 The right way to use the touchscreen.
5 The virtual iPad keyboard.
5 The tools to configure the iPad.
Touring the iPad Device
Take a look at the iPad. You hold in your hands a 9½ by 7½-inch, half-
inch thick tablet with a grand total of four controls (not counting the
screen itself, which is the iPad’s biggest control). As you can see in
Figure 2.1, three of the controls are located near the “upper-right” cor-
ner of the iPad or iPad 2.
17
iPad for Kids
Camera (iPad 2) On/Off, Sleep/Wake Mute, Screen Rotation Lock Volume Up/Down
Figure 2.1
The iPad’s and
iPad 2’s
minimalist
controls.
Home
5
NOTE What Is Up? What Is Down?
The use of quotes in “upper-right” is deliberate. Since the iPad can
be oriented in any direction, there really isn’t a “top” or “bottom”
for the device. For the purposes of this section, when I actually point
out the position of controls, I’ll assume that the iPad is oriented as
shown in Figure 2.1, with the Home button positioned at the bottom
of the device. If you want to be a rebel and hold the iPad differently,
that’s all you.
The control you will use the most is the Home button, located on the
front of the iPad, centered below the screen. Click the Home button, and
you will be taken immediately back to the last Home screen you were
in. Since the iPad can use more than one application at a time, double-
clicking the Home button will open the App toolbar and let you switch
to any other open app. I’ll get to that later in the chapter.
18
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
The On/Off or Sleep/Wake button is something you’ll also use often. Its
dual name hints at its multifunction capabilities. If you simply press the
button quickly, it will put the iPad to sleep. “Sleep,” in this case, is a very
low-power state that will turn the screen off and prevent any other inputs
until the Sleep/Wake button or the Home button is pressed again.
The thing to remember about the iPad being asleep is that while the iPad
appears to be completely powered down, it’s actually not. The device
will be waiting quietly for you to pick it up and start working again,
ready to pop on the instant you wake it up. To come back so quickly, the
iPad has to be in a state of readiness that uses a teensy bit of power as
time goes by. Very little, to be sure, but the drain on the batteries is real.
Leave the iPad asleep for too long (over a couple of days or so), and it’s
possible you will find the batteries very weak or even drained when you
come back to wake it up.
To prevent this unfortunate surprise, you can use the same button as an
On/Off control. To turn the iPad completely off, press and hold the
On/Off button for a few seconds. A red confirmation slide control will
appear at the top of the window.
If you really want to power down the device, tap and drag the slide con-
trol to the right, and the iPad will shut down. If you hold the Sleep/Wake
button down too long by mistake, you can tap the Cancel button on the
bottom of the screen.
Once the device is really and truly all the way off, pressing and holding
the On/Off button is the only way to start the power-on sequence. (This
is to prevent any accidental bumps from turning the iPad back on and
thus draining the batteries.) It takes a few moments to cycle all the way
back on, so don’t worry if it seems to take awhile.
5TIP Capture a Screenshot
There’s a cool little undocumented feature you can use with the
Home and Sleep/Wake buttons. Hold the Home key down and then
press the Sleep/Wake button at the same time. The screen will flash,
and you’ll hear the sound of a camera shutter. You’ve just taken a pic-
ture of your iPad’s screen, which you will be able to view using the
Photo app. In fact, all of the iPad pictures in this book were acquired
using this method.
19
iPad for Kids
The Volume up/down control, located on the right side of the iPad, is
pretty straightforward. Press the top of the control to turn the volume of
the iPad’s speaker up and press the bottom of the control to bring the
volume down. This control is the master volume control for the iPad.
Some applications, such as the iPod and video apps, have their own
onscreen volume controls that handle volume just for those apps. This
is something you should be aware of, because you might hear volume
differences as you use different apps.
The mute or screen rotation lock switch is just above the Volume
up/down control. The two names may seem confusing, but actually it’s
not. When the initial iPad was released, this switch only controlled the
screen rotation, the effect that pivots the screen around so you can always
read it. But Steve Jobs is rumored to have insisted on making the switch
a mute control, just like a similar switch on the iPhone. A software
upgrade on the iPad changed the function of the switch to just mute.
That decision, however, was met with user outcry, because many iPad
users liked the screen rotation switch just fine, thank you. So, when the
iPad 2 was released, Apple gave users the capability to decide for them-
selves. The switch can be used for one or the other function, based on a
setting that users can change. (More on that later in this chapter.)
As a rotation lock, when the switch is in the up, or off, position, the
screen will rotate freely based on the orientation of the device. Flip the
switch to the on position, and the orientation of the screen will stay right
where it is, no matter how you hold the device. This is useful, should
you be reading something and don’t want the contents of the screen to
shift every time you move in your chair or set the iPad down.
As a mute switch, the up position enables sound, and the down position
mutes the device.
There are other neat features on the iPad about which you should know.
Figure 2.2 displays the top and bottom of the iPad device, where these
important features lie. The location of these hardware features is identi-
cal on the iPad 2.
20
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Figure 2.2
Other iPad
hardware
features.
Headphone Jack Microphone On/Off, Sleep/Wake Dock Port Speaker
We’ve already reviewed the Sleep/Wake or On/Off button, so here are
more details about the other features:
5 Headphone Jack. This is a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack,
to which you can plug in your favorite headphones.
5 Microphone. This tiny hole is actually the microphone for the iPad.
It does work well for everyday applications, but for higher-quality
work, you may want to get a better microphone.
5 Dock Port. This port is the primary way to connect the iPad to a PC
or Mac, a power adapter, or an iPad Dock or Keyboard Dock.
5 Speaker. This is where the sound comes from if the headphones are
not in use. Try not to cover this up, so you will get better sound.
Now that we’ve looked at the other controls of the iPad, let’s examine
the most important control: the iPad screen itself. Most of the work you
will do and the content you will view will be done on the screen, so it’s
a good idea to get the lay of the land.
When you press the Sleep/Wake or On/Off button for the first time, you
will initially see the Lock screen (shown in Figure 2.3). This screen will
stay visible until you slide the Slide to Unlock control or about seven
seconds have passed—in which case the iPad will go back to sleep.
21
iPad for Kids
Figure 2.3
The iPad Lock
screen.
To slide the control, place your finger on the gray arrow button and drag
your finger to the right. This will open the Home screen, as shown in
Figure 2.4.
22
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Connection Status Clock Status Bar Apps Battery Status
Figure 2.4
The iPad Home
screen.
Favorite Apps Home Screen Status
23
iPad for Kids
Here’s a rundown of the different components of the Home screen:
5 Status Bar. This area on the top of the screen is home to various sta-
tus messages the iPad or its apps may display.
5 Connection Status. This area displays the status of the WiFi con-
nection the iPad is currently using. In 3G models, the connectivity to
AT&T is also displayed.
5 Clock. Here it shows the current time.
5 Battery Status. This area displays the strength of the current battery
charge. It also displays when the battery is being charged.
5 Apps. Here are the icons that, when tapped, start the various appli-
cations that run on the iPad.
5 Home Screen Status. This area displays which Home screen the iPad
is currently showing and the number of available Home screens. The
iPad can accommodate up to 11 Home screens.
5 Favorite Apps. Here is an area that houses your favorite apps. This
area is displayed on all the Home screens.
The look and feel of any of the Home screens will remain the same,
regardless of how many or how few apps are displayed. Each Home
screen can display 20 apps or folders, and the Favorites section can hold
up to six applications or folders. As you can see in Figure 2.5, the same
components are visible when the iPad is in landscape mode.
Figure 2.5
The iPad Home
screen in
landscape.
24
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Another available screen on the iPad is the Search screen (see Figure
2.6), which is always located to the left of the Home screen. The Search
screen enables you to find files and applications quickly on the iPad.
Figure 2.6
The iPad Search
screen.
Having the Right Touch
Using an iPad is not like using a “typical” PC or Mac, where a mouse is
used to move a cursor around a screen and clicking the mouse once or
twice brings up menus, windows, and dialog boxes. No, the iPad has a
25
iPad for Kids
different interface, one that differs from the now-familiar actions many
people are used to on their computers, but definitely mirrors the way
smartphones are used.
The most useful gesture is the tap. Tapping once on the screen will start
an app, “press” a button, type a letter, or select an option on a list. The
results of the tap vary from application to application, but it is directly
analogous to a single click of a mouse.
A related gesture is the double-tap, which can also perform useful
actions. In Maps, for instance, a double-tap will zoom in on that area of
the map.
Pinching the screen on a given spot can zoom out from that spot. This
may not be intuitive when you read it, but try it (Maps is a good app for
this example), and it will make sense. Pinching serves to bring the edges
of the area “in,” thus creating the zoom-out effect. The farther away your
two fingers (or finger and thumb) are when starting the gesture, the more
dramatic the “zoom.” To get the opposite effect, you can pinch out,
which is how Apple refers to the motion of starting with two fingers
together on the screen and moving them apart to zoom in. This is also
referred to as “fanning,” since you can fan your fingers out to achieve
the zoom.
Panning, also known as dragging, is done by placing your finger on the
screen and moving it around to display the area you want, or move an
object or text around the screen. A related move is two-fingered drag-
ging, which will scroll any window within a window.
Swiping, as you’ve seen in the previous section, is done by quickly press-
ing and dragging a control across the screen. Swiping is also how you can
move from one Home screen to another. Flicking is a similar gesture: if
you have a long list of items to scroll through, flicking a finger across the
screen will simulate a quick scroll with some inertia behind it.
Some objects, particularly in iWorks apps, will contain objects that can
be rotated. A special two-fingered move known as rotating will handle
this. The best way to describe it is like grabbing an imaginary radio knob
and twisting your fingers in opposite directions to rotate the object.
Finally, some applications will call for a long-press, also known as the
“touch-and-hold.” This gesture is pretty self-explanatory, and can be
done by pressing any part of the screen for over one second.
Keep in mind, not every application will use every gesture. It varies from
application to application, but these are the basic moves that will help
you navigate the iPad when needed.
26
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
5
NOTE Making Gestures
All of the gestures that are unique to the iPad give the applications a
common trait: many functions are done with an economical use of
gestures and touches, with the least amount of input. You will see
these traits recurring in many of the applications in this book.
Keying in the Keyboard
The most noticeable piece of hardware missing on the iPad is, naturally,
the keyboard. Well, it’s not really missing. Like the iPhones and smart-
phones being sold out there, the iPad relies on what’s known as a virtual
keyboard for users to enter text. That means the keyboard is driven only
by software and appears directly on the screen, as displayed in Figure 2.7.
Shift Key Backspace Key
Figure 2.7
The iPad
keyboard.
Numbers/Punctuation (.?123) Key Spacebar Hide Keyboard
Keyboards appear whenever the user taps an area of the screen where
text needs to be entered or changed (known as a field). Yes, it’s “key-
boards,” plural, because as software, the keyboard can change itself to
meet the needs of the environment in which you are typing.
Tech Term: Fields
A field is a place in a Web page or computer application where you,
the user, enter information.
27
iPad for Kids
The keyboard in Figure 2.7, for instance, is the keyboard that displays
when using the Pages app. But tapping on the URL field (the spot where
Web addresses are entered) in the Safari Web browser shows some big
differences (shown in Figure 2.8).
Figure 2.8
The iPad
keyboard in
Safari.
Check out the .com key, which is a nice shortcut for typing what falls at
the end of most Web addresses. The Return key has been changed to Go,
and common Web address punctuation has been added to the bottom row
of keys.
Because each application developer may require a different set of com-
mon keystrokes, the variations of keyboards are potentially limitless.
And that’s just in English (more on that in a bit).
Referring back to Figure 2.7, note the .?123 key. Tapping this key will
display the numbers and punctuation keyboard, shown in Figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9
The numbers
and punctuation
keyboard.
Symbols (#+=) Key Main Keyboard (ABC) Key
If you tap the Symbols key, denoted as #+=, the symbols keyboard will
appear (see Figure 2.10).
28
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Figure 2.10
The symbols
keyboard.
To return to the main keyboard, tap the ABC key at any time. If you want
to remove any keyboard from the screen, tap the hide keyboard key. The
keyboard will be hidden until the next time you tap in a text-entry area.
Typing with the iPad keyboard is just like typing with a regular key-
board, but with some slick differences. For instance, if you find yourself
typing a word that needs accented characters (such as résumé), then press
and hold the “e” key and a popover menu containing several variations
of the vowel will appear, with different accents and umlauts. Slide your
finger to the correct variant (in this case, “é”), release the key, and the
letter will appear in your text.
Not every key in a keyboard has these special keys available, so you will
need to explore. Two very useful variant keys include
5 Hold and slide the comma key to access an apostrophe without tap-
ping the .?123 key.
5 In the Internet keyboard in Safari, hold and slide the .com key to view
the .org and .net variations.
Another hold-and-slide trick, which will take a little practice, is to type
a letter, then slide your finger over to the .?123 key, and—without lift-
ing your finger—slide to the number or punctuation mark you need and
then let go. This will insert the character and return you right back to the
ABC keyboard without having to tap the ABC key.
Moving Text Around
Most of us who have used computers are familiar with the writing capa-
bilities of our machines when it comes to creating documents. We even
take these features for granted, especially the cut, copy, and paste text
functions.
But in the iPad, the question immediately becomes, how to cut, copy, or
paste text without a mouse? Or a Ctrl key?
The answer is actually quite simple, and it’s just a few taps away.
29
iPad for Kids
To cut or copy text, double-tap the word you want to edit. The word will
be selected and an Edit menu will appear immediately above it (see
Figure 2.11).
Figure 2.11
The Edit menu.
Tap Cut, and the word will immediately be removed from the document,
but held in storage on the iPad’s “clipboard,” which is a temporary stor-
age area for text and objects that have been cut or copied. If you tap
Copy, the word will be stored on the clipboard, but not removed from
the document.
30
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Long-press the location in the document you want the cut or copied word
to appear. The Edit menu will appear again. Tap Paste, and the cut or
copied term will appear where you want it.
5
NOTE Clipboard Functionality
Text or objects in the clipboard can be pasted indefinitely until
another passage of text or another object is cut or copied.
5TIP Selecting Paragraphs
To cut, copy, and paste an entire paragraph, triple-tap the paragraph
to select all of it.
Configuring the iPad
Now that you have a good idea of the layout of the iPad, it’s time to start
customizing it to meet your personal needs. You can customize many
things about the iPad, but for now we will focus on some of the more
popular settings.
One of the first things users want to do is change the wallpaper on their
iPad. While this seems trivial, let’s face it, we all want to give things our
own identifier.
To change the wallpaper:
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open, as seen in Figure 2.12.
31
iPad for Kids
Figure 2.12
The Settings
app.
2. Tap the Brightness & Wallpaper setting. The Brightness & Wallpaper
pane will open.
3. Tap the Wallpaper control. The Wallpaper pane will open (see Figure
2.13).
32
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Figure 2.13
The Wallpaper
pane.
4. Tap the Wallpaper control again. A gallery of wallpaper options will
appear.
5. Tap an option you like. The wallpaper will appear full-size, with an
Options bar on top. You can use this wallpaper for the Lock Screen,
the Home Screen, or Set Both (see Figure 2.14).
33
iPad for Kids
Figure 2.14
Choosing how
to use the
wallpaper.
6. Tap the option you prefer. The sample wallpaper will close, and the
Settings app will appear.
7. Press the Home button. The new wallpaper will be visible (see
Figure 2.15).
34
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
Figure 2.15
The new
wallpaper.
Users for whom English is not their native language will very likely want
to make a more significant change—the addition of a keyboard more
suited to their own language.
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open.
2. Tap the General settings. The General pane will open.
3. Tap the Keyboard option. The Keyboard pane will open.
4. Tap the International Keyboards option. The International Keyboard
pane will open.
35
iPad for Kids
5. Tap Add New Keyboard. The Add New Keyboard pane will open.
6. Tap an option. The option will be added to the International
Keyboard pane.
To use an added keyboard, enter an app that uses a keyboard.
Immediately, you will see a globe key in the keyboard (see Figure 2.16).
This is the International Keyboard key.
Figure 2.16
The
International
Keyboard key is
shown where the
globe is.
To start the new keyboard, tap the globe icon to cycle through the avail-
able options. The name of the keyboard will appear in the spacebar as
you type. Or long-press the globe icon to see an action menu of the avail-
able options (see Figure 2.17). Slide your finger to the desired
International option and release. The keyboard will be set.
Figure 2.17
The
International
Keyboard
options.
To remove an International Keyboard:
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open.
2. Tap the General settings. The General pane will open.
3. Tap the Keyboard option. The Keyboard pane will open.
4. Tap the International Keyboards option. The International Keyboard
pane will open.
5. Tap the Edit key. The pane will appear in Edit mode.
36
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
6. Tap the red delete icon for the keyboard you want to remove. The
Delete button will appear (see Figure 2.18).
Figure 2.18
Removing a
keyboard.
7. Tap the Delete button. The option will be removed.
8. Tap Done. The International Keyboard pane will return to Display
mode.
37
iPad for Kids
For English users, there are additional keyboard enhancements that you
may want to check out.
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open.
2. Tap the General settings. The General pane will open.
3. Tap the Keyboard option. The Keyboard pane will open (see Figure
2.19), and the following options will be displayed.
Figure 2.19
General
keyboard
settings.
38
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad
5 Auto-Capitalization. Capitalizes the first letter after the end of
a sentence.
5 Auto-Correction. Displays suggested words from the iPad dic-
tionary when iPad thinks you have made a spelling error.
5 Check Spelling. Checks spelling within an opened document.
5 Enable Caps Lock. Lets you start Caps Lock typing by double-
tapping the Shift key.
5 “.” Shortcut. Inserts a period followed by a space when you
double-tap the spacebar.
4. Select the options you want to activate or deactivate by sliding the
appropriate control.
5. Press the Home button. The changes will be made.
Finally, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, you can specify whether you
want the iPad’s side switch to control muting sound or locking screen
rotation.
To change the side switch action:
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open.
2. Tap the General settings. The General pane will open.
3. In the Use Side Switch to: section, tap the option you prefer.
4. Press the Home button. The changes will be made.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned about the various hardware and software
controls available on the iPad. You discovered the basic gestures needed
to navigate the iPad interface and learned some handy shortcuts along
the way.
In Chapter 3, “Third Step: Connecting with the iPad,” you’ll learn how
to really, er, tap into the iPad’s power by getting connected to the
Internet, and you’ll be that much closer to your family using the iPad.
Provided you share.
39
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Chapter 3
Third Step:
Connecting
with the iPad
O n its own as a stand-alone device, the iPad is a great platform to
view videos, listen to music, or play educational games. All you
need to perform these and other tasks is the iPad itself and a connection
to a local computer that lets you share files with the iPad.
That’s all well and good, of course, but let’s face it—we like devices like
the iPad and iPad 2 because of their ability to visit and view content on
the Internet.
Now, let’s talk about the Internet a bit. It’s important to remember that
the Internet is no magical environment for work and play. It’s just a big
collection of computers that are connected to each other. What we get
out of the Internet depends on how we look at it.
Apple’s vision of the Internet is different than that of other computer or
mobile device companies. Since the opening of the Internet to the pub-
lic in the early 1990s, the original idea that software developers used
when they built Internet software like browsers and email applications
was this: show users everything, and let them figure out what is good.
Like giving some people a tent, dropping them off in the middle of the
forest, and saying “have at it.”
In the last decade of the 20th century, the forest was not so scary, since
content on the Internet was scarce, and because that content was such a
novelty, it could not help but be interesting. That novelty didn’t last long.
As PCs and Macs got better, and networks got faster, content changed
iPad for Kids
from static text and images to dynamic applications and multimedia
experiences. The nature of the content grew much more diverse, rang-
ing from the very good to the very ugly.
“Ugly” is not just a judgment on the taste or attractiveness of the con-
tent; it also means the content can be very unsafe for your computer and
its data. Viruses, Trojans, and other forms of computer malware can lie
hidden on even the most reputable of Web sites, if they’ve been hacked.
Tech Term: Malware
Malware is short for malicious software, and it describes any software
that tries to get at your system and the information contained within.
Some people classify spam messages as malware, but spam is just
annoying, not a true threat.
Apple, particularly with its iPhone and iPad devices, has decided to leave
the one-window-to-the-Internet approach behind and change to a more
managed content approach. Safari, a traditional browser, is still avail-
able, of course, but other apps on the iPad family (and iPhone) present
Internet content to you in very managed, “clean” environments. The
analogy used today is the “walled garden”: nature is still seen and
enjoyed, but in a controlled fashion, not all wild and messy.
As adults, you and I may or may not agree with the walled garden
approach, since some would see this as strangling freedom, but the good
news is that you can either use this approach or abandon it and surf the
Internet normally with the Safari browser. As parents and teachers, let’s
face it: there is a compelling argument for using individual apps to visit
the Internet. The level of content control is much greater and can give
parents a better sense of what their kids are seeing.
This is a tricky area, of course. Privacy, freedom of exploration, protec-
tion—these are all areas parents struggle with, especially when it comes
to the Internet. What works for me and my family, for instance, may not
sit well with your value system. We have a managed, age-appropriate
system in the Proffitt household. My youngest in elementary school had
regimented access to the Internet—only allowed to visit certain sites—
until recently, when we started letting her explore a bit on her own. Our
soon-to-be-in-high-school middle daughter has pretty much unlimited
access, though her mother and I have discussions with her about what’s
happening with the social media sites like Facebook. We don’t pry too
much, but we do look for signs of trouble. Our oldest, about to go to col-
lege, has had free rein for quite a while.
42
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
However you want to approach the Internet, you will need to apply your
values to the way the iPad gives you the Internet: processing content that
is also segmented into defined channels. Instead of one-size-fits-all
applications that manage different types of content, iPad apps work by
piecing out content based on the app used. For example, this app does
music, that app does video, while this one over here takes care of news.
Before we get to the Internet, it’s important to connect to a more local com-
puter, your iTunes-based PC or Mac. This was already done in Chapter 1,
“First Step: Introducing the iPad,” when you first configured your iPad,
but now it’s time to learn more about what iTunes can do for you.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Connect to and sync with iTunes.
5 Connect to the Internet with WiFi.
5 Connect to the Internet via 3G service.
5 Troubleshoot Internet connectivity.
Connecting to iTunes
Because of the connectivity the iPad has to the Internet, it is possible to
use iTunes with the iPad or iPad 2 just once in its operational life—at
the very first configuration described in Chapter 1. Many people will do
this, since music, videos, and applications you get with iTunes on a com-
puter can also be purchased and downloaded “over the air” with iTunes
on the iPad.
For casual use only, this approach is fine. But there is another good rea-
son to use iTunes: even if you don’t download a lot of content, syncing
with iTunes will give you the very important benefit of backing up all
of your iPad device’s data.
As nice as the iPad and iPad 2 are, the truth is that things can—and
will—go wrong. Your device could be dropped. Or damaged. Or lost.
Even less drastic problems might happen—a poorly put-together app
could freeze the iPad, and the only way to stop the problem might be to
restore the device back to its original factory state (though thankfully
such problems are very rare now). When that happens, having a backup
of your iPad’s data and settings is a great thing because you can direct
iTunes to restore your data and put you right back where you were, with
no loss of data.
For this reason alone, it is strongly recommended that users regularly
sync the iPad with iTunes.
43
iPad for Kids
Auto and Manual Syncing
Synchronizing the iPad with iTunes is very simple, as demonstrated in
Chapter 1: just plug one end of the USB/docking cable into the Dock
port and the other end into the PC or Mac with iTunes installed. This will
immediately start iTunes and begin the syncing process, as shown in
Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1
Syncing the
iPad.
Depending on how long it’s been since you last synced your iPad, this
operation could take anywhere from one to several minutes. As it is sync-
ing, your iPad will show a sync variation of the Lock screen, preventing
you from working with the iPad until the sync process is completed. You
can use the slide control to stop the synchronization, and most of the
time this can be done with no ill effect. However, if you have a lot of
data to back up, or you’re adding or removing a lot of data from the iPad,
stopping in mid-sync is not recommended.
After the sync operation is complete, you can disconnect the iPad from
the computer. If you leave it connected, you can use iTunes to configure
the iPad and the synchronization process.
With the iPad still connected to your iTunes-equipped computer, click
the name of the iPad in the Devices section. The iPad’s configuration
pages will appear, as shown in Figure 3.2.
44
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
Figure 3.2
iTunes’ iPad
pages.
In Figure 3.2, the Summary page is displayed. This page reveals a lot of
information about the status of your iPad, particularly the capacity of the
device. If you are wondering if your iPad is running low on memory, this
is the page to check.
The tabs along the top of the iPad window will navigate to other pages
that will let you configure various aspects of the iPad directly from
within iTunes. Click the Info tab, for instance, and you will find a page
that will enable you to configure MobileMe, Apple’s online storage ser-
vice, as well as where the contacts, calendar, and email apps will collect
their data (see Figure 3.3).
Figure 3.3
The iPad Info
page.
45
iPad for Kids
If you make any changes to your iPad configuration anywhere in iTunes,
then the Sync button in the iPad window will change to two buttons:
Apply and Revert (see Figure 3.4).
Figure 3.4
Apply changes to
your iPad.
Revert Button Apply Button
To manually sync the iPad with the new changes, click Apply. To man-
ually sync the iPad at any time, regardless of changes that may or may
not have been made, simply click the Sync button in iTunes.
Choosing What to Sync
The iPad window in iTunes not only lets you configure iPad and its apps
(which will be more thoroughly reviewed in Chapter 4, “Fourth Step:
Using the iPad Apps”), but it also synchronizes file types from the iTunes
computer to the iPad. This is important, especially if you have a very large
collection of music or video files. Even at a maximum of 64GB, the iPad
may not have the capacity to hold your entire multimedia collection. Or,
if it does, it may not leave you enough room for apps or other data.
To demonstrate, let’s specify which music files will be moved to the iPad.
1. With the iPad still connected to your iTunes-equipped computer,
click the name of the iPad in the Devices section. The iPad’s
Configuration window will appear.
2. Click the Music tab. The iPad Music page will appear (see Figure 3.5).
46
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
Figure 3.5
The iPad Music
page.
3. Click the Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres option. The
Options windows will appear, as shown in Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.6
Choose the
music you want
to sync.
4. In the Genres window, select the Classical option.
5. Click Apply. The music on your iPad will now include only the
songs in this genre (see Figure 3.7).
47
iPad for Kids
Figure 3.7
Making music
fun.
5
NOTE Mixing Your iPad Music
You can select music to sync to the iPad based on individual artists or
any playlists you’ve created in the iPad or iTunes.
Restoring the iPad
As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, you can use iTunes to restore your
iPad to either completely new factory settings (which is useful if you’re
going to sell the iPad and want none of your personal data on the device)
or to the last backup you made.
Care must be taken that you only perform a restore operation when
absolutely needed. This is a last-ditch solution for resolving issues with
the iPad, mainly because it can take a very long time to restore the iPad.
Still, if all other options are exhausted, restoration can be a big help
putting your iPad to rights.
1. With the iPad still connected to your iTunes-equipped computer,
click the name of the iPad in the Devices section. The iPad’s
Configuration window will appear.
2. In the Summary tab, click Restore. A confirmation dialog box will
appear (see Figure 3.8).
48
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
Figure 3.8
Confirm that you
want to restore
the iPad.
3. Click Restore. The confirmation dialog box will close, and the
restoration process will begin.
5
CAUT
ION Do Not Disconnect
Do not disconnect the iPad from the iTunes computer during restora-
tion. Ever. No matter how long it takes. An incomplete restoration could
create more problems on your iPad.
4. Once the restoration process reaches the halfway point, you will be
asked to restore the device to factory new settings or from your last
backup. Click the From backup option and then click Restore.
At the end of the lengthy restoration process, your iPad should be
restored to its last backed-up state.
Using the WiFi Connection
After you have gotten the hang of connecting to iTunes, you should com-
plete the connection circuit and get your iPad out on the Internet.
For iPad WiFi users, there is only one way to connect to the Internet—
joining a wireless network. Luckily, such networks are rather common.
In many countries, high-speed Internet access is provided by Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), such as telephone, cable, or satellite compa-
nies. These large ISPs provide fast Internet connectivity to home cus-
tomers at relatively affordable rates, usually based on usage. Most
broadband consumers have wireless access already, as their Internet con-
nection devices (known as “routers”) provided by the ISPs usually have
connections for network cables (“wired”) to your computer(s) and WiFi.
49
iPad for Kids
If your router supports wireless, it will broadcast a radio signal at a range
of about 50 yards in the clear or throughout a typical two-story home,
depending on the composition of walls, layout, etc. The signal is identi-
fied by a unique label, known as the SSID. The SSID is the name of the
router’s wireless network; think of it as the call letters of your favorite
radio station. Knowing the SSID of your wireless network is important,
although most of the time it will be pretty obvious what the SSID is.
That’s because when devices like laptops and the iPad detect a wireless
network, the device’s software will also see the strength of the network
and whether it’s an open or protected network. If you are using your iPad
in your local coffee shop, for example, you may detect a few nearby
wireless networks, but the strongest one has the SSID “Cup_O_Joe,” so
it isn’t hard to tell in this case.
5 CAUT
ION Make Sure That You Know the Network
If you are at all unsure what the right network is, do not connect to it—
even if it looks right. I was once in a major bookstore chain and noted
the correct SSID was accompanied by one that had a similar name, but
not as strong and not as protected. A little walking around found a
teenager sitting in the stacks with his own router, trying to catch unsus-
pecting customers to log on to his network and thus have their data
intercepted. If you’re not sure, ask the manager. If you are the manager,
periodically check for the presence of SSIDs that look like your own
establishment’s network.name, but not as strong and not as protected.
A little walking around found a teenager sitting in the stacks with his
own router, trying to catch unsuspecting customers to log on to his net-
work and thus have their data intercepted. If you’re not sure, ask the
manager. If you are the manager, periodically check for the presence
of SSIDs that look like your own establishment’s network.
For some networks, you may also need the key to the network. Public
networks or some business networks will provide a completely open net-
work for citizen or customer convenience. You might find the network
to which you want to connect is protected (or locked) by a password,
also known as a key. Before you can connect to the Internet through such
a network, make sure that you have the key.
50
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
5
CAUT
ION Safety First
Unless you are on your own home wireless network, do not conduct
any business or financial transactions on a wireless network—even if
it’s protected. Radio signals can still be received by malicious indi-
viduals and potentially decrypted. Under no circumstances should you
conduct any private business over an open network. Ever.
Once you have the SSID and key in hand, you can connect the iPad to
the Internet quickly.
1. Tap the Settings app. The Settings screen will open.
2. Tap the WiFi setting. The WiFi Networks pane will appear (see
Figure 3.9).
Figure 3.9
The detected
nearby wireless
networks.
51
iPad for Kids
3. Tap the network you want to join. If the network is protected, the
Enter Password form will appear, as shown in Figure 3.10.
Figure 3.10
Protected
networks will
need a
password.
4. Type the password and tap the Join key. If the password is entered
correctly, the network will be joined, as indicated by the check mark
next to the network name.
52
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
One great feature of the iPad is that it will remember networks as you
join them. So once you join networks in various businesses and loca-
tions, the iPad will keep track of them and auto-join them when you
return.
Now that you’re connected to the wireless network, you can start to use
any iPad application that uses Internet connectivity.
5
CAUT
ION PassW0rds R ImportAnT!
Most WiFi systems have a password from the manufacturer built in,
which is generally strong enough to be unguessable. If you change
your system’s password to something that you can remember better,
be sure the password is strong. Don’t use family names, pet names,
birthdates, or anything easily guessed. Use upper- and lowercase and
throw in a number or two to make it harder to figure out.
Using the 3G Connection
iPad WiFi+3G owners will have the added advantage of being able to
connect to the Internet via a 3G cellular network, just like the one used
by your mobile phone.
There are some important things to keep in mind when deciding to use
the 3G connection. First, cellular connections will never let you work as
fast as a solid WiFi connection. If you never work away from WiFi, then
don’t just activate the 3G for the sake of turning it on.
That said, the cool thing about using the iPad’s 3G connection is that it’s
strictly pay as you go—no contracts needed. You sign up for the service,
and you’re set for the next 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, the plan
will automatically renew, but you can cancel the plan at any time.
In the U.S., 3G service is provided by two carriers, AT&T and Verizon.
Verizon is only available on the iPad 2, and you have to choose between
the two carriers when you first buy the iPad 2. The pricing plans get a
little tricky to compare, because AT&T has two payment options: up
front (pre-paid) or at the end of the month (post-paid), while Verizon is
paid after the month is over (post-paid). So how do they compare?
AT&T is available for both the iPad and iPad 2 and comes in one of two
plans:
5 250MB for 30 days: U.S. $14.99
5 2GB for 30 days: U.S. $25.00
53
iPad for Kids
If you sign up for the 250MB plan and end up transmitting more data
over the network than you planned, you will be asked to pay for the 2GB
option. If you use 2GB up before the end of 30 days, you will have the
opportunity to purchase one of the plans again for another 30-day period.
Under the pre-paid option, if you used 251MB in 30 days, it would cost
$29.98 and 2.1GB would cost $50.00. But if you use post-paid, AT&T tacks
on a $10.00/GB overage charge per gigabyte. This means that 251MB
would still run you about $30.00, but 2.1GB would only be $35.00.
When you just look at AT&T alone, which iPad users will have to do, the
post-paid option is definitely better if you run over your monthly traffic
limit. AT&T 3G plans include unlimited WiFi at all AT&T hotspots, too.
How does this compare to Verizon? All Verizon plans, as mentioned,
iPad
2 are post-paid at
5 1GB for 30 days: U.S. $20
5 3GB for 30 days: U.S. $35
5 5GB for 30 days: U.S. $50
5 10GB for 30 days: U.S. $80
You can see that for just $5 more than the base AT&T plan, you can get four
times the traffic allotment. Add $5 a month to the next level of AT&T, and you
can get 50 percent more than the upper-level AT&T plan. If you plan on doing
a lot of 3G network surfing, Verizon may be a better deal for U.S. citizens.
Canadian residents have similar plans in place through Rogers:
5 250MB for 30 days: C $15
5 5GB for 30 days: C $35
5 NOTE Pricing May Vary
iPad 3G options tend to be affordable in every country where they are
implemented. Note that these are plans for residents of these nations:
these are not roaming charges for, say, U.S. residents traveling abroad,
which are far more expensive.
These prices were valid when this book went to press in the spring of
2011.
54
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
To sign up for 3G in the U.S., follow these steps:
1. Tap the Settings app. The Settings screen will open.
2. Tap the Cellular Data setting. The Cellular Data pane will appear
(see Figure 3.11).
Figure 3.11
Configuring
cellular access.
3. Slide the Cellular Data setting to On.
4. Tap the View Account button. The Cellular Data Account form will
open (see Figure 3.12).
55
iPad for Kids
Figure 3.12
Sign up for a
data plan.
5. Type in the appropriate information, providing an email address and
a password that you will use to log in to the cellular network.
6. Tap the desired data plan. The selection will be denoted by a check
mark.
7. Enter your credit card and billing information.
8. Tap Next. The Terms of Service page will appear.
9. Read the terms and then tap Agree. A Summary page will appear.
10. Confirm your information and then tap Submit. A notification mes-
sage that your account will be updated will appear. Tap OK.
In a few moments, you will receive an Alert message indicating that your
data plan has been activated. Tap OK to close the Alert box.
56
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad
If you want to cancel or change your plan, return to the Settings app, tap
Cellular Data, and then View Account to see the options available to you
(see Figure 3.13).
Figure 3.13
You can always
return to the
Cellular Data
Account form to
change or cancel
your plan.
Troubleshooting Connectivity
There will be times when connectivity may not quite work as hoped.
Different WiFi routers can be configured wrong or have some problems
in the network that might limit your connection. These types of things
are usually beyond your control.
But there are some things you can try if you are experiencing unexpected
WiFi issues.
57
iPad for Kids
5 Be sure you’re on the correct network. If you have joined a net-
work that’s really far away, try joining one that’s closer.
5 Look around. If you are in a public place with lots of laptops and
Internet devices going, the wireless router may simply be overworked.
You may need to wait for some machines to drop off the network.
5 Interference is present. Radio signals can fall victim to any kind of
electromagnetic interference. Metal objects, exposed cables, microwave
ovens… these can all degrade WiFi signals.
5 The router dropped you. Sometimes wireless routers can be flaky.
Try tapping the Settings app, then WiFi, and then the network you’re
currently on. Tap Forget this Network and then follow the steps to
rejoin the network.
Your iPad is pretty adaptive for WiFi conditions, so if you are having
problems, it’s likely the router and not your device. If WiFi problems are
consistent no matter where you try to join, it could be a hardware issue.
Seek out your local Apple service specialist for help.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you found out how to connect your iPad to a local iTunes-
installed computer and how iTunes can help you manage your device.
You also learned how to connect to the Internet quickly and easily using
WiFi access or cellular 3G connectivity.
In Chapter 4, “Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps,” you’ll delve into how
iPad apps can be acquired, managed, and configured.
58
Chapter 4
Fourth Step:
Using the
iPad Apps
S ince the popularity of the iPhone, the advertising catchphrase
“there’s an app for that” has become synonymous with the iPhone
and now the iPad. From games to productivity to content—with the
thousands of apps available, and more coming every day, there almost
is an app out there for any solution you may need.
As part of the “walled garden” approach Apple has toward content, all
applications are only available through the iTunes Store. This central-
store method means that ideally all applications will be checked for sta-
bility, appropriateness, and malicious behavior before they are ever
exposed to the general public. By and large, that has been true to date,
although not every app is necessarily checked for quality and usability.
This is where customer feedback comes into play. Users are able to
quickly rank applications based on a five-star system, as well as provide
detailed reviews on what they liked (and didn’t like) about the app. This
review system is a great way to narrow down the really good applica-
tions for your iPad.
In this chapter, you will discover how to
5 Open and rearrange apps on your Home screen.
5 Switch between apps.
5 Close apps that are having problems.
5 Download free and purchase commercial apps from iTunes.
5 Configure app settings.
5 Remove an app from the iPad.
iPad for Kids
Opening and Arranging Apps
Apps come in all shapes and sizes, but they all share a common feature:
how they are started. From any Home screen, just tap the app’s icon
once. No matter what app you are using, that one action will get the
application started.
The presentation of app icons on the Home screens is initially deter-
mined by the iPad, but you can quickly shuffle them around to the con-
figuration you want.
Moving Apps
To move app icons, long-press any icon on any Home screen. In a brief
moment, you will see the icons start to shake in their positions (see
Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1
Shaky apps,
ready to move.
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Look again at Figure 4.1, and you will note that some apps now have
black X icons. These are apps that can be removed from the iPad. Note
that in this sample configuration, the apps in the Favorite area cannot be
removed. That’s because they are system apps, put on the iPad by Apple,
and not able to be removed.
Regardless of their removability, all apps can be moved to any other part
of the screen. To move an app:
1. Long-press any icon on the Home screen. The icons will begin to
shake.
2. Tap and drag the icon you want to move to another part of the Home
screen.
3. Click the Home button. The apps will stabilize, and the app will
reside in its new position.
Moving an app icon to another Home screen is just as easy. In fact, when
you long-press an icon, notice the Home screen status indicator: it will
have added another empty Home screen to your collection as a potential
destination for any moved app. If you don’t make use of the empty Home
screen, the Home screen indicator will display the same number of
screens you had before the move operation.
1. Long-press any icon on the Home screen. The icons will begin to
shake.
2. Tap and drag the icon you want to move toward the edge of the Home
screen adjacent to the Home screen to which you want to move the
icon. After a pause, the next Home screen will slide into view.
3. Drag the app icon to the desired spot on its new Home screen.
4. Click the Home button. The apps will stabilize, and the app will
reside in its new position.
Storing Apps in Folders
You can also store apps within folders on the iPad screen. This feature
lets you store more apps on a particular screen, and even better, organize
your apps into something that makes a bit more sense. For instance, if
multiple children are using the iPad, you can store each child’s set of
apps within a folder with his or her name on it, so the apps are easy to
locate and use. To create a new folder and name it, do the following:
1. Long-press any icon on the Home screen. The icons will begin to
shake.
2. Tap and drag the icon you want to store in a folder so it is on top of
another icon you want to store in the same folder. After a pause, the
icons will superimpose on one another, and a new folder window
will appear (see Figure 4.2).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 4.2
Creating a new
folder.
3. Drag the app icon to the desired spot within the folder window, as
seen in Figure 4.3.
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.3
Positioning apps
in the folder
window.
4. The iPad will attempt to guess at a suitable folder name, but if it
needs changing, tap the name field and use the keyboard to enter a
new name.
5. Tap Done on the keyboard. The Folder will be renamed, as seen in
Figure 4.4.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 4.4
A new folder, set
and named.
Folders, like app icons, can be moved around to any iPad location,
including the Favorite area, located on the bottom of every Home
screen. The Favorite area will house up to six app icons or folders.
Move any icon to the Favorites by long-pressing it and dragging it to
the Favorite area.
Moving Apps with iTunes
You can also, should you want, use iTunes to move your app icons or fold-
ers around. This is especially useful if you want to do a lot of reorganizing.
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
1. With the iPad connected to your iTunes-equipped computer, click the
name of the iPad in the Devices section. The iPad’s Configuration
window will appear.
2. Click the Apps tab. The Apps page will be displayed (see Figure 4.5).
Figure 4.5
The iTunes Apps
configuration
page.
3. Click the Home screen you want to modify. The Home screen will
appear.
4. Click the app or folder icon you want to move. The icon will be
selected, and the X icon will appear.
5
TIP Move More Than One Icon at a Time
To select multiple icons, hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and
click them.
5. Click and drag the icon(s) to the destination Home screen.
6. Click and drag individual icons to the desired locations on the new
Home screen (see Figure 4.6).
7. Click Apply. The iPad will be synced with the new changes in place
(see Figure 4.7).
65
iPad for Kids
Figure 4.6
The reconfigured
Home screen in
iTunes.
Figure 4.7
The reconfigured
Home screen on
the iPad.
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Get Your Apps
Getting apps for the iPad, whether free of charge or something you pay
for, is always done through the iTunes Store. Fortunately, you can get to
the iTunes Store through your iTunes application on your computer or
over the air using the App Store app on your iPad.
The real trick to getting any app in the first place is finding the right one.
While Apple has made sure that apps in the Apps Store are free of mal-
ware and relatively stable, don’t assume that every app in the App Store
will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, even if it’s in a featured spot
within the App Store.
When you hear about a new app on the Internet or from a friend, read more
than one review about the app from reputable sources. Use your favorite
search engine to locate such reviews or blog entries about the app.
If you still want to try the app, or you’re looking for apps in the App
Store, the next place to check is the review section of the app itself. Look
at the number of positive versus negative ratings, but also read the
reviews. Sometimes disgruntled users will blast an app for some feature
(or lack of feature) you don’t even need. “It won’t scramble eggs!” they
cry. Okay, that’s notable, but you’re just looking for a cool new game
for your kids, so the lack of scrambled eggs is not a problem.
5
NOTE App Review Sites for Kids
Best Kids Apps (www.bestkidsapps.com/) is a very good app review site
for young ones’ apps. Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/) and Engadget
(www.engadget.com/) are also good for general iPad app reviews.
If there is a free version of the application available, definitely try that
one first. It may have limited features, but it should give you a feel for
how the app is put together and if (with the added features) the paid ver-
sion will be a good fit.
One thing to watch out for is the iPhone apps that can run on the iPad.
It doesn’t take too much coding to get an iPhone app to run on the iPad,
but such quick changes will result in an application that’s clearly not
configured for the iPad (see Figure 4.8).
67
iPad for Kids
Figure 4.8
Rhapsody: Great
music app, not
quite ready for
the iPad.
Figure 4.9 displays the 2X effect applied to the Rhapsody app. More
readable, but still not great quality. For this kind of app, the issue is not
a major concern, but for a kid’s game, iPhone-specific apps can be a lit-
tle off-putting.
68
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.9
Rhapsody in
2X view.
You may like the app so much that you will live with this configuration
(at least until the developers come out with a true iPad version). One
way to know if you are getting an app like this is to look for a small “+”
symbol in the app’s download button. This symbol indicates the app was
developed for the iPad and the iPhone. Look at the screenshot of the app
on the app’s download page—many of these dual-platform apps are get-
ting configured properly for iPad display, even if they will also run on
the iPhone.
Each version of the App Store (whether in iTunes or the App Store app)
will have different categories to organize apps. Most of these categories
overlap, but if you are having trouble finding something, try browsing
both stores.
Finally, the Search bar in both versions of the App Store is a powerful
tool for locating apps. This tool will search app titles, keywords, and
descriptions to help you find the appropriate application.
Given all of these ways of looking, it’s going to be relatively simple to
find your app.
69
iPad for Kids
Using the iTunes Application
Though the content of the iTunes version of the App Store is identical
to its iPad counterpart, the iTunes application is best to use when you
are planning on finding and installing a lot of apps. It’s not a question of
speed, but rather organization. You can find, download, and install apps
with the iTunes application and then use the same application to quickly
organize the apps on your iPad.
Here’s how to use the iTunes application to find the popular Netflix app,
which is great for watching kids’ movies and TV programming.
1. Start iTunes on your PC or Mac; then click the iTunes Store link.
The iTunes Store window will appear.
2. Click the App Store tab. The App Store window will appear.
3. Click the iPad button to shift the App Store to iPad apps (see Figure
4.10).
Figure 4.10
The iPad section
of the App Store
in iTunes.
4. Click in the Search Store field, type Netflix, and press Enter. The
results will be displayed, as shown in Figure 4.11.
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.11
Tracking down
Netflix.
5. Click the Netflix app. The Netflix app page will open (see Figure 4.12).
Figure 4.12
The Netflix app
page.
6. To read more about the app, click the More link below the
Description paragraph.
7. To find out how other users liked the app, read the Customer Ratings
section.
8. When satisfied you want to download this app, click the Free App
button. A login dialog box will appear (see Figure 4.13).
71
iPad for Kids
Figure 4.13
You must log in
to the iTunes
Store for every
app, even the
free ones.
9. Enter your ID and Password information for the iTunes Store and
click Get. The app will be downloaded.
10. The next time you sync with the iPad, the new app will be loaded
5
onto the iPad.
TIP Redeem Your Gift Cards
If you have an iTunes Gift Card or Gift Certificate, click the Redeem
link on the home page of the iTunes Store; then provide your gift card
information. If you purchase an app, you will be given the choice to use
the redeemed gift card amount or the payment method associated
with your iTunes account.
Using the App Store App
Finding and installing an app from the iPad is just as easy as using the
iTunes application. Let’s track down the Discover app, which is a cre-
ative way to view Wikipedia articles in magazine format.
1. Tap the App Store icon to start the App Store (see Figure 4.14).
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Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.14
The App Store
app.
2. Tap the Search bar, type Discover, and tap Search. The results will
be displayed, as shown in Figure 4.15.
73
iPad for Kids
Figure 4.15
Tracking down
Discover.
3. Tap the Discover app. The Discover app page will open (see Figure
4.16).
74
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.16
The Discover
app page.
4. To read more about the app, tap the More link below the Description
paragraph.
5. To find out how other users liked the app, read the Customer Ratings
section.
6. When satisfied you want to download this app, tap the Free button
below the large app icon. The button will change to a green Install
App button.
7. Tap the Install App button. A login dialog box will appear.
8. Enter your iTunes Password information for the iTunes Store and
tap OK. The app will be downloaded (see Figure 4.17).
75
iPad for Kids
Figure 4.17
An app being
installed.
Installing App
Updating Apps
As improvements and fixes are made to the applications installed on
your iPad, the App Store will keep track of any new versions for your
installed software, and when they arrive, the App Store app will notify
you with a little red number on the App Store icon (see Figure 4.18).
76
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
Figure 4.18
The number
indicates the
number of apps
to be updated.
Numeric Indicator
1. When such an indicator is visible, tap the App Store icon. The App
Store will open.
2. Tap the Updates icon on the tab bar. The Updates page will open.
3. Tap the Update All button. The App Store will close, and any apps
in the Updates list will be downloaded and installed.
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iPad for Kids
Configuring Apps
Applications in the iPad vary in how they can be configured. Some apps
have just a few configuration settings, if any, so the tools to configure
them will be found in the App itself.
But some iPad apps will send their configuration settings into the iPad
Settings app. If you can’t find configuration settings in your app, check
the Settings app. For this example, let’s configure the Discover app.
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the Discover setting. The Discover setting pane will open (see
Figure 4.19).
Figure 4.19
An example of
an app’s
configuration
settings.
78
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps
3. Tap Article Font Name. The Article Font Name pane will open.
4. Tap the font you would like Discover to use. The font will be
selected.
5. Tap the Discover back arrow to return to the Discover setting pane.
6. When your configuration is complete, click the Home button. The
settings will be made in Discover.
Removing Apps
If you find you’re not using an app, you can easily opt to remove it from
your iPad. In this example, let’s remove the Netflix app because you’re
too busy working to use this cool service.
1. Long-press the app you would like to remove. The apps will begin to
shake, and removable apps will be indicated by a black X indicator.
2. Tap the Netflix app. A confirmation dialog box will appear (see
Figure 4.20).
Figure 4.20
Confirm you
want to delete
an app.
3. Tap Delete. A rating dialog box will appear.
4. Tap the stars to set the rating (see Figure 4.21) and then tap Rate. The
dialog box will close, and the app will be removed from your iPad.
5. Click the Home button. The app icons will stabilize.
Figure 4.21
Give your
outgoing app a
fair rating,
which will show
up in the iTunes
Store.
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iPad for Kids
5 NOTE Gone, but Not Forgotten
When an app is removed from the iPad, it will still be maintained in the
iTunes Library on your computer. To completely remove the app, click
the Apps link in iTunes, select the app, and press Delete. You will be
asked to confirm the action, and whether or not you want to keep the
app’s files or move them to the Recycle Bin. Select the option you want,
and the app will be completely removed from your Library.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you’ve learned how to acquire, manage, and configure
new apps for the iPad. In Chapter 5, “Work the Web: Safari,” you’ll
explore the Internet with the iPad’s powerful Safari browser.
80
Chapter 5
Work the
Web:
Safari
T here’s a lot of jargon coming up. But follow along and soon you
will know more about the Internet than you ever thought you
could—or wanted to.
Browsers have actually been around for a long time, but were never
really called browsers. Instead, they were called text readers or read-
only applications, because what these programs did was open simple
files of text and let someone read them—like a book. These programs
were on computers called dumb terminals.
It seems odd to call a computer dumb, but compared to the computers
used today, these computers weren’t very smart. All they did was dis-
play information from big, monster servers called mainframes that were
the size of an average living room. These servers weren’t all that smart
either, but they were good enough to take a lot of information and help
people make sense of it.
The problem was that all these dumb terminals could only talk to the
servers they were connected to. There was an Internet back then, but
there was no World Wide Web. Internet traffic was mainly limited to
message and file transfers, using arcane tools such as Usenet, Archie, or
Gopher. If you know what those are, and don’t work with computers full
time, go audition for Jeopardy. Now.
iPad for Kids
The Secret Origins of the Web
In 1990, a scientist in Switzerland, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, got a brilliant
idea. What if you could read files on any computer connected to the
Internet anytime you wanted? You could put those files on a special
server with just one job: showing those files to anyone who asked for
them. Sir Berners-Lee, who was knighted for his work at the CERN
institute, knew this idea would only work if all of these files were made
readable by any computer.
So Sir Berners-Lee suggested that people use HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) files. Because they are essentially plain old text files, HTML files
could be read by any computer, would let people create any content they
wanted, and would have hyperlinks—something that would revolutionize
the way people absorbed material, since hyperlinks would let you jump
around from file to file without having to remember file names.
Here Come the Browsers
Browsers were built to read all of these new HTML files. As with the
dumb terminals, Sir Berners-Lee just wanted people to read information
quickly in files—not change their content. So he and his colleagues fig-
ured out a way to make a program that did nothing but read and display
HTML files. Other people got involved and made the application read
more complicated HTML code.
People began calling the information on the Web page and calling the
process of reading those pages browsing—and that’s where the browser
name comes from. Later, when the general public started using the Web
and skipping from file to file quickly, the verb browsing got morphed
into surfing. The name browser stuck, though, because it still describes
more accurately what this type of application does. You can call any pro-
gram like this a browser, of course. A program that does nothing but
show pictures could be a picture browser. But these days the name is
more synonymous with Web browsers, such as the iPad’s Safari.
As the Web grew more popular, organizations and schools were quick
to see the value of the Web—first, as a way to communicate more
robustly with customers; then as a platform to get work done. Web
browsers became useful not just for looking at the Web, but also as tools
to learn and teach across every part of the world.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
In this chapter, you will find out how to
5 Navigate Web sites.
5 Manage bookmarks and history.
5 Use multipage browsing.
5 Search for content.
5 Customize your browser experience.
Navigating Web Sites
Browsing is more than just tapping through a collection of hyperlinked
files. What really makes the whole thing work is the Uniform Resource
Locater (URL). URLs are pseudo-English labels that make it possible to
find and retrieve resources across the Internet in a consistent, predictable,
well-defined manner. Every Web server has an IP address, but that’s just
a big collection of numbers. URLs make it easy for regular folks to type
an address into the Address bar of Safari and bring up a page.
Of course, when you look at URLs such as www.llanfairpwllgwyngyll
gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/, using the IP address
might actually be a blessing, but for the most part, URLs are easier.
5
NOTE I Can’t Make This Stuff Up
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a
village on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales that currently holds the
Guinness record for the longest English place name. The village’s Web
site holds the record for the longest valid URL. Try to get your kids to
pronounce that one. I’ll let you know when I can.
Ready, Set, Browse
You can begin browsing with Safari as soon as you start the app. If the
iPad is not connected to the Internet yet, Safari will prompt you to make
that connection.
1. Tap the Safari icon. Safari will start (as shown in Figure 5.1).
83
iPad for Kids
Back Multiple Pages Share Address Bar Search Bar
Forward Bookmarks/History Reload
Figure 5.1
The Safari
browser.
2. Tap the Address bar and then the clear field icon so the URL in the
field is removed and the keyboard appears.
3. Type the URL for the Web site you want to visit in the Address bar.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
5
NOTE A Helping URL Hand
You do not have to type the URL identifier http:// before a Web site
address. Safari will fill it in for you.
You also don’t have to type in the full address every time you visit a Web
site, thanks to the AutoFill feature in the Address bar. Just start typing the
URL, and Safari will display a list of similar URLs for you to choose from.
4. Tap Go to visit the new page.
5. Long-press a highlighted or underlined hyperlink. An action menu
will appear, giving you the options to open the link, open the link in
a new page, or copy the link (see Figure 5.2).
6. Tap Open to go to the new page.
Figure 5.2
A hyperlink
action menu.
85
iPad for Kids
Navigating the Web
After you have been browsing for a while, you may need to go back to
a Web page you visited earlier in your current browser session. Two con-
trols, the Back and Forward icons, will enable you to navigate through
the pages you have visited.
Note, however, that navigation through Web pages is not tracked for
every Web page you visit during a session. Safari uses a sequential nav-
igation method that tracks only the pages along a particular path. For
instance, assume you were browsing Page A, then Pages B, C, and D.
On Page D, you found a hyperlink back to Page B and clicked it to visit
that page. Now, from Page B again, assume you went off and visited
Pages E and F. If you were to use the Back icon in this session, the order
of pages that would appear for each click of the Back icon would be F
to E to B to A. Pages C and D, because they were on another “track” of
browsing, would no longer be a part of the browser’s navigation, even
if you were to cycle forward through the same pages again using the
Forward icon.
One of the nicer features of the iPad is its capability to call up Safari
whenever any hyperlink or Web page shortcut is tapped—in any app.
That capability is particularly handy when using the Mail app, where
you often receive URLs from colleagues.
Another useful feature in Safari is its capability to zoom in on any Web
page. There are two ways to go about this while browsing.
The first method is the reverse pinch, or fanning, technique. To zoom in,
simply tap the section of the page you want to enlarge and move your
fingers apart. The page will zoom in as long as you move your fingers
out. Reverse the move to a pinch and zoom back out.
The second method is double-tapping on a particular section of the page.
Safari will automatically zoom in to have that section of the page fill the
screen. This is particularly useful when visiting a page with a section of
useful content surrounded by images and ads. To zoom back to the full-
page view, double-tap again.
Managing Bookmarks and History
You and I are creatures of habit, and often we find ourselves clinging to
the familiar as we move through our workday. Safari accommodates this
trait with its Bookmarks feature. Bookmarks are markers that, when
selected in a menu or clicked in the Bookmark toolbar, will take you
directly to the Web page you want—without typing the URL address.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
You can create a bookmark very easily in Safari. Then, when you need
to, you can open up a page with just a couple of taps.
To open a bookmark, tap the Bookmark icon and select the bookmark
you want from the action menu (see Figure 5.3). If there is a bookmark
within the Bookmark bar, all you need to do is tap it.
Figure 5.3
The Bookmarks
action menu.
When you find a page you want to save, you can bookmark it and add it
to your bookmark collection.
1. From a page you want to save, tap the Share icon. The Share action
menu will open (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4
The Share action
menu.
87
iPad for Kids
2. Tap Add Bookmark. The Add Bookmark pop-over will appear (see
Figure 5.5).
Figure 5.5
The Add
Bookmark
pop-over.
3. Confirm or edit the name of the bookmark you want to use.
4. Tap the Bookmarks control if you want the bookmark to appear
somewhere other than the main Bookmark menu and then tap a new
location.
5. Tap Save. The bookmark will be added to the desired location (see
Figure 5.6).
New Bookmark
Figure 5.6
The new
bookmark in the
Bookmark bar.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
Organizing Bookmarks
As time goes on, you may find your collection of bookmarks has grown
quite a bit. Safari includes a way to organize bookmarks in a way that
makes the best sense for you.
1. From any page, tap the Bookmark icon. The Bookmark action menu
will open.
2. Tap the Edit button. The action menu will shift to Edit mode.
3. Tap and drag the Move icon on any item to move it up or down the
list of bookmarks. The Move icon is denoted by three horizontal
lines.
4. Tap the New Folder button. The New Folder pop-over will appear.
5. Type a Title for the new folder and tap Bookmarks. The new folder
will appear in the Bookmarks action menu.
6. Tap a bookmark’s Delete icon; then tap the Delete button. The book-
mark will be removed.
7. Tap Done. The menu will reflect the changes you made.
Bookmarks on the Home Screen
You can also put bookmarks on any of the Home screens. When they
appear on a Home screen, bookmarks are referred to as Web Clips.
1. From a page you want to save, tap the Share icon. The Share action
menu will open.
2. Tap Add to Home Screen. The Add to Home popover will appear
(see Figure 5.7).
3. Edit the name of the Web Clip icon and tap Add. The Web Clip icon
will be added to a Home screen.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 5.7
The Add to
Home popover.
If you’ve been browsing around a while, and just can’t seem to remem-
ber that site you visited a couple of days ago (and naturally forgot to
bookmark), you can use Safari’s History feature to track that site down.
1. From any page, tap the Bookmark icon. The Bookmark action menu
will open.
2. Tap the History folder. The History action menu will open (see
Figure 5.8).
3. Tap the page you want to revisit. The page will open in Safari.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
Figure 5.8
The History
action menu.
If you want to clear the history in Safari, the fastest way to accomplish
this is through the History action menu.
1. From any page, tap the Bookmark icon. The Bookmark action menu
will open.
2. Tap the History folder. The History action menu will open.
3. Tap the Clear History button. The Safari history will be erased.
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iPad for Kids
Browsing Many Pages at Once
Many PC and Mac-based browsers have a feature known as tabbed
browsing, which enables the user to access multiple pages at once.
Safari on the iPad doesn’t feature tabs per se, but it does include a mul-
tiple page tool that will let you handle up to nine pages at the same time.
1. From any page, tap the Multiple Page icon. The multipage view will
open, as shown in Figure 5.9.
Figure 5.9
The multipage
view.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
2. Tap any page. The page will open in full view within Safari.
3. Tap the Multiple Page icon again. The multipage view will open.
4. Tap the New Page rectangle. Safari will open without a page loaded
(see Figure 5.10).
Figure 5.10
Safari ready to
open a new
page.
5. Type a URL in the Address bar or tap a bookmark. The page will
open.
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iPad for Kids
If you tap the Multiple Page icon once more, you will see the page dis-
played as one of the minipages. To remove a page, tap the black X icon
to remove the page.
Searching for Content
Finding things on the Web used to be very easy; with only 500 or so Web
sites in existence in the early ’90s, you could almost index them by hand.
It’s true, I remember those days.
Today, there are billions of Web pages and finding useful things can be
daunting sometimes, even with a good search tool. Safari has a Search
bar that uses the most powerful search tool around, and also enables you
to choose the search engines you prefer.
Using the Search bar is easy: just type in what you are looking for and
press Enter. By default, the Search bar connects to the Google search
engine, and it will display the results of your search in a new tab.
5 TIP Suggestive Searches
Safari will suggest search terms similar to what you type, in an effort
to save you time. If you see the term you were looking for in the
menu, tap it to start the actual search.
To change search engines, you need to use the Settings app.
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the Safari setting. The Safari settings pane will open (see Figure
5.11).
3. Tap the Search Engine setting. The Search Engine pane will open.
4. Tap one of the three available options. The selected search engine
will be indicated by a check mark.
5. Click the Home button. The new search engine will be used in
Safari.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
Figure 5.11
The Safari
settings.
Customizing Your Browser
Whenever you travel extensively on the Internet, you’re bound to run
across a few common bumps in the road that could slow you down.
Fortunately, Safari has some settings that will smooth out the ride.
One such feature is the AutoFill tool. AutoFill’s job is to help you fill in
those registration or payment information forms you might run into
while surfing the Web. AutoFill uses your own Contact information to
provide information for those forms when you come across them.
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iPad for Kids
5 CAUT
ION Identity Alert
Using AutoFill is handy, but be aware that if your iPad falls into some-
one else’s hands, Safari could fill in your personal information, includ-
ing passwords for sensitive data. It’s something to keep in mind when
deciding whether to use AutoFill.
To activate AutoFill, follow these steps:
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the Safari setting. The Safari settings pane will open.
3. Tap the AutoFill option. The AutoFill screen will appear.
4. Slide the Use Contact Info control to On. The My Info control will
activate.
5. Tap the My Info control. A menu of your contacts will appear.
6. Tap the contact that represents you. That contact will appear in the
My Info control.
7. Slide the Names and Passwords controls to On. This will keep track
of any login names and passwords as you enter them.
8. Click the Home button. The changes will be saved.
Stop Playing Whack-a-Mole
Pop-up windows can be the bane of your Web experience or a vital tool.
Disreputable sites can use them as forced advertising, but legitimate sites
also have a use for them. Depending on your Web habits, you may or
may not want pop-ups blocked, which is Safari’s default setting. Here’s
how to turn blocking off:
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the Safari setting. The Safari settings pane will open.
3. Slide the Block Pop-ups control to Off.
4. Click the Home button. The change will be saved.
Come to the Dark Side, We Have Cookies
Cookies are another piece of Web technology that can help or hinder
your Web experience. Cookies are little bits of tracking code that Web
sites will “hand” you when you visit. They can enhance your surfing,
because when you return to the site, it will “remember” you and your
preferences because of the cookie your browser has received from the
earlier visit.
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Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari
The problem is that cookies can represent a security threat because any
site can use a cookie to track where you have been on the Web even after
you leave the site. Cookies can also be used as delivery mechanisms for
some pretty nasty malware. Safari will give you the options not to accept
cookies, pick them up just from sites you’ve visited, or pick them up
from any site at all.
Of all of these options, the visited site option is probably the best compro-
mise, but it’s a matter of personal preference. To change the cookie setting:
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the Safari setting. The Safari settings pane will open.
3. Tap the Accept Cookies control. The Accept Cookies pane will open.
4. Tap the option you prefer. The selected option will be denoted by a
check mark.
5. Click the Home button. The change will be saved.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned some of the finer points of operating the
Safari browser, a flexible and fast window to the Internet.
In Chapter 6, “iBooks for Reading,” you’ll find out how the iPad per-
forms as an electronic book reader, which will let you and your child
read whole libraries of books and magazines wherever you go.
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Chapter 6
iBooks
for Reading
I t’s a bit embarrassing for a writer to admit, but my kids didn’t used
to like to read. Their mother and I tried everything: rewards, cajol-
ing, positive reinforcement—the works. Nothing really seemed to click.
They could read; they just didn’t want to.
But then our oldest discovered some books about wizards. And later our
middle daughter found some other books about vampires and wolves. I
know, wholesome fare this was not. But it got them hooked, and it made
them see there was a whole world of imagination inside those pages, not
just boring words.
We’re still waiting for the lightbulb to come on for our youngest, who
is learning English as her second language. But we know it will come.
We may hope it will be something great, like stories about a little pio-
neer girl on a lonely prairie. But it could just as well be books about a
kid who runs around in his underwear as a super-hero.
Great literature is just that: great. But before a love of literature, kids
need to learn to love the process of reading, and the joy of discovering
something new inside those pages. It helps when they see their parents
reading, too, because reading can be a shared experience.
The iPad’s form factor makes it an ideal device for reading electronic
books—something we all figured out as soon as the iPad was announced.
And these books can be for your child or you, because there’s no offi-
cial end to when you can learn something new.
iPad for Kids
Although access to buying books is limited to WiFi or a paid 3G plan,
it’s still very easy to get a copy of the latest bestselling kid’s book, edu-
cational reference, or a nice novel for the parents on the iPad in seconds.
In this chapter, you will learn how to use the iBooks app to
5 Find electronic books in the iBooks Store.
5 Purchase books for the iPad.
5 Read your purchased books.
Finding Your Reading Material
Finding good books for kids is often a challenge for parents. The best place
to go isn’t online at all: it’s your local library. It may seem a little odd to
mention a place that doesn’t offer eBooks (yet), but your public library is
an incredible source of information on the best books, because they aren’t
trying to push one book’s sales over another. A good local bookstore is
another wonderful resource, too, but sadly those are hard to find.
Your child’s teacher can also help, because she may see the one book
your kid always grabs in the book corner or school library.
Once you find a book, there are some great apps on the iPad to deliver
the book to you in just a few seconds.
iBooks is the free app from Apple that, while not included with the iPad,
is strongly suggested as your first downloaded app when you first con-
nect to the iTunes Store with the iPad. If you didn’t download it then, you
should go ahead and download it to start your iPad reading experience.
1. Tap the iBooks icon to start the iBooks app. The first time it starts,
you will be asked to sync your reading progress and bookmarks (see
Figure 6.1).
5 TIP Syncing Explained
As you read your books, iBooks will keep track of your progress, as
well as any bookmarks you might have inserted in your books. If you
plan to read your book on another iBooks-equipped device, such as
an iPhone, synchronization will enable the other device to pick up
right where you left off on the iPad and copy your bookmarks. If you
don’t have other iBooks devices, tap Don’t Sync.
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Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading
Figure 6.1
Syncing iBooks.
2. Tap the Sync option you want. The primary iBooks screen (an empty
bookshelf) will appear.
3. Tap the Store button. The Store screen will appear (see Figure 6.2).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 6.2
The iBooks
Store.
4. Tap the Search button bar and type the title or author name you’re
looking for. Suggested options will be displayed in the Suggestions
menu as you type.
5. Tap the book or author name that matches your search. The results
will be displayed on the Search screen, as shown in Figure 6.3.
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Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading
Figure 6.3
Finding the book
you want.
6. Tap the book you want to view. The book’s pop-over window will
open (see Figure 6.4).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 6.4
The book’s
window.
7. To read more about the book, tap the More link below the
Description paragraph.
8. To find out how other users liked the book, read the Customer
Ratings section.
9. When satisfied you want to buy this book, tap the price button at
the top of the window. The button will change to a green Buy Book
button.
10. Tap the Buy Book button. A login dialog box will appear.
11. Enter your iTunes Password information for the iTunes Store and
tap OK. The book will be downloaded, with the progress shown on
the main iBooks screen (see Figure 6.5).
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Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading
Figure 6.5
Downloading a
book.
5
TIP Redeem Your Gift Cards
If you have an iTunes Gift Card or Gift Certificate, tap the Redeem but-
ton on the bottom of most pages in the iBooks Store and then provide
your gift card information. If you purchase music or videos, you will be
given the choice to use the redeemed gift card amount or the payment
method associated with your iTunes account, which is used by iBooks.
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iPad for Kids
Reading in iBooks
After you have a book downloaded, reading it is simply a matter of tap-
ping the book on the iBooks shelf to open it (see Figure 6.6).
Figure 6.6
Reading a book.
To turn the page of a book forward, flick your finger to the left (as if you
were flipping a paper page). You can also tap the right edge of the page.
To flip back a page, flick your finger to the right or tap the left edge of
the page.
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Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading
Navigating beyond one page at a time can be done a couple of ways. Tap
anywhere on the page to bring up the page controls seen in Figure 6.6.
Then tap the Table of Contents button to view the Table of Contents page.
To move to another location in the book, tap any of the chapter or sec-
tion headers that are visible. The book will be opened to that spot.
If you have any bookmarks inserted in the book, you can use the
Bookmarks page to navigate to that bookmark. Tap the Table of Contents
button and in the Table of Contents page, tap the Bookmarks button. Any
bookmarks in the book will be listed, as shown in Figure 6.7. Tap the
bookmark to view that page.
Figure 6.7
The Bookmarks
page.
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iPad for Kids
You can also use the page turner control found on the bottom of every
page when you tap the page. Tap and drag the rectangular control to
move to the page number you want. When you lift your finger, the
desired page will open.
You can use the Brightness and Text controls to adjust the text size and
display properties of the iBooks app.
If this seems simple, that’s because it was designed to be that way.
iBooks is meant to be simple, so you can do the thing you really need to
do—read.
Conclusion
When you first opened your iPad box from the Apple Store, you were
probably delighted with the ease-of-use and power contained in this
handheld tablet device. The possibilities seemed endless, and reading
books is just one fundamental example.
The iPad can also be a great source of multimedia content to make learn-
ing so much easier and more fun. In Chapter 7, “Multimedia Learning,”
we’ll take a look at one of the most central iPad apps, iTunes, and find
out how to listen to music and watch movies that can increase the oppor-
tunities for your child’s learning experiences.
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Chapter 7
Multimedia
Learning
I n Chapter 1, “First Step: Introducing the iPad,” you learned about the
origins of the iPad and its relationship with earlier Apple devices,
such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
In some circles, the iPad is mocked as a giant iPod Touch, and in some ways
that description has some truth to it. The interfaces are similar, and there’s
quite a bit of shared functionality. If that’s the case, then like the iPod Touch,
the iPad should be able to display multimedia files with relative ease.
And that is right up the iPad’s alley. Since the screen is much larger than its
iPod and iPhone cousins, the iPad does a superior job of showing the latest
movies and television shows with the Videos app. There is also the
YouTube app, which taps into the vast community of video content on
the YouTube Web site. It is also a great music player, thanks to the iPod app.
From an educational perspective, you might not think such apps are
worth much, beyond welcome diversions from a busy day. Okay, there’s
some truth to that, since diversions with the iPad might not be what
you’re looking for. But it’s not all fun and games; being able to listen to
audio books on learning topics or watch informative videos on YouTube
or Videos apps is a great way to teach your child new stuff.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Purchase multimedia content in the iTunes Store.
5 Acquire an audio podcast.
5 Play back multimedia content on the iPad.
5 Find and view YouTube content.
iPad for Kids
Getting Multimedia: iTunes
As you learned in Chapter 4, “Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps,” the
content of iTunes on your desktop machine is identical to its iPad coun-
terpart in terms of apps. This is also the case with music and movies in
the iTunes Store.
Finding and installing multimedia content with the iPad are just as easy
as using the iTunes application. To get an idea of how you can purchase
content for the iPad, here’s how to find and purchase a music album with
the iTunes app.
1. Tap the iTunes icon to start the iTunes app (see Figure 7.1).
Figure 7.1
The iTunes app.
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
2. Tap the Music button on the iTunes toolbar if it’s not on the Music
page already.
3. Tap the Search bar and type in the artist or album name you’re look-
ing for. Suggested options will be displayed in the Suggestions menu
as you type.
4. Tap the artist or album name that matches your search. The results
will be displayed on the Search screen, as shown in Figure 7.2.
Figure 7.2
Tracking down
music.
5. Tap the album or song you want to view. The album’s popover win-
dow will open (see Figure 7.3).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 7.3
The album’s
window.
6. To read more about the album, tap the More link below the iTunes
Notes paragraph.
7. To find out how other users liked the music, read the Customer
Reviews section.
8. When satisfied you want to buy this album, tap the price button at
the top of the window. The button will change to a green Buy Album
button.
9. Tap the Buy Album button. A login dialog box will appear.
10. Enter your iTunes Password information for the iTunes Store and
tap OK. The album will be downloaded, as shown on the Downloads
page (see Figure 7.4).
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
Figure 7.4
Downloading
music.
5
TIP Redeem Your Gift Cards
If you have an iTunes Gift Card or Gift Certificate, tap the Redeem but-
ton on the bottom of most pages in the iBooks Store and then provide
your gift card information. If you purchase music or videos, you will be
given the choice to use the redeemed gift card amount or the payment
method associated with your iTunes account, which is used by iBooks.
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iPad for Kids
The procedure for buying video content, be it movies or TV shows, is
identical to acquiring music. With music, you can buy whole albums or
individual songs (though getting the whole album is typically less expen-
sive per song). If you buy TV shows, you can get one episode at a time
or entire seasons’ worth of content.
Getting audio books also uses a similar process, although usually you
can only buy the entire book. Many audio books have a Preview feature
that allows you to hear some of the content before you purchase it.
iTunes also enables you to download audio or video podcasts, which are
free programs, usually episodic, that cover a huge variety of topics: par-
enting, technology, news, music—if you can think of a topic, someone’s
likely to have done an episode or an entire series of podcasts about it.
To get podcasts for your iPad, follow these steps:
1. Tap the Podcasts button on the iTunes toolbar. The Podcasts page
will open (see Figure 7.5).
Figure 7.5
Tracking down a
podcast.
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
2. Tap the Search bar and type in the topic or program name you’re
looking for. Suggested options will be displayed in the Suggestions
menu as you type.
3. Tap the podcast that matches your search. The results will be dis-
played on the Search screen.
4. Tap the podcast you want to view. The podcast’s popover window
will open (see Figure 7.6).
Figure 7.6
The podcast
window.
5. To read more about the podcast, tap the More link below the pod-
cast's Description paragraph.
6. To find out how other users liked the podcast, read the Customer
Reviews section.
7. When satisfied you want to listen to one of the podcast’s episodes,
tap the episode’s Free button. The button will change to a green Get
Episode button.
8. Tap the Get Episode button. A login dialog box will appear.
9. Enter your iTunes Password information for the iTunes Store and
tap OK. The podcast will be downloaded.
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iPad for Kids
Multimedia Playback: iPod and Videos
One major difference between the iPad version of iTunes and the desk-
top version is that the desktop version allows you to play back videos
and music right from within the iTunes application.
On the iPad, this functionality is not within the iTunes app but instead
is handled by other specialized apps. Any audio files (music, audio pod-
casts, and audio books) can be listened to via the iPod app, and video
content (movies, TV shows, and video podcasts) can be viewed by the
Videos app.
To listen to audio content in the iPod app:
1. Tap the iPod app icon. iPod will open, as seen in Figure 7.7.
Figure 7.7
The iPod app.
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
2. To view the music content by album, tap the Albums button. The
Albums page will appear, as seen in Figure 7.8.
Figure 7.8
The Albums
page.
3. Tap the album to play. The album’s popover window will appear.
4. Tap any song in the album. The album will begin to play from that
point.
5. To stop or otherwise control the playback, tap the album cover. The
playback controls will appear, enabling you to fast forward, reverse,
control volume, and so on.
6. To return to the iPod screen, tap the Back arrow in the lower-left
corner of the screen.
Listening to an audio book or podcast is similar, although these cate-
gories are not as organized as the Music section of the iPod Library, since
typically you will have a lot more songs to organize than podcasts and
audio books. Simply find the book or podcast to listen to and tap it to
start playback.
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iPad for Kids
Watching videos is a very similar experience.
1. Tap the Videos app icon. Videos will open, as seen in Figure 7.9.
Figure 7.9
The Videos app.
2. To view a movie, tap the Movies button. The Movies page will
appear.
3. Tap the video to play. The video’s playback information screen will
appear (see Figure 7.10).
4. Tap the Play control. The video will begin to play.
5. To stop or otherwise control the playback, tap the video. The play-
back controls will appear, enabling you to fast forward, reverse, con-
trol volume, and so on.
6. To return to the playback information screen, tap the Done button.
7. To return to the main Videos screen, tap the Podcasts button.
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
Figure 7.10
The video’s
playback
information
screen.
Internet Video: YouTube
When YouTube first started, it was a site where people with perhaps too
much time on their hands would upload home videos to share with friends
and family. Some of these videos were interesting to more than the
intended audience, and quite soon a community started developing to pro-
duce videos of higher quality and substance than creative wedding videos.
Today, YouTube is an Internet powerhouse, and nearly everyone realizes
its potential as a platform for sharing knowledge. For the cost of mak-
ing a decent video, parents and children can share marketing content
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iPad for Kids
with friends and family on public or private YouTube channels. There’s
no need to worry about distributing these videos because the distribu-
tion platform is already there.
To view YouTube videos on the iPad, you need to use the YouTube app
because they won’t appear within the Safari browser. If you click on a
YouTube link in a Web page, however, the YouTube app will immedi-
ately open and begin playback, so the functionality is, while slower, still
5
seamless.
NOTE Internet Required
YouTube videos require an active Internet connection to work, so plan
your viewing time accordingly.
If you want to look for and view videos from within the YouTube app,
follow these easy steps:
1. Tap the YouTube app icon. The YouTube app will open (see Figure
7.11).
2. Tap the Search bar and type in the topic you’re looking for.
3. Tap the Search key. The results will be displayed on the Search
screen.
4. Tap the video you want to view. The video’s information screen will
open.
5. Tap the Play control to start the video, or wait a few moments and
5
the video should start automatically.
TIP For Best Viewing
For the best viewing of any video content, whether with YouTube or
Videos app, turn the iPad to the landscape position.
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Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning
Figure 7.11
The YouTube
app.
Conclusion
As video and audio content becomes easier for people to create, having
a mobile platform to view or listen to such content is a big advantage.
The iPad will connect you to a myriad of useful content, as well as more
entertaining content to keep everyone engaged.
In Chapter 8, “Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime,” you will learn about a
brand-new multimedia feature for iPad 2 users called FaceTime.
FaceTime uses the dual cameras on the iPad 2 to enable full videocon-
ferencing capabilities with any other FaceTime user, free of charge, from
any Internet-connected location in the world.
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Chapter 8
Virtual
Field Trip:
FaceTime
I n the 21st century, we were all supposed to have flying cars. And
instant-cook kitchens. And video phone calls. So far, it hasn’t been a
great century for futurists who based their ideas on episodes of The Jetsons.
But the new century hasn’t been a complete bust for technology that once
seemed too fantastical to believe: videoconferencing has become a not-so-
rare fixture for boardrooms and high-end school technology centers. This
technology, which uses the ubiquitous Internet to connect dedicated video-
conferencing devices to one another, is a definite step toward the future.
And there is a cost, usually a literal one: such devices are costly and typ-
ically out of the reach of most schools and certainly out of reach for most
parents.
Webcams have been a fair substitute, but they are usually tied down to
stationary machines and are not very portable. They are also typically not
high-quality devices, with configuration sometimes being a challenge.
One of the more innovative features available for the iPad 2 is Apple’s
FaceTime app, which finally delivers the promise of affordable, portable,
and decent quality videoconferencing for individual users. In this chap-
ter, you will learn how to
5 Set up FaceTime.
5 Connect to FaceTime users you know.
5 Make a FaceTime call.
iPad for Kids
What Is FaceTime?
FaceTime is not something new to the iPad 2, although the new iPad is the
first model that can actually use it, thanks to the new on-board front- and
rear-facing cameras. FaceTime was actually created for the iPhone 4 in the
summer of 2010, the first device from Apple to feature a dual-camera setup.
It’s this double-camera configuration that makes FaceTime work so well.
Until recently, most mobile devices, when they had a camera, used a
photo/video capture lens that was located on the back of the device—in
other words, the side of the device that was on the opposite side of the
device’s video screen. Think about a two-video call, and you can quickly
imagine such a situation becoming very awkward, very quickly.
With the iPhone 4, and now the iPad 2, FaceTime can enable you and
your kids to easily engage in video calls with any FaceTime-enabled
device in the world.
But in that statement alone, there are hidden limitations. Note that con-
nectivity is limited to other FaceTime-equipped devices. Right now, that
includes all iPad 2 devices, any iPhone 4 (and beyond), fourth-generation
iPod Touch devices, and any desktop or laptop with Mac OS X 10.6.6 or
higher, so we’re not exactly talking about a small user base.
Still, as of press time, Windows and Linux users were not able to use
FaceTime, and don’t look for FaceTime on the Android mobile platform
anytime soon, either, given the animosity between Apple and Google
over their respective mobile platforms.
This means that as you seek out possible connections for your student,
you will need to deliberately search for other students and classrooms
that have the correct devices.
Another, perhaps more well-known, limitation is the inability for
FaceTime devices to send their signals over any cellular network. This
is likely due to the sheer amount of data each video call creates: upwards
of 3MB per minute. That number may seem a bit abstract, but think
about your own cellular data plan and any financial caps that might exist
with it, and you will quickly see why pushing a FaceTime call of any
significant length could be a very expensive proposition.
That expense is incurred by the cellular carriers, too. Increasingly, data car-
riers in North America, Asia, and Europe are learning that unlimited data
plans will quickly jam their networks with traffic, and they have taken great
pains to limit data traffic to keep their networks clear. This is why, to date,
Apple has been unable to negotiate a plan with any cellular carrier.
The result of this behind-the-scenes technical discussion means that any-
one who is using FaceTime must connect over a wireless network (or, for
Mac users, a wired Ethernet connection will also work). This WiFi-only
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Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime
limitation has gotten quite a bit of knocking in the media, but to be hon-
est, even 3G iPad owners can typically find a wireless network some-
where. Your student, too, is more likely to be at home or school, where
such WiFi networks are common.
The good news is, once you find such a network, it is very simple to set
up a FaceTime connection. But first, you need to configure FaceTime to
be ready to receive and send calls.
Setting Up FaceTime
When you first use your iPad, FaceTime will likely be disabled by default.
That’s because you must register your contact information with the
FaceTime app so callers can reach you. This contact information is in the
form of an email address, one of which must be added to FaceTime.
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the FaceTime setting. The FaceTime sign-in pane will open, as
seen in Figure 8.1.
Figure 8.1
The FaceTime
sign-in pane.
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iPad for Kids
3. Type the email address or user name for your Apple ID into the user
name field.
4. Type your Apple ID password into the password field.
5. Tap the Sign In button. The address confirmation screen will appear
(see Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.2
Confirm the
address you
want to use for
FaceTime.
6. Tap the Next button. The address will be accepted, and the FaceTime
settings pane will appear (see Figure 8.3).
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Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime
Figure 8.3
The FaceTime
settings pane.
If you ever decide to disable your FaceTime app, you can use the
Settings app to manage this.
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will open.
2. Tap the FaceTime setting. The FaceTime settings pane will open.
3. Slide the FaceTime control to Off. FaceTime will be disabled on
your iPad.
Once FaceTime is initially configured, you can give the email address you
entered to associates to use to contact you with their FaceTime devices.
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iPad for Kids
Making a FaceTime Call
Very likely the hardest part of making a FaceTime call is finding some-
one with whom to connect. If your circle of friends and colleagues are
dedicated Apple users, this problem is a bit easier to manage.
To date, there is no app or online directory that enables you to find out
which of your contacts has FaceTime capabilities. You will need to find
them using the old-fashioned way: ask them.
After you identify someone with whom you or your student can connect,
the rest is a breeze.
1. Tap the FaceTime app icon. The FaceTime Home screen will appear
(see Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4
The FaceTime
Home screen.
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Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime
2. Tap a contact with whom you want to connect. The call will imme-
diately start.
3. When the recipient answers, his image will appear in the large
screen and your image will appear in the smaller picture-in-picture,
as shown in Figure 8.5.
Figure 8.5
A call in
progress.
4. When the call is complete, tap the End Call button. The call will end,
and the Home screen will appear.
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iPad for Kids
That’s pretty much it; nothing fancy is needed. The quality settings are
all automatic, though it’s always good to have plenty of light available
when making any video call.
When a call comes into FaceTime, a trilling tone will sound, and you
will be given the choice to Accept or Decline the incoming call. Tap
Accept and the call will begin, as shown in Figure 8.6.
Figure 8.6
An incoming
call.
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Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime
Another feature of FaceTime makes use of the rear-facing camera, so
you can show callers something else while still being able to view them
on the iPad screen. For instance, a student who wants to share an art pro-
ject could use the rear camera to show off her work, while still watch-
ing her caller onscreen.
To use this feature, simply tap the camera switch button during a call. To
reactivate the front-facing camera, tap the camera switch button again.
Video Mirroring with FaceTime
Another new hardware feature of the iPad 2, which hasn’t gotten a lot
of attention yet, is its capability to send the screen content from the
device to another screen, such as a monitor or television screen.
Known as video mirroring, this is very useful if you ever want to run a
demonstration of an iPad app for a class, and it’s ideal for broadcasting
FaceTime calls to many people at once. The iPad could do this, but only
to Apple-compatible devices. The iPad 2 allows video mirroring to a
much larger set of monitors.
To use video mirroring, all you need to do is purchase the correct video
adapter for your iPad 2. If you want to connect to a computer monitor
or TV with a VGA input, you should get the VGA adapter. To connect
to an HDTV, purchase the Digital AV connector. Both of these connec-
tors are available for purchase online at the Apple Web site or at any
Apple retail outlet.
If you have a widescreen monitor, you can set the iPad 2 to feed to it by
following these instructions.
1. Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. The Settings app will
open.
2. Tap the Video setting. The Video settings pane will open, as seen in
Figure 8.7.
3. Slide the Widescreen control to On.
5TIP Video on the Road
If you are connecting to a TV from somewhere other than North
America, you may want to switch the video output to PAL in the Video
settings pane.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 8.7
The Video
settings pane.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned about the newest iPad feature, FaceTime,
and how easy it is to set up and use to contact any other FaceTime user.
The FaceTime app is a great way for kids and students to interact with
friends and family, and even communicate with other students anywhere
in the world. Using the video-out feature, you can send the video feed
from your call to a larger screen or monitor, which will enable a whole
group to view the call easily.
We’ve now reviewed the basics of using the iPad and iPad 2, and now
it’s time to start looking at the apps geared towards children of all ages.
And as you will see in Chapter 9, “Apps for Toddler Learning,” you’re
never too young to start using the iPad.
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Chapter 9
Apps for
Toddler
Learning
F rom about their first second of life, children can communicate. Any
parent will tell you that babies can usually get their intentions
known through crying, gestures, and facial expressions. As they grow,
they will pick up a vocabulary of hundreds of words, which they will
employ to get what they need or want, express their feelings, or simply
make conversation. Sometimes, lots and lots of conversation.
It’s well known that kids’ brains are sponges for languages. As parents,
we see this every single day. But they can’t do it on their own, nor should
they. We, as adults, have a key role in early speech development. This is
why interacting with our children and having them watch us interact with
others is so important. This is true of both verbal and written language.
It’s not about sitting down with them and practicing reading and writing
(though that helps): parents have to convey to their child that such activ-
ities can be fun. Skills are all well and good, but in order for children to
accomplish their best, they need to embrace these activities. Parents can
help make this happen by reading aloud, singing songs, and playing
games with language—anything that can bring the spark of interest to a
child’s mind will help.
At the same time, a whole other set of concepts is being developed in chil-
dren’s brains as they are learning language: the building blocks of math.
iPad for Kids
It starts small, of course: children figure out the differences between
quantities of objects and start to discover patterns in the world around
them. Later, they will start to use these basic foundations to begin work-
ing out problems with those objects.
This stems from a basic need of children to start looking around and get-
ting a sense of order about their world. If the world is in order, then all is
right with said world. Breaking things down into discrete objects and
actions is the beginning of mathematical concepts. The good news is that
just normal everyday activities will nurture the development of these math-
ematical concepts.
Of course, there’s no reason parents can’t help this along, by introduc-
ing activities that can increase a child’s mathematical growth.
Art, particularly visual arts, is also a key aspect of early childhood devel-
opment. Parents all marvel at the pretty scribbles our children lovingly
hand us, perhaps not realizing that any creative effort a child undertakes
has great benefits. Imaginations are stimulated, hand-eye coordination
is improved, and overall expression of concepts is markedly improved.
This is why parents are encouraged to provide as many opportunities as
possible to explore the artistic process.
Such opportunities, really, are what many iPad apps can help you do.
Whether art, language, or math, the right iPad apps will expose a child
to activities designed to gently reinforce concepts parents are also
demonstrating to their children. Using an iPad won’t make your child a
super-genius, but it will give that child a variety of activities that will
help build a love for language, math, and art, even at this early age.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Learn the fundamentals of the alphabet, numbers, and shapes with
Alpha Baby.
5 Build vocabulary with Baby Flash Cards.
5 Start math skills with Toddler Counting.
5 Explore nature with I Hear Ewe.
5 Get creative with Noby Noby Boy and Bubbles.
AlphaBaby: The Joy of Discovery
$app Cost of Alpha Baby: $0.99
One of any child’s favorite early games has to be the classic “peek-a-
boo.” Adults love to play this game because they can immediately evoke
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
a positive reaction from a young child and amazingly, it can be played
for a while without the child losing much interest.
The reason peek-a-boo works so well is that very young children have
an underdeveloped sense of object permanence. You reveal yourself
from behind a blanket or your hands over your face and, for the child,
he is seeing you all over again. Throw in a funny face and a silly voice,
and you’re pure entertainment gold for the child.
Of course, as the child gets older, and the brain starts forming more per-
manent connections, she can figure out that Mommy and Daddy haven’t
really left—they’re just behind the blanket, being silly. A little bit older,
and the child may just look at you as if she’s thinking, “Really, Daddy?”
But there’s another element to the fun of peek-a-boo: the joy of dis-
covering that familiar face all over again. That excitement is something
that carries forward as the child grows older, and indeed can become
the driving force behind much of his behavior as he moves into toddler
and preschool age. That’s why he’ll empty out the cookware cabinet
onto the kitchen floor, because he has discovered a whole new play-
ground of shiny, noise-making objects that (bonus points!) usually bring
the parents running.
AlphaBaby is a remarkably simple app that taps into that excitement of
discovery within a more structured format. Toddlers will experience the
thrill of discovering new and random objects on the screen (they never
know what they’ll see next), with the repetition that will slowly build
connections between the letter, number, or shape displayed and the word
for that object.
Playing with AlphaBaby
As I describe how to play AlphaBaby, please note that it isn’t meant to
be the only way to play with this app. Truthfully, for games like this, it’s
probably best for you to set your child down with the iPad and let her
learn it on her own.
The point of this section is to let you know what the app can do, so if you
sense the child is ready for a new challenge, or is just getting a bit bored,
you can subtly intervene and demonstrate some feature she hasn’t
discovered yet. You shouldn’t have to do that, because the interface on
AlphaBaby is engaging enough that the child should be able to find these
features on her own.
Which is pretty much the whole point.
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iPad for Kids
5
CAUT
ION Safety Always First
Even though the iPad and the iPad 2 each weigh less than two pounds,
there’s still the issue that these devices are essentially hard pieces of
metal and glass. Because of this, here are some important precautions
to take:
5 Always supervise the use of the iPad by a small child.
5 Set the child on the floor when she plays with the device.
5 If you don’t have a case for the iPad, get one and use it. A soft
case will blunt the hard edges.
5 Do not allow small children to play with iPads in moving vehicles
unless the device is anchored.
5 Don’t throw the iPad.
5 Never use an iPad near water.
As you can probably tell, not only will these tips protect the child, but
they will also extend the life of the iPad itself.
Play on AlphaBaby is very simple: when the app is first opened, the child
is presented with a completely blank screen, though a hint for adults
appears on the bottom of the screen in teeny, tiny print (see Figure 9.1).
Figure 9.1
The initial
AlphaBaby
screen, with hint.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
When the player taps the screen once, a random object will appear on
the screen with a voice describing the object. Objects can be a letter,
number, or basic shape (such as a heart, square, or triangle).
As the child continues to tap on the background screen, new objects will
appear. To prevent cluttering, only a set number of objects will appear
on the screen. Once that limit is reached, then the object that appeared
least recently will disappear (see Figure 9.2).
Figure 9.2
AlphaBaby is set
to display just
six objects by
default.
5TIP Take Care Not to Overload
When you first introduce this game to little ones, you may want to use
just one or two object types, not all three. Using all of the objects could
put a young child into overload.
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iPad for Kids
As children continue to play with AlphaBaby, they may discover that
additional gestures will cause the objects on the screen to do interesting
things (as seen in Figure 9.3). Here’s a list of these gestures for adults.
5 Double-tap. Double-tapping on any object will expand it to its largest
size. Double-tapping the object again will shrink it to its smallest size.
5 Pinch. Pinching an object will shrink the object. Pinching multiple
objects will bring them closer together.
5 Fan. Fanning an object will expand the object. Fanning multiple
objects will move them farther apart.
5 Tap and Hold. Tapping and holding an object for a few seconds will
shrink and rotate the object in a cycle, until the object is released.
5 Rotate. Pinching and rotating an object will reorient it on the screen.
5 Swipe. Swiping an object will send it bouncing around the screen.
The object will not, however, interact with other objects.
Figure 9.3
Objects can be
manipulated
quite a bit.
As you can see, there’s a lot for children to do in AlphaBaby, since they
can discover new objects to play with, and then manipulate these objects
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
to their heart’s content. One nice feature is that every time an object is
touched or moved or resized, the app’s voice will describe it again. This
reinforces the connection between language and the object described.
Given the extensive range of actions found in AlphaBaby, it’s clear that
children will be able to find plenty to do with this app. As a parent or
caregiver, you should have little need to help them along. You may,
though, want to customize the app with additional options… including
adding your own voice to the mix.
Setting Up AlphaBaby
As easy as it is to play, AlphaBaby comes with an abundance of settings
for adults to configure. You can customize nearly every aspect of the
application—from the colors of the background and objects to the types
of objects displayed.
To access the settings for AlphaBaby, just tap and hold the upper-left
corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three seconds. When the corner color
changes to green, release the screen, and the Preferences popover menu
will appear (see Figure 9.4).
Figure 9.4
The Preferences
popover menu.
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iPad for Kids
Using this menu, you can configure things easily in AlphaBaby. For
example, there are two distinct narrators available in AlphaBaby: an
adult voice, which is the initial voice heard when the app is first run, and
a kid’s voice. To change the voice, follow these steps:
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Sounds setting. The Sounds menu will appear (see Figure 9.5).
Figure 9.5
The Sounds
popover menu.
4. Tap Kid. The setting will be selected.
5. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the new
setting take effect.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
5TIP Saying Colors
If you would like AlphaBaby to say the color of the object instead of its
name, navigate to the Sounds popover menu and tap the Speak Colors
setting in the Speech section.
Show More Object Types
Although AlphaBaby starts off with letters, numbers, and shapes, that’s
not the limit to the objects it can display. It can also show colors as
objects, as well as pictures you have stored on your iPad.
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Display Options setting. The Display Options menu will
appear (see Figure 9.6).
Figure 9.6
The Display
Options popover
menu.
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iPad for Kids
4. In the Basic Choices group, tap the object types you want
AlphaBaby to use. Tapping a selected item will deselect it.
5. In the Extra Choices group, tap the options you would like to use.
The options are
5 Lowercase Letters. All letter objects in AlphaBaby will appear
in lowercase.
5 Mixed Case Letters. Letter objects will appear in lower- and
uppercase.
5 Alphabet Mode. When letters appear, they will be in alpha-
betical order.
5 Big Numbers. Number objects from 11 to 20 will be added to
AlphaBaby play.
5 Numerical Order. When numbers appear, they will be in
numerical order.
5 More Shapes. Nine more shapes will be added to AlphaBaby
play.
6. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the new
settings take effect.
Showing More Objects
When AlphaBaby is first played, the app displays six objects at a time.
This is easily changed in the Preferences.
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Items Shown setting. The Number of Items Shown menu
will appear (see Figure 9.7).
4. Swipe the picker to select the number of items you want AlphaBaby
to display. AlphaBaby can display 1–8 objects or 10, 15, or 20
objects.
5. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the new
setting take effect.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Figure 9.7
The Number of
Items Shown
popover menu.
Educators and scientists have demonstrated that certain colors, such as
red, black, and white, elicit more visual responses in younger children.
Adults who want to take advantage of this can change the app’s color
scheme or just change the colors to the child’s preferences. Either way,
it’s a simple matter.
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Colors setting. The Colors menu will appear (see Figure 9.8).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.8
The Colors
popover menu.
4. Swipe the picker to select the color scheme for AlphaBaby to dis-
play.
5. To select a single color, select the Choose a Color option to reveal
the Choose a Color popover menu and select the color there.
6. Tap the General back button. The Preferences popover menu will
appear.
7. Tap the Background Color setting. The Choose a Background menu
will appear (see Figure 9.9).
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Figure 9.9
The Choose a
Background
popover menu.
8. Swipe the picker to select the background color for AlphaBaby to
display.
9. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the new
setting take effect (see Figure 9.10).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.10
A new color
scheme (red, in
this case) is easy
to configure.
Starting a Quiz
As a child becomes more familiar with the objects in AlphaBaby, adults
can set up an easy challenge/response game for the child.
AlphaBaby calls this a “quiz,” but it’s nothing so formal. A set of objects
will appear on the screen, and the narrator will ask the player to find a
certain object. If the child correctly touches the right object, a verbal cue
celebrates the success. If not, the child is gently encouraged to try again.
There’s no tracking or grading going on here; this is just a mild chal-
lenge for players, which is why it’s optional in AlphaBaby. When adults
think their child is ready to try it, here’s how to turn on the quiz option:
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Slide the Quiz Mode switch to On.
4. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the quiz
start.
5. Tap the screen once to start the quiz.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Recording Your Voice in AlphaBaby
The narrator voices in AlphaBaby are good and should appeal to most
children. Adults, however, can add their own voices to the app, replac-
ing the narrators’ voices. Many parents can see the appeal in this option,
since younger children will respond more positively to a familiar voice.
To record any new voice into AlphaBaby, you will need to record a sound
clip for each AlphaBaby object with which you want to associate your voice.
You should set aside a little time to do this, since there are 86 objects in
AlphaBaby, not counting any additional pictures you might choose to add
to the app. I’d recommended that you find a quiet space before you record
the voiceovers; iPad microphones are good, but not outstandingly great.
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the object icon on the bottom of the popover menu that you want
to record. The object menu will appear (see Figure 9.11).
Figure 9.11
The Letters
popover menu.
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iPad for Kids
4. Press and hold the object for which you want to record a voiceover.
The Release to Record status indicator will appear at the top of the
menu, as shown in Figure 9.12.
Figure 9.12
Preparing to
record.
5. Release the screen. A recording status bar will appear and begin to
progress.
6. Before the status bar is finished, clearly speak the object’s name.
Your voiceover will be recorded, which will be denoted by a small
audio icon on the object.
7. Tap the object to hear your voiceover and confirm its accuracy and
clarity.
8. Repeat as needed for other objects.
9. To remove a voiceover from an object, tap the Edit button at the top
of the object popover menu. All recorded objects will have a delete
overlay on their audio icons.
10. Tap the icon you want to remove from the voiceover.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
11. Tap Done. The voiceover changes will be made.
12. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu and have the new
settings take effect.
Adding Pictures
Besides the objects that come in AlphaBaby, you can also add your own
personal objects, in the form of pictures stored on your iPad. This is a
great way to deeply personalize the AlphaBaby app, since you can insert
images of people and objects the child is familiar with and help her make
the language connections that much faster.
5TIP Managing iPad Images
This section will assume you have either taken pictures with the iPad
2 or imported them onto either iPad model. For more information
about working with pictures on any iPad, see the “Shutterbugging 101”
section in Chapter 16, “Art Class Without Smocks.”
There really isn’t any limit to the number of pictures you can use in
AlphaBaby; just the amount of memory storage on your iPad will limit
you. Whatever pictures you choose to use, be sure the pictures are clear
in what they represent. You wouldn’t necessarily want to show a picture
of a man on the deck of a boat and have the voiceover describe that pic-
ture as “ocean.”
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Pictures icon on the bottom of the popover menu. The
Pictures menu will appear (see Figure 9.13).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.13
The Pictures
popover menu.
4. To add a single picture, tap the single “+” Add icon. The Photo
Albums popover menu will appear (see Figure 9.14).
Figure 9.14
The Photo
Albums popover
menu.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
5. Tap the album option you want to browse. The album’s contents will
be displayed.
6. Tap the image you want to use. The image will appear in the Choose
Photo popover menu (shown in Figure 9.15).
Figure 9.15
The Choose
Photo popover
menu.
7. Drag, pinch, or fan the image in the menu to size the image so the
main object fills the frame.
8. Tap Use. The properly cropped image will appear in the Pictures
popover menu.
9. Repeat as needed for other pictures.
10. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu.
Adding Multiple Images
You can also add multiple images into AlphaBaby, so you don’t have to
pull images in one at a time.
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Pictures icon on the bottom of the popover menu. The
Pictures menu will appear.
4. To add a photo library, tap the multiple “+” Add icon. An alert box
will appear (see Figure 9.16).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.16
Since photo
libraries can
contain location
information,
AlphaBaby must
warn you
properly.
5. Tap OK. The Use Your Current Location alert box will appear.
6. Tap OK. The Photo Albums popover menu will appear.
7. Tap the album option you want to browse. The album’s contents will
be displayed in the Tap to select popover menu.
8. Tap the images you want to use. The images will be selected.
9. Tap the Add button. The images will be resized and will appear in
the Pictures popover menu.
10. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu.
Adding a Camera Image
iPad
2 If you want, you can use the iPad 2’s onboard camera to capture an
image directly for AlphaBaby.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
1. Tap and hold the upper-left corner of the AlphaBaby screen for three
seconds. The corner will flash green.
2. Release the screen. The Preferences popover menu will appear.
3. Tap the Pictures icon on the bottom of the popover menu. The
Pictures menu will appear.
4. To take a picture, tap the Camera icon. The Camera app will open
(see Figure 9.17).
Figure 9.17
The Camera
app.
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iPad for Kids
5. Tap the Camera icon. The iPad 2 will take the picture, and it will
appear in a Move and Scale window (shown in Figure 9.18).
Figure 9.18
Moving and
scaling a
camera
snapshot.
6. Drag, pinch, or fan the image in the window to size the image so the
main object fills the frame.
7. Tap Use. The properly cropped image will appear in the Pictures
popover menu.
8. Repeat as needed for other pictures.
9. Tap outside the popover menu to close the menu.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Once images are loaded into the AlphaBaby app, you will have to record
a voiceover for each new image object. AlphaBaby cannot assign voice
narration to an object when it doesn’t know what the image is. Follow
the steps in the “Recording Your Voice in AlphaBaby” section earlier in
this chapter to accomplish this task. Say “pineapple.”
Expanding Language: Baby Flash Cards
$app Cost of Baby Flash Cards: Free
While AlphaBaby is an excellent app for getting across the basics of let-
ters, numbers, and shapes, all of the language connections involved are
visual and auditory in nature. The child sees the object and hears the
description.
Other apps go a bit beyond this type of connection and introduce writ-
ten language connections, too. One such app is Baby Flash Cards.
Despite the name, Baby Flash Cards is actually fairly appropriate for
children from one to four years old, though by age four, children may
find this app a bit repetitious.
There are many similarities between Baby Flash Cards and AlphaBaby:
both feature randomized selections of different objects for the child to see
and hear. Baby Flash Cards, however, features many more objects in sev-
eral categories, ranging from animals to musical instruments to foods.
Baby Flash Cards also differs from AlphaBaby in the way that players
interact with the objects. Like the name suggests, Baby Flash Cards pre-
sents the objects solely in flash-card format. This means there is less
opportunity for interaction with the objects.
New objects can’t be added to Baby Flash Cards, but given the sheer
number of objects within the latest version of Baby Flash Cards, there
are more than enough to keep children busy for quite some time.
Playing with Baby Flash Cards
There are two modes for playing Baby Flash Cards, which are clearly indi-
cated on the Home screen of the app (see Figure 9.19): Play and Quest.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.19
The Baby Flash
Cards Home
screen.
5
NOTE An Interesting Look
You can see that Baby Flash Cards has a far different look and feel than
most other iPad apps. That’s likely due to the cultural differences of the
Hong Kong-based developers and artists who worked on the app. For
this book’s purposes, we will try to explain the interface in as familiar
terms as possible.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
In Play mode, the child is presented with a range of flash cards (ran-
domized or otherwise), which advance whenever the player touches the
screen. Audio and written descriptions of the object are given simulta-
neously when the flash card appears in Play mode (see Figure 9.20).
Figure 9.20
A typical Baby
Flash Cards
object.
In Quest mode, play is similar; although when the flash card is initially
presented, no descriptions are given—the child is encouraged to name
the object first himself. Touching the object again will reveal the writ-
ten and audio descriptions.
If, at any time, the child wants to go back to the previous card, he can
tap the back arrow button in the upper-left corner of the screen. To hear
the audio description of the object again, he can just tap the speak icon
in the lower-left corner of the screen.
To return to the Home screen, tap the return icon in the upper-right corner
of the screen.
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iPad for Kids
Setting Up Baby Flash Cards
As with other learning games, the real power of Baby Flash Cards is how
it can be configured. Adults can set up Baby Flash Cards to meet the
needs of the child playing the game.
Tapping on the Settings icon on the Home screen (which looks like a
gear) opens the Settings screen (see Figure 9.21)
Figure 9.21
The Baby Flash
Cards Settings
screen.
Many of the settings are fairly self-explanatory. The switches control
various aspects of both Play and Quest modes of Baby Flash Cards: you
can randomize the order of flash cards, specify the categories that will
appear, and activate program and user voice settings.
5TIP Settings to Grow On
If a younger child is starting to use Baby Flash Cards, you might con-
sider shutting off various categories to keep the game simpler. As chil-
dren mature, adults can activate categories and add to the game’s
repertoire. Just don’t go crazy: little ones may not know what an accor-
dion is, for instance.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Self-Describing Objects in Baby Flash Cards
Baby Flash Cards has the feature that lets adults record their own voices
to describe each Baby Flash Cards object. It also enables the written
descriptions to be edited as well.
You might wonder at this last statement, since an airplane (for instance)
is always going to be described as an airplane. True, but what if your
family refers to such an object as a plane? You can change object
descriptions to match your family’s personal preferences.
Another reason to edit written descriptions: second-language practice.
So instead of “airplane,” it could be “Flugzeug” or “Avion” or
“Aeroplano.” The possibilities are certainly very intriguing, since this
gives Baby Flash Cards the capability to be a perfectly useful foreign
language training device.
Here’s how to set an object’s written and audio description:
1. In the Baby Flash Cards Home screen, tap the Rec icon. The Rec
screen will appear (see Figure 9.22).
Figure 9.22
The Baby Flash
Cards Rec
screen.
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iPad for Kids
2. Tap the first letter of the object you want to edit. The listing will
move down to that section.
3. Tap the Enter your text field for the object you want to edit. The cur-
sor and iPad keyboard will appear.
4. Type the new description for the object.
5. To record a description in your own voice, tap the Microphone icon
for the object. A recording status bar will appear and begin to
progress.
6. Before the status bar is finished, clearly speak the object’s name and
tap the Stop button. Your description will be recorded, and the
object’s Play and Delete icons will be activated.
7. Tap the Play button to hear your description and confirm its accu-
racy and clarity.
8. Repeat as needed for other objects.
5 TIP Recording Tricks
Unlike AlphaBaby, Baby Flash Cards doesn’t auto-edit audio record-
ings to remove silent spaces before and after the word being
recorded. Use the Stop button after describing the object so you don’t
have long pauses in game play.
9. To remove an audio description from an object, tap the Delete but-
ton next to a recorded object. The recording will be removed.
10. To remove a written description from an object, tap the Delete but-
ton inside the written description field. The description will be
removed.
One Counting iPad App! Ah Ha Ha Ha!
$app Cost of Toddler Counting: $0.99
As children conceptually organize the world around them, one of the ear-
liest and easiest ways to organize is through counting. A big reason for
this is the built-in counting equipment we all carry around with us: those
dangly 10 digits at the end of our hands. Younger children have it even
better: with bare feet, they get a bonus 10 toes with which to count.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
You may laugh, but the reason why we use base-10 math is purely
because of the construction of our hands.
There are, naturally, drawbacks to this approach. When children use fin-
gers to count, they may not properly understand that they’re counting
other objects. The fingers are just a proxy. Nor do fingers and toes really
match amounts with Arabic numbers.
Toddler Counting is a very simple app that helps children make those
connections. It lets them count objects on the screen at their own pace,
giving them the opportunity to hear and see numbers as they count.
Playing Toddler Counting is easy. There are two modes of play: Easier
and Harder, as shown in Figure 9.23.
Figure 9.23
The Toddler
Counting Home
screen.
Both modes will depict various objects on the screen and ask the child
to count them. When the child taps on each object, the game will high-
light the object with the next number in the sequence, while the audio
narration will speak the number. Once all the items are counted, the app
will deliver an encouraging audio message, and the screen will display
a new set of objects to count.
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iPad for Kids
Toddler Counting will continue to cycle through object sets indefinitely,
unless the app is exited with the Home button, or the app’s Home screen
is requested by shaking the iPad a couple of times.
The Harder mode is identical to the Easier mode, except that the Easier
mode displays sets of up to 10 objects, with Harder mode displaying up
to 20 (see Figure 9.24).
Figure 9.24
Counting
hamburgers and
other fun
objects.
Hearing the Sounds of the World
$app Cost of I Hear Ewe app: Free
Those of us who were children in the 1960s will appreciate the I Hear
Ewe app, if only because it will bring back memories of a toy from our
childhood: the old Mattel See ‘n Say. You remember them, particularly
the Farmer Says model: point the arrow at the animal on the round face
of the toy, pull the string and “The ducks says… quack, quack, quack.”
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Classic.
I Hear Ewe works in much the same way: the app presents 24 animals
and 12 vehicles in a straightforward grid (shown in Figure 9.25).
Figure 9.25
The I Hear Ewe
screen.
When the child taps an animal or machine, the object expands to fill the
screen, and the voice narrator will introduce the sound the object makes,
followed by the sound itself.
There’s no skill to this app, nor is it expandable. It is, however, multi-
lingual: English is one of four languages available in I Hear Ewe. You
may not want to swap out for a different language, but if you are in a
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iPad for Kids
multilingual home, and want to reinforce another language, this is not a
bad feature. To change the language to Spanish, German, or Chinese,
just follow these steps:
1. Tap the Information icon on the Home screen. The Settings action
menu will appear (see Figure 9.26).
Figure 9.26
The Settings
action menu.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
2. Tap the desired language setting. The setting will be selected.
3. If you just want the app to play an object’s sound, slide the Verbal
Descriptions control to Off.
4. Tap outside the action menu to close the menu.
Play for Creativity’s Sake
Sometimes you just need to play.
Since a large number of apps available for the iPad are games and enter-
tainment apps, this is not exactly sharing anything new. With the right
application on the iPad, you can accomplish pure play while also getting
some developmental growth out of the game as well.
Forever Blowing Bubbles
$app Cost of Bubbles: $0.99
Bubbles is one such game.
There is very little point to Bubbles. But if you are one of those people
who love to pop the bubble-wrap packaging (and you are, aren’t you?),
then the enjoyment of Bubbles will definitely not be lost on you. For
children, it’s pure entertainment.
There are two things you can do in Bubbles: drag your finger(s) across
the screen to create bubbles, then tap the bubbles to pop them with a sat-
isfying, well, pop!
That’s all there is to it. The bubbles on the screen will orient themselves
with gravity, depending on how you are holding the iPad. Eventually, all
of the bubbles will pop on their own (typically in about 8–10 seconds,
depending on the size of the individual bubble), which will return to the
Home screen, until the child creates more bubbles again (see Figure 9.27).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 9.27
Bubbles. C’mon,
you know you
want to pop
them.
This is a pretty little game that should appeal to very young children (and
their parents) while improving hand-eye coordination. If you or your
child’s tastes run a little darker, the game also has the option of display-
ing claymation bubbles with odd-looking faces on them. They’re kind
of creepy, so really young children might not need to see them. If you
have older kids who want to try them out, follow these steps:
1. Tap the Settings icon on the iPad Home screen. The Settings app
will open.
2. Tap the Bubbles option. The Bubbles pane will appear.
3. Tap the Bubble Style option. The Bubble Style pane will appear.
4. Tap the Claymation option to select it.
The next time you start Bubbles, they will look very different, as shown
in Figure 9.28.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
Figure 9.28
These guys are
just a wee bit
creepy.
Stretch Out with Noby Noby Boy
$app Cost of Noby Noby Boy: $0.99
Slightly more complex (and just a bit stranger) is Noby Noby Boy, the
game from Japanese developer Keita Takahashi that breaks the paradigm
of what typical game play is about.
In the game, Boy is a four-legged caterpillar-like creature who can be
stretched, pulled, shrunk, and essentially manipulated as much as you
want on the screen. And that’s pretty much it. As a sort of afterthought
to the game, the more a player stretches Boy, the more hearts are accu-
mulated. These hearts can be transferred to a similar and much larger
creature known as Girl. Girl sits on the planet Earth and as more hearts
are given to her from players all over the world in real time, the more
she grows. Girl has stretched to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and as of
January 2011, Saturn. As of this printing, Girl was on her way to Uranus.
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iPad for Kids
The collaborative effort of the hundreds of thousands of Internet play-
ers affecting the length of a single game element has its appeal for adults,
but it’s the basic play with Boy that will mostly appeal to children.
There’s a lot to do with Boy, since he can interact with (very) random
objects on the screen and be stretched and pulled pretty indiscriminately.
Tapping on any object or screen edge will immediately snap either the
head or tail end of Boy to that object, where he will stick until either
tapped again or pulled hard enough away (see Figure 9.29).
Figure 9.29
Boy can be
stretched to a
child’s
imagination.
There is a drawing mode for Noby Noby Boy, where Boy (or you) can
draw lines and shapes on the screen. This is found by swiping the lower
icon bar to the right and tapping the purple drawing button.
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Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning
If you carry your iPad 2 around, you can even use the onboard GPS sys-
iPad
2 tem to attach one end of Boy to your location on a Google map and let
the other end stretch with you as you travel (as shown in Figure 9.30).
Figure 9.30
Traveling with
GPS and Boy.
For the best benefit, players are simply invited to play with the app, since
the usual goal seeking of most games is very much absent in Noby Noby
Boy. Let your child discover the fun things in Noby Noby Boy. If you
want to follow along and give some guidance, a tap on the Help icon in
the upper-right corner of the screen will reveal a somewhat apathetic
Fairy with some hints.
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iPad for Kids
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few educational and developmental iPad
apps out there for toddlers. Too many to be covered in a single chapter,
that’s for sure. When you explore the app store looking for more apps for
your young child, be sure to look for apps that have as much interactiv-
ity as possible. Also, avoid apps that want you to pay for extras—there’s
little sense in that. Finally, don’t use apps that are strictly educational.
Fun is important, because that will hold the child’s attention longer.
Moving on to Chapter 10, “Apps for Pre-Kindergarten,” we’ll look at
apps that are designed to work well with children who are just a couple
of years away from their first day of school. Apps that will ideally get
them better prepared for that first day.
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Chapter 10
Apps for
Pre-Kindergarten
U ntil recent years, literacy meant the ability to read the printed
word. Kind of like what you’re doing now.
But as technology became more pervasive in our daily lives, the defin-
ition of literacy expanded a bit, to include not only reading the printed
word, but also finding the best way to get the printed word.
Thanks to the Internet, the printed word can be found nearly everywhere,
from millions of online sources. In some ways, this is good: as more and
more children seek online experiences, their overall literacy increases,
if only because so much Internet content needs to be read when con-
sumed. But it brings many people another, new challenge: discerning
what’s worth reading.
Because of this, it’s more important than ever for children to get an early
start on their reading skills
Meanwhile, mathematical concepts continue to expand as children
approach kindergarten. Beyond just the basics of numbers, size, volume,
length, area, shapes, space, and time are concepts that are completely
appropriate for children this age to learn. Having these building blocks
well in hand enables future students to move right into formal math
learning later.
The best part about learning at this age is that learning is almost all com-
pletely fun. Repetition is certainly key, but done within the context of a
fun app on the iPad, it makes the repetition so much easier to handle.
iPad for Kids
The apps in this chapter are appropriate for three- to five-year-old chil-
dren, though some—like Fish School and the Dr. Seuss books—are
geared for the younger end of that age range, with others like What’s the
Difference and Math Magic being flexible enough to use even beyond
this set range and into kindergarten.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Practice the alphabet, numbers, and shapes with Fish School.
5 Explore read-aloud story apps from the mind of Dr. Seuss.
5 Enhance pattern and visual acuity with What’s the Difference?
5 Build math skills with Math Magic.
Fish School: Catching Some Knowledge
$ app Cost of Fish School: $1.99
Put children in front of an aquarium, and they will be mesmerized by the
bright, quick colors darting through the shimmering water. That’s a big
part of the draw of Fish School, the educational app from the uniquely
named company Duck Duck Moose.
Fish School approaches learning through a more traditional method: let-
ters, numbers, and shapes are presented in sequential fashion, enabling
children to see and hear the words for these objects as they play. What
differentiates Fish School from similar apps is the superior animation
and the incorporation of music within the play—a staple of Duck Duck
Moose apps.
The animation within Fish School is a real draw: fish may swim around
in specific patterns, but the water motion as they move and hold in place
is visually quite eye-catching for children.
There are eight modes of play within Fish School to entertain and teach
a child. Within each mode, schools of various fish will swim around and
interact based on the mode of play.
5 ABC. Fish will swim to form the letters of the English alphabet.
5 123. Fish will group themselves into numbers from 1 to 20, with col-
orful fish eggs appearing for counting.
5 Play. As fish casually swim around the screen, tapping them in vari-
ous ways will cause them to react in unique ways. This is purely for
entertainment, and not much learning is found here.
5 Shapes. Fish will organize into one of seven basic shapes.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
5 Musical ABC. As “The Alphabet Song” is sung in the background,
fish will swim into the letters of the alphabet in time with the music.
5 Colors. Various fish will swim across the screen, and when a child
taps one, all of the aquatic life in that color will appear on the screen.
5 Differences. Fish will swim across the screen, with one being out of
place. Tapping the different fish will yield a reward and reset the
screen,
5 Matching. Sixteen fish will appear on the screen for a game of
matching.
When Fish School is first started, the initial screen shows a single fish
laying colorful roe along the sandy sea floor. Tapping each one of the
fish eggs will crack the egg open and let a little fry come swimming out
(as shown in Figure 10.1). The fry will stay in place in an arc pattern, or
will move offscreen when tapped.
Figure 10.1
The initial Fish
School screen.
Tapping the large fish swimming back and forth will start the game, ini-
tially in ABC mode. Each mode of Fish School is entered by tapping the
bubbles on the lower-left corner of the screen, as shown in Figure 10.2.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.2
Fish School in
ABC mode.
The bubbles act as the only game control interface. Parents might get
interested in that sea star sitting in the lower-right corner, but alas, it’s
only a fun bubble generator.
To play the ABC mode, the child can tap the screen anywhere to advance
to the next letter of the alphabet. Tapping on the displayed letter or object
in the upper-left corner will have the narrator give a descriptive mes-
sage, such as “A is for apple.” If you want to step back to the previous
letter, swipe from left to right across the screen.
The 123 mode mode is similar to ABC mode, in that the fish will swim
out in sequential order to form the numbers from 1 to 20. To hear the
number spoken, tap the number in the corner of the screen. Navigation
between numbers is exactly the same as in ABC mode. What’s different
in 123 mode (other than the lack of the sea star) are the rows of roe that
appear on the bottom of the screen that match the number shown.
Tapping any fish egg lets the player hear a sequential count as the eggs
crack open and a fry swims out (see Figure 10.3).
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Figure 10.3
Fish School in
123 mode.
In Play mode, a whole ecosystem of fish swim around the screen to a
classical rendition of “The Alphabet Song.” Tap a fish to have it swim
faster across the screen. Tap and drag a fish to move it onscreen. Tap and
hold any fish to have it grow to rather enormous sizes (see Figure 10.4).
Figure 10.4
Fish School in
Play mode.
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iPad for Kids
Shapes mode is identical to ABC mode, except now the fish are in one
of seven basic shapes (see Figure 10.5).
Figure 10.5
Fish School in
Shapes mode.
Musical ABC mode is the least interactive mode of the game, because
fish will automatically swim into letter patterns to the tune of “The
Alphabet Song.” The only drawback here is that the song will repeat-
edly play until another mode is entered or the app is closed.
Colors mode returns the interactivity, with another set of varied fish
swimming placidly along. But tap one of the fish and all of the fish will
change to the initial fish’s color; then the narrator will describe the color
with a written description on the screen (see Figure 10.6). Tapping any
part of the screen will return the multispecies schools.
Difference mode is an easy game of spot the oddball. As various identi-
cal fish swim around the screen, players must tap the fish that does not
belong. If the tap is successful, a new set of fish will appear to play the
game again (see Figure 10.7).
Finally, there’s Matching mode, which is a simple game of
Concentration, played with eight pairs of objects. On each turn, players
can select two fish to see what’s behind them. When a pair is matched,
they will swim off, making the remaining matches easier to find (see
Figure 10.8).
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Figure 10.6
Fish School in
Colors mode.
Figure 10.7
Fish School in
Difference mode.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.8
Fish School in
Matching mode.
As you can see, the games within Fish School are very simple to play
and understand, which makes it much more appropriate for younger chil-
dren than those about to enter kindergarten. The fun animations and easy
pace of the games should hold kids’ interest while getting across basic
language and math concepts.
Oh, the Apps You Will Use
Currently, there are 20 Dr. Seuss books offered by Oceanhouse
$app Media, with prices varying from $2.99 to $4.99. This is, by app
standards, a little pricey. Compared to the price of an actual
book, though, these are rather reasonable. And these apps do much more
than a book.
For children’s literature, there are few writers who will instantly invoke
the positive feelings that Theodore Geisel has for so many years.
No positive feelings yet? Then perhaps if we refer to Mr. Geisel by his
more popular pseudonym, you’ll have a better reaction: Dr. Seuss.
Until his passing in 1991, Geisel was the prolific creator of 44 children’s
books, most under the Dr. Seuss pen name, though others were used. His
writing and artistic style are instantly recognizable and even today his
stories are loved by children and adults everywhere.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
So when Oceanhouse Media started offering iPad versions of Geisel’s
works, it was little surprise these apps, known as omBooks, would be
among the most popular children’s iPad apps offered.
Each app presents a Dr. Seuss book in a set framework.
5 Read to Me. Readers are read the text of the book. Pages are not
turned automatically, and readers can interact with the page as much
as they want before going to the next page in the story.
5 Read It Myself. Readers read the text of the book themselves. If they
need help, they can tap individual words or whole passages to be read
aloud. Pages are not turned automatically, and readers can interact with
the page as much as they want before going to the next page in the story.
5 Auto Play. Readers are read the text of the book and pages are turned
automatically. Readers can interact with the page, but only before the
next page in the story appear.
What’s really interesting about any of these Dr. Seuss apps is how par-
ents can set the level of interaction with the app. If you just want your
child to read a great story, Auto Play is a good option, because the child
can sit back and enjoy the story.
5TIP Accept No Substitutes
Auto Play is convenient for those few situations where you can’t read
to your child directly, but by no means should it take the place of your
reading to your child. Reading to your children is a great way to bond,
practice your silly voices, and not-so-secretly enjoy the Dr. Seuss
stories of your own childhood.
For very early readers, Read to Me is an excellent choice. The story is
still read to children, but they have the benefit of exploring the environ-
ments of the book. Tap a word in the story to have that word read aloud.
Tap and hold a paragraph to have the paragraph read aloud. Swiping
across the screen will turn the page.
But what’s really neat is what happens when you tap on any object in
the story. The word for the object appears and is read aloud (sometimes
with a sound effect), as seen in Figure 10.9.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.9
That’s one big
cat.
This interactive setting is also available in Auto Play, but it has a time
limit; eventually, the next page is going to appear. In Read to Me, chil-
dren have all the time in the world to play with the elements of the story.
Read It Myself is the mode that will be the best challenge for up and
coming readers. Everything is done by the reader: page turning, explo-
ration, and, of course, reading. But, if readers get stuck on a particular
word, all they need to do is tap the word to have it read. Or tap and hold
the paragraph, and it will be read, too.
With over 20 books available now, and likely more on the way, there’s
a good range of reading levels available, from Dr. Seuss’s ABC to Yertle
the Turtle. Whatever the reading level of your child is, these are great
apps to visit, over and over again.
One of These Things…What’s the Difference?
$app Cost of What’s the Difference? HD: $3.99
One of the ways to practice the powers of observation is to observe.
Watching the world around them is a natural way for kids to learn, since
we are visual creatures by nature.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Of course, are they looking at the world, or seeing it? One fun app to
help them build their powers of observation is What’s the Difference?
What’s the Difference? is an app with simple rules: two very similar pic-
tures are displayed, side by side. Players must then find five things that
are different in each photo within a certain amount of time. Sounds easy,
right? But there’s a catch: the pictures are highly detailed, and some-
times the differences are subtle, as seen in Figure 10.10.
Figure 10.10
Five differences?
Go ahead, find
them.
When What’s the Difference? is first started, the Home screen will let
you start a new game or continue with a game you left earlier, as shown
in Figure 10.11.
Tap the How to Play option to reveal the simple instructions for the app.
One way the game assists you is with hints. Tap the magnifying glass
and a hint will flash on the photo. But be careful: there are only five hints
per game played. Once you’re out of hints, you’re on your own.
To begin play, tap the New Game option, and the three modes of play
for What’s the Difference? will be shown (see Figure 10.12).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.11
The What’s the
Difference?
home menu.
Figure 10.12
Three ways to
play What’s the
Difference?.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
5 Survival. Players get a time limit to find the five differences. If they
don’t find the differences in time, the game is over.
5 Challenge. Players find differences as fast as they can, with bonus
time added for speed.
5 Practice. Sixty seconds are allowed for finding differences in every
picture. This allows for slower play.
To pause any game, tap the red arrow button in the upper right of the
screen to return to the Home screen.
Though the rules of What’s the Difference? are very easy—especially in
Practice mode—this is likely a game that older children will enjoy.
That’s because the pictures are incredibly detailed and the differences
can be hard to find. You may want to play along with your children to
assist them on some of the pictures, until they get the hang of how to
spot differences.
If your children are visually oriented, this is one app that will sharpen
their observational skills.
Abracadabra with Math Magic
$app Cost of Math Magic HD: $0.99
By now, children are likely familiar with basic math concepts like count-
ing, as well as rudimentary addition and subtraction. You can build on
these concepts and start children practicing basic math with Math Magic.
Math Magic has a lot of interesting features that should make it attrac-
tive for parents. The first great feature is its ability to set up the appli-
cation to be personalized for any child playing the app and also able to
receive status reports on the child’s progress in the app via email. This
additional reporting service, plus the flexibility to increase the difficulty
of the questions, makes Math Magic an app that can be used all the way
from preschool to third grade.
Personalize Math Magic
When Math Magic is first started, a splash screen will appear inviting
parents to sign up for the parent reporting service. To start the process,
tap the Yes, I’m a Parent button and then enter your email address in the
appropriate field.
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iPad for Kids
If you are wondering if this is worth the effort, keep in mind that if you
have more than one child at different ages or learning levels, tracking
their efforts within Math Magic is key to accurate tracking. It also makes
Math Magic flexible for a wider range of kids.
In a few minutes, an email will appear in your inbox. Using any email
client, open the email message and click (or tap) the link included in the
message from SmarTots. SmarTots is the third-party service that pro-
vides the reports for Math Magic, along with quite a few other apps. If
you already have a SmarTots account, you can log in to the SmarTots
Web site and the connection to the Math Magic app will be established.
If you are new to SmarTots, you will need to provide a new password to
enable your SmarTots account.
After you create a SmarTots account, you can personalize the game for chil-
dren playing the app, either within Math Magic or on the SmarTots site.
5TIP Keeping to Yourself
If you would rather not divulge your email to a third-party service, your
child can still use Math Magic to its fullest extent. The only features
missing will be reporting and any personalization of the app.
To customize Math Magic for a child:
1. Tap the Parents icon. A confirmation screen will appear (see Figure
10.13).
Figure 10.13
Math proves
you’re a parent.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
2. Enter the answer to the given question within the time limit and tap
Go. A SmarTots screen will appear (see Figure 10.14).
Figure 10.14
Other SmarTots
apps.
3. Tap the My Children option. The My Children page will appear (see
Figure 10.15).
Figure 10.15
Adding a child.
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iPad for Kids
4. If this is the first child to be added, tap the My Child listing.
Otherwise, tap the Add Another Child button. The Edit Children
screen will appear (see Figure 10.16).
Figure 10.16
The Edit
Children screen.
5. Enter the child’s name.
6. If you have a picture of the child, tap the Edit Photo icon. The
Choose image action menu will appear.
7. iPad 2 users can tap Take a picture. A small Camera action menu
2
iPad will appear, which can be used to take a photo of the child.
or
7. iPad users should tap Camera Roll. The Camera Roll action menu
iPad will appear.
8. Tap the photo to use. The photo will appear in the Choose Photo
action menu.
9. Resize the photo until the image of the child appears in the high-
lighted box and then tap Use. The photo will appear next to the
child’s name.
10. To get age-oriented suggestions from SmarTots, tap the Birthday
field. The Enter Your Child’s Birthdate screen will appear (see
Figure 10.17).
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Figure 10.17
The Enter Your
Child’s Birthdate
screen.
11. Use the picker controls to select your child’s birth date and tap OK.
The date will be entered.
12. Tap Submit. The My Children screen will appear.
13. Tap Back to App. The Math Magic screen will appear with a wel-
come message for the child (see Figure 10.18).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.18
The custom
Welcome screen.
Once the SmarTots account is created, you can log on to the SmarTots
site at any time from any browser and navigate to the Reports screen to
see your child’s participation with Math Magic or any SmarTots-enabled
app (see Figure 10.19).
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Figure 10.19
Viewing a child’s
report.
Play Math Magic
Math Magic can be played in one of two ways: Practice mode and
Challenge mode.
Within practice mode, players can select what kind of math problems
they want to solve: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
There is also an addition-subtraction combination option and a random
option that will throw out any kind of question, based on the difficulty
options set.
As children play the game, they will be given a math question and then
can choose from one of four possible answers (see Figure 10.20). Correct
and incorrect answers are tracked in the upper-right corner of the app.
In practice mode, this tracking continues for as long as the child remains
within a certain family of problems (such as addition). If the child
switches to another family, then the tracking is reset.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 10.20
Answering
questions in
Math Magic.
Once a question is answered correctly, the app will present the next ques-
tion in the set. If a question is incorrectly answered, the problem will
remain on the screen until it is answered correctly.
In challenge mode, questions are presented based on the options set by
the parent in the Preferences screen. If challenge questions are set for
subtraction, for instance, then those will be the types of questions pre-
sented, regardless of what family of questions the child was working
with in practice mode.
Challenges are also to be done in a certain amount of time. The initial
time is one minute, though this duration can be changed as well.
Once the challenge is completed, a Great Job splash screen will appear
with the final tally of correct and incorrect problems. Tapping the splash
screen will start another challenge. Challenges will continue until
another type of practice mode problem is selected.
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Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten
Customize Math Magic
As alluded to in the beginning of this section, Math Magic is a game that
can be customized quite nicely for children with any level of math skills.
To customize Math Magic, tap the Preferences icon in the lower-right
corner of the screen. The Preferences screen will appear, as seen in
Figure 10.21.
Figure 10.21
The Preferences
screen.
In the Skill Settings section, you can set the difficulty for practice and
challenge questions to a very exacting level. The Skill Levels will set
the difficulty to predefined settings, but you can tap and slide the
Minimum and Maximum Number controls to set the level of problems
to be easier or harder than these preset levels. You can even add nega-
tive numbers to the mix of questions.
If you want to alter challenge options, tap the duration period you want
for the Challenge Time and choose which sets of questions will be
included in challenges.
191
iPad for Kids
By default, Math Magic is set to proceed to the next game when finished
with a game. If you or your child would prefer to have the control in your
hands, tap the Shake or Click button to determine how a new game will
be started manually.
Another way of increasing the difficulty of the app is removing the mul-
tiple-choice answers for each question. Tap the Manual option, and play-
ers will need to enter their answers directly, as shown in Figure 10.22.
To return to the game, tap the Done button.
Figure 10.22
Answering
questions
directly.
Conclusion
As children get ready for their first day of school, there’s a lot to be said
for preparing them before they walk into their first classroom. The apps
in this chapter are among the best examples of apps that can make that
preparation fun and rewarding.
But the learning with the iPad doesn’t stop when they get to school. In
Chapter 11, “Apps for Kindergarten,” we’ll explore the best apps for stu-
dents in kindergarten and how they can supplement the learning they are
starting to get in their first classroom.
192
Chapter 11
Apps for
Kindergarten
I t is, for many parents, a day yearned for and dreaded at the same time.
The day when their precious child, who has been the center of their
universe for the past five years, leaves home to explore the wide open
world of school. And naptime.
In the United States, kindergarten is a familiar rite of passage for many
parents and children in the fall of their fifth or sixth year, though curiously
kindergarten is only compulsory in 12 states, even though every state-run
school district offers it. For many families, kindergarten is an accepted part
of the learning process, a celebration of their children’s entry onto the edu-
cational path they will be walking for many years to come.
In recent years, kindergarten has moved from more of a transition year
for students to one that acts as a head start for students to get ahead on
their academic careers. Some would argue the thoughts behind these
policies, but this seems to be the reality in many U.S. school districts.
Because of these higher expectations, many parents and teachers are
open to any tools that can help their kindergarteners acclimate.
Now that children are older, they are likely to be much more well versed
in using the iPad, and will feel freer to explore topics and games inde-
pendently. Parents should not worry about this; in fact, they should
encourage a little more independent play. But hey, let’s be clear: there’s
independent, and there’s independent. Don’t give kids so much free
range that the iPad ends up out in the sandbox or in the swimming pool.
iPad for Kids
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Build reading and spelling skills with Word Magic.
5 Practice math and reading with TeachMe: Kindergarten.
5 Create sentences and words with Super Why!.
Word Magic Hocus Pocus
$app Cost of Word Magic: $0.99
Now that letters and phonics are becoming part of your child’s regular
education, it’s a good time to start reinforcing those skills. The Word
Magic app will let your child do just that.
If you have read Chapter 10, “Apps for Pre-Kindergarten,” then Word
Magic will immediately look very familiar to you, since Anusen also
makes Math Magic. Word Magic is very similar to Math Magic in its
look and feel, including the capability to personalize the app for any
child playing it and to use the SmarTots service for status reports on the
child’s progress in the app via email. This additional reporting service,
plus the flexibility to increase the difficulty of the words, makes Word
Magic a flexible app that can be used beyond kindergarten.
Personalize Word Magic
When Word Magic is first started, a splash screen will appear inviting
parents to sign up to the SmarTots parent reporting service (see Figure
11.1). For new SmarTots uses, tap the Yes, I’m a Parent button and then
enter your email address in the appropriate field.
In a few minutes, an email will appear in your inbox. Using any email
client, open the email message and click (or tap) the link included in the
message from SmarTots. SmarTots is the third-party service that pro-
vides the reports for Word Magic, along with quite a few other apps.
If you are new to SmarTots, you will need to provide a new password to
enable your SmarTots account. After you create a SmarTots account, you
can personalize the game for children playing the app, either within
Word Magic or on the SmarTots site.
If you have already signed up for a SmarTots account, within any game
that uses the service, you will be shown a Connect to SmarTots popover
screen that will enable you to simply connect Word Magic to the
SmarTots service (as shown in Figure 11.2).
194
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.1
Establishing a
SmarTots
account.
Figure 11.2
Connect to an
existing
SmarTots
account.
195
iPad for Kids
Tap Connect and Word Magic will be connected to the SmarTots system
(see Step 3 and the next Tip).
To customize Word Magic for a child, follow these steps:
1. Tap the Parents icon. A confirmation screen will appear.
2. Enter the answer to the given question within the time limit and tap
5
Go. A SmarTots screen will appear.
TIP Existing SmarTots Users
If you already have a SmarTots account and tapped Connect when first
starting the Word Magic app, you should start here at Step 3 to con-
tinue the process of customizing Word Magic for your child. If all of
your children are entered, you can skip these steps, as SmarTots will
have already supplied the information.
3. Tap the My Children option. The My Children page will appear.
4. If this is the first child to be added, tap the My Child listing.
Otherwise, tap the Add Another Child button. The Edit Children
screen will appear.
5. Enter the child’s name.
6. If you have a picture of the child, tap the Edit Photo icon. The
Choose image action menu will appear.
2
iPad 7. iPad 2 users can tap Take a picture. A small Camera action menu
will appear, which can be used to take a photo of the child.
or
7. iPad users should tap Camera Roll. The Camera Roll action menu
iPad will appear.
8. Tap the photo to use. The photo will appear in the Choose Photo
action menu.
9. Resize the photo until the image of the child appears in the high-
lighted box and then tap Use. The photo will appear next to the
child’s name.
10. To get age-oriented suggestions from SmarTots, tap the Birthday
field. The Enter Your Child’s Birthdate screen will appear.
11. Use the picker controls to select your child’s birth date and tap OK.
The date will be entered.
12. Tap Submit. The My Children screen will appear.
13. Tap Back to App. The Word Magic screen will appear with a wel-
come message for your child.
196
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Once the SmarTots account is created, you can log on to the SmarTots site
at any time from any browser and navigate to the Reports screen to see
your child’s participation with Word Magic or any SmarTots-enabled app.
Play Word Magic
Word Magic is a flash-card game that can be played in one of two ways:
Practice mode and Challenge mode.
Within Practice mode, players continuously step through the presented
words, each pronounced by the narrator and with one or two letters
missing.
As the child plays the game, he will be given a word with missing let-
ters and can choose from one of four possible letters (see Figure 11.3).
Correct and incorrect answers are tracked in the upper-right corner of
the app. In Practice mode, this tracking continues for as long as the child
plays. Tracking is reset when a new game is started.
Figure 11.3
Spelling in Word
Magic.
197
iPad for Kids
Once a word is spelled correctly, the app will present the next question
in the set. If a word is spelled incorrectly, the problem will remain on
the screen until it is answered correctly.
In Challenge mode, words are presented based on the options set by the
parent in the Preferences screen. If challenge worlds are set for the pho-
netics family, for instance, then those will be the types of words pre-
sented, regardless of what family of words the child was working with
in Practice mode.
Challenges are also supposed to be done in a certain amount of time. The
default time is one minute, although this duration can be changed as well.
Once the challenge is completed, a Great Job splash screen will appear
with the final tally of correct and incorrect words. Tapping the splash
screen will start another challenge. Challenges will continue until
another type of Practice mode is selected.
There are two Game modes within Word Magic: Missing Letters and
Phonetics.
In Phonetics mode, one or two letters will be missing from the words, in
any position within the word. If two letters are missing, those letters will
always be together: all letters must form a single sound, such as “gh,”
“ph,” or “ee.”
Missing Letters mode gives players a little more control over which let-
ters are missing. Tap the buttons on the top of the screen to enable the
different sets of words (see Figure 11.4).
5 _ord. The first letter of each word is missing.
5 w_rd. An interior letter of each word is missing.
5 wor_. The last letter of each word is missing.
5 Random. Any letter within each word could be missing.
In Missing Letters, only one letter at a time will be removed from any
given word. Also, the tracking for each set of words will be reset when-
ever a new set of words is selected.
198
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.4
Choosing
Missing Letters
modes in Word
Magic.
Customize Word Magic
Like Math Magic, Word Magic is a game that can be customized for sev-
eral levels of reading and spelling skill.
To customize Word Magic, tap the Preferences icon in the upper-right
corner of the screen. The Preferences screen will appear, as seen in
Figure 11.5.
In the Answers Selection section, you can choose the Game mode for
the player.
In the Settings for Phonetics mode section, select the types of words you
want to be included in the practice sets. You can even have the game pro-
vide multisyllabic words.
Choosing skills levels is a little more quantifiable in the Settings for
Missing Letters mode section. Parents can select the Maximum Word
length (from three to six letters), as well as one of two levels of difficulty.
If you want to change challenge options, tap the duration period you
want for the Challenge Time, and choose which sets of questions will be
included in challenges.
199
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.5
The Preferences
screen.
By default, Word Magic is set to proceed to the next word when finished
with a word. If you or your child would prefer to have the control in your
hands, tap the Shake or Click button to determine how a new word will
be presented.
To return to the game, tap the Done button.
Build Skills with TeachMe: Kindergarten
$app Cost of TeachMe: Kindergarten: $0.99
Word Magic and Math Magic are great games that target spelling and
math skills for players, respectively, and the SmarTots reporting system
makes these games even more helpful for parents interested in tracking
their child’s learning progress. They are not the only apps that will help
children learn these basic skills.
200
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Part of 24x7digital’s TeachMe series of apps, TeachMe: Kindergarten
combines learning of math and spelling with reading by adding Dolch
sight words to the app. And, to make the game more fun for kids, a reward
5
system is used in the app that gives players fun incentives as they go.
TIP What’s a Dolch Sight Word?
If you aren’t familiar with Dolch sight words, they are an educational tool
used in English-speaking countries to teach 220 of the most commonly
used service words found in English text. Because these are so com-
mon, sight words can comprise anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of an
average passage of text.You can see why learning them is a good idea.
Because some Dolch sight words are not intuitively sounded out,
usually educators teach them by rote memorization, hence “sight”
words. For kindergarten, these sight words include “all,” “am,” “are,”
“at,” and “ate”… just for starters.
Configuring TeachMe: Kindergarten
Before your child can play TeachMe: Kindergarten, you will need to set
the app for at least one of the children playing the game. This process
begins from the initial splash screen, shown in Figure 11.6.
1. Tap one of the Empty child icons. The Add Player screen will appear
(see Figure 11.7).
2. Type the child’s name into the Name field.
3. If you have a picture of the child, tap the Photo icon. The Photo
action menu will appear.
4. iPad 2 users can tap Take Photo. A small Camera action menu will
2
iPad appear, which can be used to take a photo of the child.
or
4. iPad users should tap Choose a Photo. The Photo Albums action
iPad menu will appear.
5. Tap the photo album where your photo is saved.
6. Tap the photo to use. The photo will appear in the Choose Photo
action menu.
7. Resize the photo until the image of the child appears in the high-
lighted box and then tap Use. The photo will appear next to the
child’s name.
8. Tap Done on the keyboard. The TeachMe: Kindergarten Home
screen will appear.
201
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.6
The initial
TeachMe:
Kindergarten
splash screen.
Figure 11.7
Adding a player
to TeachMe:
Kindergarten.
202
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
To start playing TeachMe: Kindergarten, tap the player name to open the
player’s Home screen (see Figure 11.8).
Figure 11.8
A player’s Home
screen.
5TIP Paying for Extra Players
While TeachMe: Kindergarten is only $0.99 to purchase, any players
beyond the first player must buy access to the game to play at a cost
of $1.99 each. This should be noted if you plan to have more than one
child play TeachMe: Kindergarten.
Playing TeachMe: Kindergarten
Once TeachMe: Kindergarten is started, each player’s Home screen will
display his individual progress in the four categories of learning used in
TeachMe: Kindergarten.
203
iPad for Kids
5 Math: Addition. Simple addition problems.
5 Math: Subtraction. Simple subtraction problems.
5 Spelling. Filling in missing letters to complete spelling words.
5 Dolch Sight Words. Multiple-choice questions that players use to
identify one of the Dolch sight words.
To begin play, tap the Play icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
A random screen from one of the four learning categories will appear,
as shown in Figure 11.9.
Figure 11.9
A sample
spelling screen.
The animated Mini Mouse will tell the player the instructions for each
screen, but essentially the math and spelling games are played by tapping
and dragging the appropriate number or letter from the choices on the
bottom of the screen to the blank line in the equation or word presented.
For spelling, that is pretty much the extent of the game play. If an incor-
rect answer is given, Mini Mouse will let the player know, and the player
can try again. The player will not, however, have a successful retry
counted for her score.
204
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
In the Math: Addition screens, players can get extra help by adding
objects to the screen and then counting them individually. This is done
by tapping the plus icon on the chute, shown in Figure 11.10. Once all
the objects are added to the screen, they can be counted, thus helping the
player get the correct solution.
Figure 11.10
Add objects to
the screen to be
counted.
Math: Subtraction offers another way to help players get the problems
solved. In Figure 11.11, you can see an example of a subtraction prob-
lem. If players get stuck, they can tap and drag the correct number of
objects into the trash can. Players can then count the remaining objects
by tapping each one individually. This will help them determine the cor-
rect answer to tap and drag to the solution line.
205
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.11
Drop objects
into the trash
can to assist in
counting.
The Dolch sight words offer a completely different way to play. Mini
Mouse asks the players to find a given word in the four choices presented
(see Figure 11.12). Once the correct word is tapped, the problem is solved.
After three correct answers are given, TeachMe: Kindergarten players
are awarded a single coin on the Coin screen, shown in Figure 11.13.
Once a certain number of coins are collected, players can start spending
them on various items like stickers or food for a virtual aquarium’s fishes.
Tap the gift box icon to open the Rewards screen, shown in Figure 11.14.
206
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.12
Choose the right
sight word.
Figure 11.13
Earn coins for
correct answers.
207
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.14
Spend coins for
neat rewards.
To spend coins, swipe the Rewards screen to find the theme in which
you want to purchase reward items. In the Stickers screens, players can
buy theme-based stickers, following these steps:
1. Tap one of the sticker screens. The screen will open to the selected
scene (see Figure 11.15).
2. Tap the grocery cart icon. A screen full of sticker objects will appear
(see Figure 11.16).
3. Tap an object to select it. The scene will change to Mini Mouse ring-
ing up the purchase on a cash register (see Figure 11.17).
208
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.15
An empty sticker
scene.
Figure 11.16
Sticker objects
for a scene.
209
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.17
Purchasing a
sticker.
4. Tap the coin-in-hand button. The sticker will be purchased for the
stated amount and will then appear in the sticker scene.
5. Tap and drag the sticker to place it on the screen.
6. Tap the Exit icon to leave the scene.
Like many kindergarten classrooms, TeachMe: Kindergarten even gives
you an aquarium where you can use your coins to buy sand, plants, food,
and fish. The process is similar to buying stickers, but more coins are
needed. Food can go for as little as one coin, but fish start at five coins.
Rather than the simplistic sticker albums, working with the aquarium
actually gives kids a better feel for saving their funds to buy the various
items for the aquarium, especially food, which doesn’t last forever.
1. In the Rewards screen, tap the Aquarium screen. The screen will
open to the aquarium (see Figure 11.18).
210
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.18
An aquarium to
fill.
2. Tap the Food icon. The aquarium toolbar will appear (see Figure
11.19).
Figure 11.19
Shop or feed
fish.
211
iPad for Kids
3. Tap the Fish Store icon. The Fish Store screen will open (see Figure
11.20).
Figure 11.20
Lots of things
for sale in the
Fish Store.
4. Tap the type of item you want to buy. The products for the type
selected will appear.
5. Tap the item to buy. The shopping toolbar will appear.
6. Tap the grocery cart icon. The scene will change to Mini Mouse
ringing up the purchase on a cash register
7. Tap the coin-in-hand button. The item will be purchased for the
stated amount and will then appear in the aquarium toolbar (see
Figure 11.21).
8. Tap and drag the item to the designated location on the screen. The
item will behave as it would in an actual aquarium.
9. Tap the Exit icon to leave the aquarium.
212
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.21
Get your fish
ready to swim.
Configure TeachMe: Kindergarten
As a parent, you can manage TeachMe: Kindergarten in quite a few ways
to make it more or less challenging for your child.
As the app is played, math and word questions will be “learned” and not
repeated within TeachMe: Kindergarten for the level of play the child is
working with. This setting usually occurs after the question has been
answered correctly a predetermined number of times in a row (the
default is twice). You can control this setting and many more to match
TeachMe: Kindergarten to your child’s pace. To reach the settings for
your child, follow these steps:
1. Tap the Players button on the TeachMe: Kindergarten Home screen.
The Players screen will appear, as shown in Figure 11.22.
2. Tap the player to manage. The player’s Settings screen will open
(see Figure 11.23).
3. To adjust the number of times a question must be correctly answered
to learn it, tap the # to Learn Question option. The # in a row to
Learn screen will appear.
4. Tap the option suited for your child. The option is selected.
5. Tap the back icon. The user Settings screen will appear.
6. To change the number of correct answers a player must have to earn
a coin, tap the # Correct to earn reward option. The # Correct for
reward screen will appear.
213
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.22
The main
Players screen.
Figure 11.23
An individual
player screen.
214
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
7. Tap the option suited for your child. The option is selected.
8. Tap the back icon. The user Settings screen will appear.
9. To customize the questions in a topic, tap the topic option. The Topic
screen will appear (see Figure 11.24).
Figure 11.24
Configure topics.
10. To advance the player to a higher level, tap the Advance to Next
Level button. A confirmation message will appear.
11. Tap Advance to confirm the change. The level will be increased by
one, and a fifth of the questions will be learned.
12. You can see all questions for the topic by tapping the View Questions
option. The topic questions screen will open (see Figure 11.25).
13. Tap on an individual question to change its status. The question’s
status screen will appear.
14. Tap the option suited for your child. The option is selected.
15. Tap the back icon. The topic questions screen will appear.
16. Tap the back icon. The Topic screen will appear.
17. Tap the back icon. The user Settings screen will appear.
18. Tap the back icon. The Players screen will appear.
19. Tap the back icon. The Home screen will appear.
215
iPad for Kids
Figure 11.25
Configure
individual
questions.
Super Learning with Super Why!
$app Cost of Super Why!: $3.99
Sometimes kids just need a hero to show them the way. The PBS chil-
dren’s show Super Why! reveals the adventures of a quartet of (very)
young superheroes who use their literary powers to save the day and
make reading fun.
PBS has expanded on its early childhood program with a great app by
the same name. The app features the four heroes in separate adventures
designed to boost reading, spelling, and sentence construction.
The four games are available from the game’s Home screen (see Figure
11.26). Tapping on each character’s icon will start the respective game.
Each game has a very robust help system, so very little instruction or
configuration is needed.
216
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
Figure 11.26
The Super Why!
Home screen.
5 Super Why’s Story Saver. Sentences are read to the children and
then they are to choose the missing word in the sentence by tapping
it (see Figure 11.27).
Figure 11.27
Super Why’s
Story Saver.
217
iPad for Kids
5 Princess Presto’s Wand Up Writing. Players will listen to the pho-
netic sound of a letter and then tap the letter associated with that sound.
Players can then trace the letter on the screen to write the letter on the
screen, eventually creating a new word, as shown in Figure 11.28.
Figure 11.28
Princess Presto’s
Wand Up
Writing.
5 Wonder Red’s Rhyming Time. Players can listen to a word and then
tap on the rhyming word to progress in the game (see Figure 11.29).
Figure 11.29
Wonder Red’s
Rhyming Time.
218
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten
5 Alpha Pig’s Lickety Letter Hunt. Players are given a letter to find
and then must tap it to continue on the right path and eventually spell
an entire word (see Figure 11.30).
Figure 11.30
Alpha Pig’s
Lickety Letter
Hunt.
All of these games are enjoyable for kindergarteners and slightly
younger children, and should provide a lot of enjoyment while learning.
Conclusion
Kindergarten is an exciting new time for children and parents alike, with
lots of new experiences and learning to do. The apps featured in this chap-
ter are specifically designed to aid kindergarteners practice the skills they
are learning at school and prepare for concepts they will be learning later.
In Chapter 12, “Apps for First Grade,” we’ll explore the best apps for stu-
dents in what is usually the first all-day school experience, where basic
reading and math skills are still taught, as well as more diverse subjects.
219
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Chapter 12
Apps for
First Grade
F or students in the United States, first grade is typically the start of
“real” academic work. In many locations, it means a full day’s
worth of school and new subjects like social studies, science, and even
history in some schools.
By now, students are well on their way to grouping and organizing 100
objects at a time, while also getting a handle on simple fractions, such
as 1/2 or 1/4. They should also be working with addition and subtraction
problems with numbers that can add up to 99.
In language, writing skills are starting to be polished up, with sentence
structure and spelling at the top of the priority list. Story concepts and
creation skills are being learned, and in reading, students are working on
recognizing phonetic parts of words so they can blend the sounds
together when they run into unfamiliar words.
Students exploring history and social studies are focusing on local and
perhaps national history to some extent, and simple geography, such as
directions and map reading. In the U.S., states might be covered as well.
Right now, children will be getting better equipped to separate games for
fun and games for learning when they use the iPad. This is not meant to
be discouraging, but it does mean that parents will need to pay attention
to the apps their children use to be sure they are more engaging.
iPad for Kids
In this chapter, you and your student will learn how to
5 Start creating sentences with Sentence Builder.
5 Practice handwriting skills with Letter Lab.
5 Enhance reading with Phonics Made Easy.
5 Manage higher math concepts with Time, Money & Fractions.
5 Learn about the United States in Stack the States.
5 Explore the planet with Google Earth.
Formulating with Sentence Builder
$ app Cost of Sentence Builder: $3.99
Anyone who’s ever written something down understands that there’s a
big difference between the process of verbal communication and writ-
ten communication. In some ways, verbal communication is a lot eas-
ier: facial expressions and gestures can help get our point across faster,
sometimes, than the written word.
Writing gets short shrift these days in a world where visual media is so
easy. But writing is permanent, and when done correctly can inspire and
inform readers for a long time.
In the first grade, children have started to read with a fair bit of confi-
dence, and they are now able to put words together into sentences. That’s
the object of Sentence Builder, another SmarTots-enabled game
designed to make sentence creation easy.
Personalize Sentence Builder
When Sentence Builder is first started, a splash screen will appear for
players to enter their name. Parents can also sign up for or log in to the
SmarTots parent reporting service (see Figure 12.1).
New SmarTots users can tap the Parents Center button and then enter
their email address in the appropriate field. In a few minutes, an email
will appear in your inbox. Using any email client, open the email mes-
sage and click (or tap) the link included in the message from SmarTots.
SmarTots is the third-party service that provides the reports for Sentence
Builder, along with quite a few other apps.
222
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.1
The Sentence
Builder Settings
screen.
If you are new to SmarTots, you will need to provide a new password to
enable your SmarTots account. After you create a SmarTots account, you
can personalize the game for children playing the app, either within
Sentence Builder or on the SmarTots site.
If you have already signed up for a SmarTots account, within any game
that uses the service, you will be shown a Connect to SmarTots popover
screen that will enable you to simply connect Sentence Builder to the
SmarTots service.
Tap Connect and Sentence Builder will be connected to the SmarTots
system.
To customize Sentence Builder:
1. Enter the child’s name in the Student Name field.
2. Tap the level of play.
3. Tap the desired setting for answer reinforcement.
4. Tap the Play icon. The Play screen will appear (see Figure 12.2), and
the game will begin.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 12.2
Playing
Sentence
Builder.
Once the SmarTots account is created, you can log on to the SmarTots site
at any time from any browser and navigate to the Reports screen to see your
child’s participation with Sentence Builder or any SmarTots-enabled app.
Play Sentence Builder
Sentence Builder is designed to enable students to build sentences—
hence the name. But not just any sentence: constructs must correctly and
grammatically describe an image displayed on the screen.
There are three levels of play that can be used in Sentence Builder:
5 Level 1. The subject and its adjective are fixed. Players must select
the correct modifier and verb for the sentence.
5 Level 2. Players select the adjective, modifier, and verb for a given
sentence, but they may be given just two, three, or five choices for
each sentence component.
5 Level 3. The player chooses each component of the sentence, and has
five choices for each component.
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
It is very important to start out at the beginning levels and not overwhelm
your children. Watch as they learn to determine when they can advance
to the next level.
Figure 12.3 shows a typical Level 1 sentence. “Fish” (the subject) and
“silly” (the adjective) are fixed; players must use the picker wheels to
create a proper sentence with the modifier and verb components.
Figure 12.3
A simple
sentence to
build.
Once a sentence is constructed, the player taps the Select button. If the
sentence is correct, then the app will congratulate the player and (if the
answer reinforcement setting is activated) repeat the correct sentence
back to the player.
If a sentence is incorrect, the app will encourage the child to try again.
When a sentence is completed, the player can tap the Next Sentence but-
ton to get another sentence to build.
To view the progress of your child, you can tap the Stats icon and view
the Stats screen.
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iPad for Kids
For a more complete report (that is properly spelled), tap the Settings icon
and then the Parents Center to get a report from the SmarTots system.
As games go, there are not a lot of rules, but there is a lot to learn as sen-
tences are formed.
Put It in Writing with Letter Lab
$app Cost of Letter Lab: $0.99
There’s another aspect of writing that’s also getting pushed aside these
days because of keyboards on computers and phones: handwriting.
In kindergarten and first grade, print, not cursive, is the rule of the day,
and Letter Lab is a great way of applying the touch-screen technology
of the iPad to practice the skills of handwriting. But first, you will need
to get another piece of hardware for your iPad.
Moving Beyond Fingers
Thus far, every application in this book can be interfaced via the usual
method: your fingers. Letter Lab, however, requires a bit finer control.
Plus, there’s the whole point of the app, which is teaching players to
handwrite using a pen, crayon, or other writing implement. Yes, you can
use Letter Lab with your fingers, but that sort of misses the point.
(Younger children, though, can try Letter Lab and trace letters with their
fingers, just to get an idea of the shape of the letters.)
To get the most from Letter Lab, you will need to get a stylus for your
iPad. A stylus is a pen-sized device that simulates writing on the iPad
screen with a pen.
5 CAUT
ION No Pens Allowed
This is very important: you may get tempted to use an actual pen on the
iPad. Don’t. First, it won’t work: proper iPad styluses use a reactive sur-
face that the iPad can detect. Second, you run a huge risk of scratching
or otherwise damaging the glass on your iPad screen. Styluses are not
terribly expensive, and they’re a good investment to protect your screen.
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
There are a lot of stylus models on the market today, and you are encour-
aged to find one that meets your budget and feels good in your hand.
The Griffin line of styluses definitely bears investigating; they are well-
regarded as solid devices at a mid-range price. Griffin even makes a kid-
friendly stylus known as the iMarker, which fits well with smaller fingers.
Playing Letter Lab
The rules for Letter Lab are straightforward: players are presented with
a page containing a letter of the alphabet, in both upper- and lowercase
form (see Figure 12.4).
Figure 12.4
Writing practice.
Using a stylus, the child can practice writing the letters by tracing over the
letters as often as she likes. When the page is “full,” tap the eraser in the
top-right corner of the screen to clear what has been written on the screen.
Players can use two colors of “crayon” in Letter Lab: pink and blue. Tap
on the desired crayon at the top of the screen to change the color. You
might be attracted to the pencils on the right side of the screen, but
they’re purely decorative (see Figure 12.5).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 12.5
Neatness counts.
To listen to the name of the letter, or the object representing the letter,
again, simply tap it.
Practice is completely open—Letter Lab does not grade a child on her
writing, nor set a time limit on how long she can practice. When the child
wants to try a new letter, she can tap the next letter on the right side of the
screen, or swipe the list of letters to navigate farther down the alphabet.
5TIP Start Writers Off Right
It is very easy for absolute beginner writers to make letters backwards
or start writing in the wrong place. Parents should show their children
how to begin and make a letter before turning them loose.
Settings in Letters Lab are also simple. The only real configuration set-
ting is the audio part of the app.
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
To change your settings:
1. From the iPad Home screen, tap the Settings icon. The Settings
screen will open.
2. Tap the Letter Lab option in the Apps section of the left pane. The
Letter Lab screen will open, as shown in Figure 12.6.
Figure 12.6
Letter Lab
settings.
3. Tap the slider controls to adjust the audio settings as you desire.
4. Tap the Home button to exit Settings. The settings will be applied
the next time you start Letter Labs.
Easing into Reading with Phonics Made Easy
$app Cost of Phonics Made Easy Flash Action: $4.99
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iPad for Kids
Phonics is one of those early school subjects that seems so simple to
adults, who have forgotten how difficult it was at the time they were
learning how to do it.
The phonetic method of learning to read is a time-tested way of figuring
out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word by breaking the word down
into known sounds and then stringing them together into one cohesive
word. In this way, students can figure out letter combinations that may
not be familiar to them, such as “ph” or “qu” that actually sound like “f”
or “kw,” respectively, and then apply that knowledge to a new word.
Like any other subject in school, phonics takes a lot of practice, so kids
can learn these sounds by heart and then pull them out as needed with-
out much thought. Phonics Made Easy provides a game-like interface
that gives students that practice.
When Phonics Made Easy is launched, the player is invited to type his
name on the first screen (see Figure 12.7). The player is then taken to
the first of four game categories.
Figure 12.7
Starting Phonics
Made Easy.
There are no settings to configure in Phonics Made Easy, nor is there
any tracking of how each player is doing. In each category, players are
given a series of challenges, and when they reach a predefined number
of correct questions, they will be awarded a play area associated with
that category.
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.8, for example, shows the first category, Beginning and
Ending Sounds, which requires nine correct questions in the Beginning
Sounds question set to receive a play area and move on to the Ending
Sounds question set.
Figure 12.8
Each question
set features a
variety of
different
challenges.
The instructions for each challenge are audibly given to players. If an
instruction is missed, it will eventually be repeated, or the player can tap
the Help icon and hear it again immediately.
After the player completes the task, tap the OK button in the lower-right
corner. If the challenge was correct, the player will be rewarded with a
marker on the left. Collect the required number of markers, and the play
area will be opened on the right side of the screen, as seen in Figure 12.9.
Play areas feature a variety of activities. The Beginning and Ending
Sounds area enables players to touch paint a picture of an object that
uses a particular beginning sound by tapping on individual colors and
areas of the picture (see Figure 12.10).
Tap on the controls to the left of the picture to change the background,
music, and even animate the picture. Tap the back arrow in the lower-
left corner of the play area to return to the main game.
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iPad for Kids
Play Area Tab
Figure 12.9
Play areas are
unlocked when
question sets are
completed.
Figure 12.10
The Beginning
and Ending
Sounds play
area.
232
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
The four categories of Phonics Made Easy are designed to highlight dif-
ferent skills sets of phonics learning.
5 Beginning and Ending Sounds. Players will learn a variety of begin-
ning and ending sounds, and how they flow within certain words.
5 Long and Short Vowels. “Ay?” Or “ah?” The differences between
long and short vowel sounds are explored.
5 Rhyming Families. Challenges are geared to emphasize words that
rhyme.
5 Blends and Digraphs. Consonant sounds that blend or form digraphs
(two letters that form one sound) are featured in this category. This
could be a bit advanced for first graders, so parents and teachers may
want to give a little instruction on the differences between these two
concepts.
While progress is not formally tracked within Phonics Made Easy, indi-
vidual players’ scores are kept separate, so as players move through the
game, they can always see their own scores.
Get Counting with Time, Money & Fractions
$app Cost of Time, Money & Fractions On-Track: $9.99
Another app from the makers of Phonics Made Easy is Time, Money &
Fractions, which takes a similar approach to learning these mathemati-
cal topics.
There are different levels of Time, Money & Fractions apps available,
so be sure to have the right one for your child’s age level. In this chap-
ter, Time, Money & Fractions for Grades 1–2 is examined.
As with Phonics Made Easy, when Time, Money & Fractions is
launched, the player is invited to type her name on the first screen. The
player is then taken to the place in the game she was in last (see Figure
12.11).
There are some differences between these apps, beyond just the subject
matter. In Time, Money & Fractions, players proceed through more chal-
lenges in each category, and the challenges will have multiple answers
in each one.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 12.11
A Time, Money
& Fractions
money
challenge.
While it initially appears that players must proceed through each of the
categories sequentially, players can, if they want, tap on any one of the
colored horseshoe sections along the bottom of the screen to move to
another subject. From left to right, the topics are
5 Money. Challenges are designed to enable players to count U.S. cur-
rency and add amounts correctly.
5 Fractions. Children are asked to figure out fraction questions, based
on the picture choices they are presented, as shown in Figure 12.12.
5 Time. Players are asked to answer time-based questions, especially
for analog clocks (see Figure 12.13).
The instructions for each challenge are given audibly to players. If an
instruction is missed, it will eventually repeat, or the player can tap the
Help icon on the top-left part of the screen and hear it again immediately.
After the player completes the task, he can tap the Horse character in the
lower-right corner. If the challenge was correct, the horseshoe for the
question will be displayed in green. Incorrect challenges are denoted
with red horseshoes.
Time, Money & Fractions is not all about challenges, however. As the
game progresses, mini-games will pop up for players to do before the
next challenge (see Figure 12.14).
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.12
A Time, Money
& Fractions
fraction
challenge.
Figure 12.13
A Time, Money
& Fractions
time challenge.
235
iPad for Kids
Figure 12.14
One of the
Time, Money &
Fractions
mini-games.
Progress is marked with the horseshoes, but parents can also get a more
detailed report for the player. Tap the stop sign icon to reveal the game
control screen, shown in Figure 12.15.
Figure 12.15
The Time,
Money &
Fractions
control screen.
236
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Tap the certificate to view the player’s detailed progress. To return to the
game, tap the game screen. Parents can also reset their child’s challenges
by tapping the blue reset icon.
Time, Money & Fractions is definitely an educational game, but it blends
in some fun activities to keep players engaged.
Geography Made Fun
Geography, in the past, was something that a lot of first graders didn’t
really need to know too much about. Figuring out where school was in
relation to their home and the nearest playground was more suitable to
this grade level.
The advent of the Internet and instant communications with anyone in
the world have changed that a bit. The capability to connect with any-
one on the planet means that kids need to know more about where these
people are more than ever.
There are two great apps for kids to use to learn geography. The first is
Stack the States, a quiz-based game that lets players test their knowledge
of U.S. geography and learn how to, well, stack U.S. states.
The second is not a straightforward learning app, but still a fantastic ref-
erence tool for all ages: Google Earth.
Learning with Stack the States
$app Cost of Stack the States: $0.99
Of all the apps in this book, Stack the States certainly ranks as one of
the most unique learning apps. The game itself is simple: players are
given multiple-choice geographic questions and if they answer the ques-
tion correctly, they can drop a state that’s the answer to the question onto
a small platform at the bottom of the screen.
Yes, seriously.
The idea of the game is that players should answer enough questions cor-
rectly to obtain enough states to stack them above a line set in the screen,
like the one shown in Figure 12.16.
237
iPad for Kids
Figure 12.16
Answer the
question, get a
state.
The questions may be challenging for first graders to answer alone, so
this may be a game to play as a family activity until children get more
familiar with U.S. geography. Once a player gets a state, it will appear
above the line. Tap and drag the state to the position about the platform
from which you want to try and drop it. Tap and rotate the state using
the white controls surrounding the state to align it as best you can (see
Figure 12.17).
There are some things to note. First, the states are all sized relative to
each other, so smaller states will take longer to stack. Second, all the
states bounce on landing, so dropping states from very high on the screen
could cause the state to bounce off completely, like poor Arizona did in
Figure 12.18.
You can alleviate the bounce problem by lowering the state on the screen
before tapping the Drop It! Button.
Once the states are stacked high enough, the round is over, and players
will be awarded a new random state on their status map, which is dis-
played when the My States button is tapped, as shown in Figure 12.19.
238
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.17
Align states
carefully before
dropping them.
Figure 12.18
Watch out for
bouncing states.
239
iPad for Kids
Figure 12.19
Earn bonus
games by
acquiring
enough states.
Stack the States is a very fun game that even parents might secretly start
playing, too. When students are ready, they can also play the compan-
ion game, Stack the Countries.
Walk the World with Google Earth
$app Cost of Google Earth: Free
Google Earth is an app that, although introduced on desktop computers,
was a perfect fit for iPad users.
The app is an incredibly rich reference tool that enables users to zoom
in and see any part of the world, thanks to a huge database of maps and
satellite photos. It is very similar to the Maps app that comes with every
iPad, but Google Earth makes navigation around this virtual planet a
much smoother experience.
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Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.20 shows a default opening view for Google Earth, high above
North America, which is as good a place as any to start.
Figure 12.20
A view of the
world.
To zoom down to a lower altitude, use the fanning gesture on the iPad
screen. As you get lower, more geopolitical details will become visible,
if you have those details set for display (see Figure 12.21). To zoom up,
pinch the screen.
If you want to zoom in to a specific spot, double-tap the spot on the
globe. The globe will center on the selected region and zoom in closer.
Depending on how detailed the satellite photos are, you can get pretty
close to whatever spot in the world you want to look at (see Figure
12.22). This is great for showing younger kids where places are located
that are very close to home.
Tap in the Search bar and enter a name of a geographic place. If Google
Earth recognizes it, the globe will instantly transport you to that spot (see
Figure 12.23).
241
iPad for Kids
Figure 12.21
Getting closer to
home.
Figure 12.22
Buildings can
show up in
fantastic detail.
242
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade
Figure 12.23
Places near and
far can be found.
There are a variety of layers that can be applied to Google Earth:
Wikipedia entries, photos from users of the group photo-sharing service
Panoramio, and even local businesses. Tap the Layers button to see the
available layers and tap one to view it in Google Earth. Figure 12.24
illustrates the Businesses layer.
243
iPad for Kids
Figure 12.24
Find places to
eat and do
business.
Conclusion
First grade will open up a lot of new learning opportunities for children,
expanding their horizons in ways parents will marvel at. These apps will
definitely help guide their way.
In Chapter 13, “Apps for Second Grade,” we’ll look at apps that take on
even more new subjects, as well as strengthen existing knowledge.
244
Chapter 13
Apps for
Second Grade
A t this age, students are well on their way in their academic careers,
and have moved beyond the basics of reading, writing, and ‘rith-
metic and into social studies and science. The challenges presented in
school are now something that most students can take in stride. They have
been there, done that.
This doesn’t mean that they still don’t need a little help along the way.
Students should understand the basics of reading, which means taking
letter patterns on paper and translating them into spoken language by
using the sounds of letter combinations, word parts, and syllables. That’s
what we call phonics. But sight words are part of the curriculum, to build
their vocabulary, too.
Mathematically, students understand the relationship between numbers,
quantities, and place value in whole numbers up to 1,000. They should
be able to estimate, calculate, and solve problems involving addition and
subtraction of two- and three-digit numbers and solve simple problems
involving multiplication and division. And (believe it or not), the early
precursors to algebraic modeling are being taught at this grade level.
In this chapter, your child will explore
5 Grade-level sight words with Sight Words HD.
5 Building math skills with Math BINGO and Tic Tac Math.
5 The solar system and the entire visible universe with Star Walk.
iPad for Kids
Test Reading with Sight Words HD
$app Cost of Sight Words HD: $3.99
As you may recall from Chapter 11, “Apps for Kindergarten,” Dolch
sight words are an educational tool used in English-speaking countries
to teach 220 of the most commonly used service words found in English
text. Because they are so common, sight words can comprise anywhere
from 50 to 70 percent of an average passage of text.
Because some Dolch sight words are not intuitively sounded out, usu-
ally educators teach them by rote memorization, hence “sight” words.
This is the whole purpose of Sight Words HD, which supplies all of the
Dolch sight words, from pre-primer to third grade, for parents and teach-
ers to test their students’ sight-reading skills.
Sight Words HD is a unique app in this book because it does not directly
engage the student in game play. It is strictly used as a practice tool, and
needs at least a second participant to accurately evaluate students in case
they reach a word they can’t read.
Play Sight Word HD
Working with Sight Word HD is very much a two-person activity. A set
of words is displayed for a reader in a timed session. As the words are
read aloud by the reader, the helper can tap the Next Word button (shown
in Figure 13.1) and move to the next word.
Figure 13.1
Assessing with
Sight Words HD.
246
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
If a reader has a problem reading a word, then the assessor can tap the
Flag Word button, which will save the word in the Flagged Words set so
that it can be reviewed later. As words are flagged, a small indicator will
display the number of flagged words in that session (see Figure 13.2).
Figure 13.2
Challenging
words can be
flagged for later
review.
If a reader gets through the whole set without any flagged words, Sight
Words HD will display a reward splash screen for the reader, as shown
in Figure 13.3.
Figure 13.3
Good
performance is
definitely
noticed.
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iPad for Kids
Starting any assessment is easily done from the Home screen (displayed
in Figure 13.4), which lists just three options: Start Assessment, Flagged
Words, and Setup Words. Tap Start Assessment to begin any new assess-
ment. To review words that were flagged, tap the Flagged Words option
to review that set of words.
Figure 13.4
The Sight Words
HD Home
screen.
During any regular or flagged words assessment, tap the green Exit but-
ton to end the assessment and return to the Home screen.
Set Up Sight Words HD
Much of what makes Sight Words HD a valuable assessment tool is its
capability to set the exact level of words to be tested. You can also add
words for assessment, which greatly increases the flexibility of the app.
All of the configuration settings for Sight Words HD are handled from
the Setup screen. Tap the Setup Words option on the Home screen, and
the Setup screen will appear, as shown in Figure 13.5.
There are different sets of sight words provided by Sight Words HD, dis-
played in the Word Levels section of the Setup screen. To change the set
of words to be provided in an assessment, tap the desired level. The level
will be selected in the Word Levels section, and the contents of the word
set will be shown in the Details section on the right side of the Setup
screen (see Figure 13.6).
248
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
Figure 13.5
Set up Sight
Words HD.
Figure 13.6
All levels are
displayed in the
Details section.
If any words have been flagged within a set of words, they will be listed
in red type within the Details section. If you want to unflag the word,
tap the word in the Details list. To reflag it, tap it again.
The capability to add new words to Sight Words HD is tremendously
helpful, since you can have the child learn a particular set of words in
addition to the standard Dolch words. These might include words that
are culturally or spiritually based, words from a story your child has read
recently, or even family names. To add words to Sight Words HD, you
must first add a new word level to the app, because custom words can-
not be added to the preprovided word levels in the app.
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iPad for Kids
1. From the Setup screen, tap the Add a New Word Level control.
The Create a New Word Level List popover box will appear (see
Figure 13.7).
Figure 13.7
Define a new
word level list.
2. Type a word level list title in the popover box and tap the Accept
button. The new level will be added to the Word Levels section.
3. Tap the new word level. The level will be selected with 0 words dis-
played in the Details section.
4. Tap the Add some new words control. The Add New Words popover
will appear.
5. Type a new word and tap the Add button (see Figure 13.8). The new
word will be added to the list.
Figure 13.8
You’ve got to
start sometime.
250
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
6. Add new words by repeating Step 5. When finished, tap the End but-
ton, and the word list will be displayed in the Details section.
By default, Sight Words HD displays words in assessments in the order
in which they appear in the word list. You can change things up by tap-
ping the Shuffle words slider on the Setup screen. This will scramble the
order of words presented in an assessment, just in case the reader is
memorizing the pattern of words presented.
Fun and Games with Math
Math in the second grade is very much an incremental step of learning,
since many of the same skills learned in earlier school work are still
being used—it’s just that now students are working with larger groups
of numbers.
This means that apps that enable as much practice as possible are impor-
tant for students at this level. Two apps that fit the bill nicely are Tic Tac
Math and Math BINGO.
Xs and Os with Tic Tac Math
$app Cost of Tic Tac Math: $4.99
Starting Tic Tac Math, the initial screen lets players choose the type of
math problems they want to solve, as well as if they are playing against
the game or another player (see Figure 13.9).
Astute observers will also note the presence of the I’m a Parent button,
which indicates that Tic Tac Math is another SmarTots-enabled game.
You can choose to link to the free SmarTots parent reporting service if
you want to track your child’s progress with the math problems pre-
sented in the game. This is the only way you can customize the app for
an individual child, because Tic Tac Math on its own does not provide a
way for the app to follow certain users.
New SmarTots users can tap the I’m a Parent button and then enter their
email address in the appropriate field. In a few minutes, an email will
appear in your inbox. Using any email client, open the email message
and click (or tap) the link included in the message from SmarTots.
SmarTots is the third-party service that provides the reports for Tic Tac
Math, along with quite a few other apps.
251
iPad for Kids
Figure 13.9
Starting Tic Tac
Math.
If you are new to SmarTots, you will need to provide a new password to
enable your SmarTots account. After you create a SmarTots account, you
can personalize the game for children playing the app, either within Tic
Tac Math or on the SmarTots site.
If you have already signed up for a SmarTots account, you will be shown
a Connect to SmarTots popover screen that will enable you to simply
connect Tic Tac Math to the SmarTots service.
Tap Connect and Tic Tac Math will be connected to the SmarTots system.
Once the SmarTots account is created, you can log on to the SmarTots
site at any time from any browser and navigate to the Reports screen to
see your child’s participation with Sentence Builder or any SmarTots-
enabled app.
There are three levels of play in Tic Tac Math: easy, advanced, and
expert. The levels roughly correspond to the math standards of first, sec-
ond, and third grade, respectively, for the addition and subtraction
groups, and second, third, and fourth grade for multiplication and divi-
sion problems.
252
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
Game play is simple: after selecting a family of problems with which to
work, the number of players, and the level of difficultly, tap Play Now
to start a game (see Figure 13.10).
Figure 13.10
Tic Tac Math
game play.
To gain a square, a player taps that square, which opens the problem in
an Answer This screen, as shown in Figure 13.11.
Players should type their answer to the problem and tap the Enter but-
ton. If the answer is correct, the players will be awarded an X (or O) in
that square (see Figure 13.12). If their answer is wrong, however, they
will lose their turn. In a single-player game, it is important to note that
this means the computer player will effectively take that square for itself.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 13.11
The Answer
screen.
Figure 13.12
Filling the field
of play.
254
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
One nice feature of the game is that players can use a stylus or finger to
work through the problems before they answer. This is extremely use-
ful for more complicated problems, where the answer might not jump
right out, as shown in Figure 13.13.
Figure 13.13
Working through
a problem.
Figure 13.14
Start over or
move to another
set of problems.
If a player makes an error, he can tap the Erase button to clear the work
screen.
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iPad for Kids
Game play will continue until the game is won, lost, or tied. The player’s
score of won games will be tracked in the Score status bar as long as that
set of problems is being played. To stop a game, tap the Pause button,
which will open the game dialog box, shown in Figure 13.14.
Start Over is a bit misleading—it does not return to the app’s Home
screen, but rather restarts the game the player is in now. Choose a
Different Game will return to the Home screen.
B-I-N-G-O for Math
$app Cost of Math BINGO: $0.99
Of the two math games in this chapter, Math BINGO is likely to engage
players a little bit more, since BINGO is a bit more complex than Tic
Tac Toe. This is purely a matter of preference, of course, so you can let
your children decide which app they prefer.
Math BINGO is a time-based BINGO game that players win by getting
five BINGO bugs in a row when answering math problems. The prob-
lems are not as complex as those presented in Tic Tac Math, because the
players are playing against time, and problems that were too difficult
would bog down game play.
The problems are presented randomly, so players will not know which
numbered squares they will be able to place a BINGO bug on until the
problem is displayed (see Figure 13.15).
Figure 13.15
Playing Math
BINGO.
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
Referring to Figure 13.15, you will see that sometimes there is more than
one instance of a problem’s answer on the game board. Since the answer
for the problem in this example is 11, the player can tap on any instance
of the number 11 to place her bug in that square. This gives the player a
little more control over where her bugs are placed.
If a player makes an error, feedback is delivered, with the correct answer
displayed at the bottom of the screen (see Figure 13.16).
Figure 13.16
Wrong answers
are corrected.
When a row of five BINGO bugs is achieved, the BINGO display will
appear, as seen in Figure 13.17.
Scoring is based on the speed of game play. The faster that BINGO is
reached, the better the score will be. The app will add two seconds of
time to the player’s score for each incorrect answer. When players
achieve a high score in a particular category of problems, they are given
a BINGO bug, which they can play with onscreen by tapping the My
BINGO Bugs button in the player score area.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 13.17
BINGO!
Walk Among the Stars
$app Cost of Solar System: $13.99
Some iPad apps are so cool, they are often instantly identified with the
device. As second graders move into the realm of science, they will be
able to play more with these kinds of iPad apps and see just what lies
out there in the worlds around them.
Two such apps, Solar System and The Elements, let them explore an
environment that starts only 50 miles away and stretches billions of light-
years into the farthest reaches of the universe.
Check Out the Neighborhood
Space, as you may have gathered, is not far away at all. The Earth’s atmos-
phere is only an average of 50 miles thick (depending on how you mea-
sure), so distance-wise it’s not that much of a journey. Of course, Earth’s
gravity well is a bit of an obstacle, requiring ginormous rockets to shove
fairly small bits of mass away from that well and toward other objects.
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
And, once you’re out in space, 50 miles is about the only time you’re
going to be dealing with distances that minuscule again. The Moon,
which is the nearest object to our planet (we hope), is 238,857 miles
away (on average). The other objects in our solar system—planets,
moons, comets, dwarf planets, and one mid-sized star—are all ridicu-
lously far away, requiring months, years, or decades for our fastest
spacecraft to reach them.
This is why Solar System is a remarkably cool app. It lets anyone explore
our home system in remarkable detail without packing a spacesuit.
5
NOTE The Future of Books?
Solar System and The Elements are based on books by the same
names. Solar System is written by Marcus Chown. (You’ll learn more
about The Elements in Chapter 15.) Solar System can be explored
sequentially, just like a book, with the story leading users through the
solar system. But users can also explore the app in any way they want,
diving as deep into the information presented as they would like.
Solar System is a visually stunning app, mirroring the book of the same
name. Each object described in Solar System has its own section, which
can be seen in the animated Home screen shown in Figure 13.18.
Figure 13.18
The worlds
around us.
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iPad for Kids
If you want to start at the beginning of the Solar System story, tap the
Solar System icon at the top-left corner of the Home screen. This will
open the first page of the Solar System section, seen in Figure 13.19.
Pages in Section Orrery
Figure 13.19
The story begins.
Data Section Navigation Back Button Home Button
Gallery Page Back Button
Page Forward Button
There are a lot of navigation tools within Solar System, which should
encourage exploration at any user’s preference.
5 Pages in section. Each object in the solar system has a collection of
pages. This indicator displays which page of the section the reader is in.
5 Orrery. Opens the Orrery tool, a virtual model of the solar system.
5 Data. Opens the data popover menu, which provides relevant data
about the object from the app and the Wolfram|Alpha data Web site.
5 Gallery. Displays a gallery of images related to the object displayed.
5 Section navigation. Displays and controls where a user is in the over-
all book “story” and the position in the solar system. Tap and drag the
rocket icon to move to another location in the solar system/story.
5 Page back button. Tap to move one page back in the book story.
5 Home button. Tap to return to the app Home screen.
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
5 Back button. Tap to return to the most recent section visited.
5 Page forward button. Tap to move one page forward in the book story.
While Solar System can be read as a book, it is by no means a static dis-
play of information. Tap any of the highlighted text links to see the ref-
erenced object in the solar system (using the Back button to return to
where you were, if you desire) or a popover box with more information
about the term.
Beyond these Web-like navigation tools, Solar System also enables inter-
activity with any image displayed in the app. Try it yourself: tap an
image on a page. Pinch it, fan it, swipe it. Many of the images have writ-
ten instructions on how to interact with the image, but some do not. You
might be surprised to discover what the app will do with any given
image, like the cutaway of Jupiter shown in Figure 13.20.
Figure 13.20
Deep inside the
largest planet in
our solar system.
If you tap the Orrery icon at the beginning of each section, you will
access the fantastic Orrery tool, centered on the object in question. An
Orrery is a model of the solar system. The model in Solar System is vir-
tual, and not quite to scale, but it does feature a time control that enables
users to slow down or speed up the passage of time in the model (see
Figure 13.21).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 13.21
The dance of the
planets.
Time Control
To zoom out, pinch the screen; fan the screen to zoom in, or tap another
object in the system to center it on the screen. If you slide your finger
around the screen, the orientation of the model will shift. Tap Done, and
Solar System will return to the last page you left.
5
NOTE Not for Stargazing
The Orrery is a neat model to play with, but it is not accurate for the
current position of the planets (nor the size of the objects in the
model). So keep that in mind as you explore the model.
Solar System is very much an app for all ages. There is a lot of interest-
ing prose for older children and adults, and more than enough interac-
tivity and visual demonstrations to keep young children fascinated.
Second graders may find the vocabulary a little challenging at first, but
with parental guidance, this visually stunning app is a great way to make
the planets their playground.
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
The Night Revealed
$app Cost of Star Walk: $4.99
At its heart, Star Walk is a very solid astronomy app, to be used by any-
one with an interest in the sky. This might not sound like a suitable app
for younger children, but in truth, the app is easy enough to use for all
ages and can serve as a great launchpad to generate interest in what’s
beyond the confines of our world. There is a lot of data—over 9,000 sky
objects are tracked, with information about each object readily available
at the touch of a finger.
There are two ways you can use Star Walk: first, it’s a great general
astronomy reference tool that lets you explore the sky at your leisure at
any time. Pan around the sky, tap individual objects to learn more about
them, and move the timeline into the past or future to see how the sky
looked as long ago as 1599 or will look all the way in the year 2399.
The second use of the app is a live astronomy tool that you can take out-
side with you to help locate objects in the night sky using the Star
Spotter feature.
When you start Star Walk for the very first time, it will need to establish
some base settings for the app, so it generally knows where you are.
Typically, it will use the iPad’s location settings to figure that out, but
you can set this manually if need be.
1. From the main screen, tap the menu control. The menu will appear
(see Figure 13.22).
2. Tap the Home Location icon. The Home Location screen will open,
as shown in Figure 13.23.
3. If the location is correct, tap the Close icon to return to the main
screen. If a new location must be set, navigate to the new home loca-
tion by one of the three following methods:
5 Pinch, drag, and fan the globe to line up crosshairs on the
desired location.
5 Tap the latitude and longitude controls and use the picker con-
trols to enter the coordinates of the location.
5 Tap the Search icon and enter the place name for the location.
4. Tap the Close icon to return to the main screen.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 13.22
The Star Walk
menu.
Figure 13.23
Locating home.
To move around the sky manually, tap and drag the sky around as you
want. Pinch to zoom out or fan to zoom in. If you see an object you want
to learn more about, tap the object, and then tap the information icon in
the upper-left corner of the screen to discover more about the object (see
Figure 13.24).
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
Figure 13.24
Discover more
about what’s
above you.
You can also change what objects are displayed on the screen.
1. Tap the menu control. The menu will appear.
2. Tap the Settings icon. The Settings control will open, as shown in
Figure 13.25.
Figure 13.25
Star Walk
settings.
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iPad for Kids
3. Tap the control to turn the display of Constellations or Satellite on
or off.
4. Tap and drag the Brightness control to adjust the screen for local
light pollution.
5. Tap any part of the screen to return to the main screen.
To check out the sky at a different time, tap the clock icon in the upper-
right corner of the screen. The time controls will open, as shown in
Figure 13.26.
Figure 13.26
Time controls in
Star Walk.
To move the sky to a new point in time, tap the unit of time you want to
manipulate, be it year, month, day, hour, or minute. The more you want
to move, the higher the unit you should select.
Once the unit is selected, tap and drag the time slider on the right side
of the screen. Down moves into the past, and up moves into the future.
5
When you reach the time you want to view, release the control.
TIP Control Your Time Machine
Flick the time control up or down and Star Walk will keep moving
through time indefinitely, creating a nice movie of what’s happened
or will happen. The faster the flick, the faster the rate of change.
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Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade
To return to the present time, tap the Now button.
When you want to view the night sky, you can use the sky spotter fea-
ture to orient yourself and the app to the sky you’re looking at.
In a location with a clear view of the sky, tilt the iPad up. The built-in
compass and gyroscope will shift the Star Walk screen to the portion of
the sky you are looking at.
For more complete alignment, tap the align icon to switch on the iPad
2
iPad 2 camera. Orient the device and tap and drag the Star Walk screen
until a recognizable object is within the green circle at the center of
the screen. Tap the Checkmark button to set the orientation.
5 TIP Save Your Night Vision
If you are using Star Walk while observing the sky, make sure the
Night mode setting is on. This will set all of the writing and lines in
the app to red, which will not affect your night vision.
This is another app that will take some learning for second graders to
grow into. At first, they may want to use it as a visual study of sky, using
it later as a guide to sky watching.
Conclusion
The universe is definitely opening up for students in the second grade.
Math and reading are an integral part of their curriculum, and now sci-
ence and nature are getting their attention, too.
In Chapter 14, “Apps for Third Grade,” we’ll look at apps that continue
the exploration of the world, as well as history, plus more reading and
math practice.
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Chapter 14
Apps for
Third Grade
I n martial arts, laypeople often believe that the rank black belt repre-
sents the pinnacle of achievement within a particular discipline. In
actuality, that is not the case: achieving black belt status is regarded as
having learned all of the fundamental skills within that martial art. Now
the real learning begins.
Third grade, at some levels, is a similar point in the student’s academic
career. The basics of reading and math have been taught, and now it’s
time for students to take the skills they have learned and apply them to
additional topics and subjects.
In reading, for example, students should know how to read well enough
that most sight words are immediately identifiable and any new word
can be figured out without much hesitation (although the meaning may
need to be defined). With these skills in place, students can start reading
anything: prose, poetry, history, science… whatever school and life
throw at them.
The same holds true in math: the rules of addition, subtraction, multi-
plication, and division have been mastered, and now students can start
applying what they know to other forms of math, such as geometry, sci-
ence, and algebra.
There’s still a lot to learn, of course. But with reading and math skills in
their tool belts, the exchange of knowledge will be a lot broader.
iPad for Kids
In this chapter, students will continue that exchange by
5 Practicing grade-level reading skills with K12 Timed Reading.
5 Solving complex math problems with MathBoard.
5 Exploring the natural world with GeoWalk HD.
5 Learning with Presidents of the United States for iPad.
Achieving Fluency with K12 Timed Reading
$ app Cost of K12 Timed Reading: $1.99
As phonics is mastered, and words come more easily to students, edu-
cators like to focus on reading fluency. This is reached when students
can read quickly and smoothly, without. pausing. for. every. word. and
without readinginamonotonevoicewithoutanyinflectionwhatsoever. This
is not as easy as you might remember, but for quite a while children have
been focused on reading individual words and not on the rhythm of the
sentence in which the words lie. Fluency is when readers get that rhythm
and start to absorb not just the meaning of the individual words, but the
sentences and longer passages as well.
K12 Timed Reading is an app that has one function: providing grade-
level appropriate passages of text that readers can visit and get an idea
of how many words per minute they can read. This is done by timing
readers as they work through a passage.
K12 Timed Reading is a bit misnamed; it gives the impression that read-
ing levels from kindergarten to 12th grade are examined. In actuality,
it’s just K–4. This is still useful, to be sure, but parents need to be clear
about the app’s limitations.
Nor is this an iPad-optimized app—the app is designed for an iPhone
interface. Given the simple tasks performed by the user in this app, this
is one time when an iPhone-designed app is not a detriment.
Using K12 Timed Reading is simple enough: starting the app for the first
time brings up an introductory screen, shown in Figure 14.1.
Tap the purple Settings icon as directed, and the Reading Level screen
will open (see Figure 14.2).
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
Figure 14.1
The K12 Timed
Reading
introductory
screen.
Figure 14.2
Choosing a
reading level.
Setting the reading level is straightforward: if the child is in the third grade,
then that’s the level to tap. The only exception to this, the game’s makers
recommend, is if a child is in kindergarten and doesn’t know how to read
yet. For those students, K12 Timed Reading is not recommended. Once
they do know how to read, K12 Timed Reading is entirely appropriate.
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iPad for Kids
After the reading level is set, the Add Student screen will automatically
appear. Add the student’s name and tap Save, as shown in Figure 14.3.
Figure 14.3
Adding a
student.
Once the student is added, the Home screen will appear (see Figure
14.4). This will be the screen that will appear every time the app is
started from this point forward.
Figure 14.4
The K12 Timed
Reading Home
screen.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
To start a timed reading, tap the student’s name. The Activities screen
will appear, which gives readers a choice to advance to the next story in
the reading level queue or choose from the Reading List (as shown in
Figure 14.5).
Figure 14.5
All of K12 Timed
Reading’s stories
are available to
read and review.
To begin reading the next story, tap the Next Story button. If you would
like to read a story from the Reading List, tap the title of the story. After a
brief countdown, the story will be presented to the reader (see Figure 14.6).
Figure 14.6
Reading a story.
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iPad for Kids
Tap the Forward button to progress through the story. If you need to stop,
tap the Pause button so the app will track reading speed accurately. When
the passage is read, tap the Done! button. The Read screen appears, dis-
playing the reader’s elapsed time and the number of words read per
minute (see Figure 14.7).
Figure 14.7
Seeing the
number of words
per minute.
Readers can tap Save to record their progress or Don’t Save.
5
NOTE Moving On
K12 Timed Reading will not progress to the next story until the story
is saved.
Using K12 Timed Reading is a great way to practice and assess reader
fluency, and readers are encouraged to read aloud to parents or teachers
so they can hear the progress the student is making. You should also find
time to ask questions about the story, to make sure that comprehension,
a critical part of reading, is also progressing.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
Step Up to MathBoard
$app Cost of MathBoard: $4.99
MathBoard is a very flexible app that will quiz students on a variety of
math problems, all the way up to high-school level math. Because of this
customizability, it could be the last math app your student will need.
But because of that flexibility, MathBoard has some drawbacks. Unlike
other educational apps, it does not have set grade levels, so parents and
teachers will need to figure out manually which settings are appropriate
and adjust the game accordingly.
The good news is, once settings have been tuned to a certain level, you
can save them as presets in MathBoard, so you can just access them
again with one tap.
The interface for MathBoard is actually pretty clever. It has the look and
feel of a chalkboard, right down to the virtual pieces of dust that flake
down as a student “writes” on the board.
The chalk-like interface continues all the way through the app’s config-
uration settings, which are accessible by tapping any setting in the
Settings section of the app. This will open the MathBoard Settings
popover box, as shown in Figure 14.8.
Figure 14.8
Settings in
MathBoard.
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iPad for Kids
Setting Up MathBoard
As you will see when you open the Settings popover, there are a lot of
possible configurations in MathBoard from which to choose. To illus-
trate how the important settings work, and to configure the app for a
third-grade student, follow these steps:
1. From the Settings box, tap the Squares, Cubes, and Square Root set-
tings. The settings should be deselected.
2. If you want to set the number of problems in any given quiz at an
amount different from the default 25 problems, tap the arrows in the
Number field to decrease or increase the value. You can set from 1
to 250 questions.
3. Problems in MathBoard are displayed in vertical fashion. To change,
tap the arrows in the Problem Style to Horizontal.
4. Answers are given by either typing in a keypad or using pickers for
each digit. Select the method your child prefers in the Answer Style
field.
5. The Number Range section establishes the difficulty of the prob-
lems by setting limits on the possible answers. For third grade, rec-
ommended values should be
5 Minimum: 0
5 Maximum: 1000
5 Max Answer: 100
6. The Digit Limit section establishes the difficulty of the problems by
setting limits on the digits for answers. For third grade, recom-
mended values should be
5 Min Upper Digits: Off
5 Max Upper Digits: 1
5 Min Lower Digits: Off
5 Max Lower Digits: Off
7. To create a timed quiz, select the Countdown value in the Time sec-
tion’s Style field.
8. When finished with settings, tap the Done button. The MathBoard
Settings popover box will close and the settings will be applied.
Saving MathBoard Settings
Once you have the app’s settings set to your satisfaction, you can save
them as a preset for continued use.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
1. Tap the arrow icon next to the title of the Settings section. The
Presets action menu will open, as shown in Figure 14.9.
Figure 14.9
Presets for
MathBoard.
2. Tap the Add button. The Preset Name message box will open (see
Figure 14.10).
Figure 14.10
Name a preset.
3. Type a name and tap Save. The preset will be saved to the app.
To access the preset, tap the Settings icon to open the Presets action
menu. The preset will be listed (see Figure 14.11). Tap it to reset your
settings to the preset’s parameters.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.11
Viewing presets.
Adding Students to MathBoard
Besides Presets, you can also add students to the app, which will allow
you to configure settings for individual students, not just groups of stu-
dents. After you have settings tailored for a particular student, follow
these steps:
1. Tap the arrow icon next to the title of the Student section. The
Students action menu will open, as shown in Figure 14.12.
Figure 14.12
Students for
MathBoard.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
2. Tap the Add button. The Student Name message box will open.
3. Type a name and tap Save. The student will be saved to the app.
To access the student, tap the Student arrow icon to reveal the Students
action menu. Tap the student, and the student’s name will be listed and
settings shifted to that student’s capabilities.
Playing MathBoard
To play MathBoard, tap the Play (or Play Again) option on the app’s
Home screen. This will start a problem set, as seen in Figure 14.13.
Figure 14.13
A MathBoard
problem set.
To answer the question using pickers (the method displayed in Figure
14.13), swipe each digit box until the proper answer appears in the
boxes. You can also tap the arrow keys to adjust the values of the picker
boxes. When finished, tap OK. If the problem is answered correctly, a
positive sound will ring, and the next problem will be displayed.
When a challenging problem appears, students can use MathBoard’s
chalkboard to assist them in solving the problem. Tap the expand option
on the lower chalkboard if more space is needed. The board will expand,
as shown in Figure 14.14.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.14
The chalkboard
enables students
to work out
problems…
Using a stylus or their fingers, students can work out the problem on
their own, just as if they were standing at the chalkboard (see Figure
14.15). Tap any of the different colored chalks to get a new color, or the
eraser icon to wipe something away and start again.
Once the problem is sufficiently worked, tap the shrink option to return
the chalkboard to its normal size so the answer can be entered, as shown
in Figure 14.16.
After the quiz is complete, the student’s score will be reported to him as
a percentage, along with the amount of time it took to answer the ques-
tions (see Figure 14.17).
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
Figure 14.15
…Like this.
Figure 14.16
A messy problem
can yield a clean
result.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.17
The end results.
Tap Save Results to keep these results. The Save Results message box
will appear. Confirm the date and time and tap Save. The results will be
listed in the Student section.
If you want to revisit a quiz (perhaps one that was especially challeng-
ing), tap the results of that quiz. The Load Quiz message box will con-
firm that you want to run that particular quiz again and erase the stored
score for that quiz.
Walking the World with GeoWalk HD
$app Cost of GeoWalk HD: $2.99
Students have an incredible array of information and knowledge at their
fingertips. The Internet represents an unimaginable wealth of informa-
tion, but at the same time, it can be a daunting place to visit, both in terms
of finding information and the dangers that exist on the Web.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
GeoWalk HD represents a visual approach to learning that delivers a
treasure trove of knowledge, in ways that are clearly organized and safe.
Opening GeoWalk HD will immediately show a globe map of the world,
with pictures overlaid across its surface (see Figure 14.18).
Figure 14.18
The world of
GeoWalk.
In Earth view, users can swipe the screen to center on another region.
Fanning the globe will zoom in, and pinching will zoom out. When a
picture is centered in the view, it expands so it can be seen more easily.
Tap the picture, and it will expand even further, as seen in Figure 14.19.
To discover more about the object displayed, tap the text icon in the
lower-right corner of the picture. The picture will “flip” over to reveal
information about the pictured object (see Figure 14.20).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.19
Pictures can
reveal much
about the world.
Figure 14.20
And text will
complete the
knowledge
learned.
Users can share the information learned on Facebook or Twitter, if
desired. They can also set the object as a favorite by tapping the star icon
on the picture side of the object. This will store the object in the back-
ground of the Picture Flow view shown in Figure 14.21.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
Favorite Object
Figure 14.21
GeoWalk HD’s
Picture Flow
view.
In Picture Flow view, you can swipe through the pictures to have them
displayed randomly. When one strikes your interest, you can view it by
tapping, just as in Earth view.
To move between views, tap the appropriate view control at the bottom
of the GeoWalk HD screen.
There are four categories of objects displayed in GeoWalk HD: places,
animals, plants, and people. To show or hide any of these categories, tap
the category’s icon at the bottom of the screen.
GeoWalk HD is a fun exploration tool for students to use to view the world
and cultures around them. If they feel like they’ve learned something, they
can tap the Quiz icon to start a non-scored quiz (see Figure 14.22). The
quiz will continue until the Earth or Picture Flow view is selected.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.22
Quiz yourself in
GeoWalk HD.
Vote for Presidents of the United States for iPad
$app Cost of Presidents of the United States: $3.99
Quick, how many vice presidents did Franklin D. Roosevelt have during
his unprecedented four terms in office? How many presidents didn’t even
have vice presidents while they served? Those are some of the interesting
questions that can be answered in this history app, Presidents of the United
States, for iPad.
Presidents, as we’ll call this app for short, is a simple app filled chock-
full of vital statistics and information about each president of the U.S.,
from Washington to Obama.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
The information is presented in two ways. When the app is first started,
the President Reel will be displayed, which is a slideshow that runs
through the presidents in chronological order and lists years in office and
their vice presidents (see Figure 14.23).
Figure 14.23
How many FDR
VPs? Three!
To see an individual president, tap the Presidents button to reveal the
Presidents action menu, shown in Figure 14.24.
Tap a president to view that president’s information. Vital statistics about
the president are listed in the Presidential Info page, shown in Figure 14.25.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 14.24
Choose your
president.
Figure 14.25
A governor of
Indiana, too.
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Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade
Tap the Cabinet button to view the president’s staff. To read the
Biography in full page view, tap the plus icon in the Biography section
to expand the text out to the full page (see Figure 14.26).
Figure 14.26
One month in
office, but still
quite a life.
Presidents is not a very interactive app, but it has rich detail that will
teach anyone interested in U.S. history about the men who have led the
nation and their vice presidents. Except Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, and
Arthur, who didn’t have vice presidents.
Conclusion
History and natural science are a big part of early elementary school edu-
cation, and iPad apps are out there to accommodate anyone interested in
these subjects.
In Chapter 15, “Apps for Fourth Grade,” the final grade level chapter for
this book, we’ll look at the best apps for students in that grade, and per-
haps beyond.
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Chapter 15
Apps for
Fourth Grade
W ith so many school districts changing, fourth grade can come to
mean the end of the elementary school experience, as many
middle schools (which are cleverly known as intermediate centers, since
“intermediate” sounds fancier than “middle”) begin in the fifth grade.
This can be a bit traumatic for parents and students alike, since middle
school can represent a not-so-fun time in parents’ memories, and the
thought of throwing their kid into that sea of raging social storms brought
on by the onset of puberty can be, well, scary. Kids may not have such
preconceptions, but they are suddenly sensing a change in how they
interact with their peers. For boys, girls are no longer so “icky.” For girls,
boys are still “dumb,” but they won’t be for long. (Though my wife
might challenge that contention.)
Faced with the approach of this new strange environment, fourth graders
need to be sure to have all of the basics down as soon as they can. We’ve
covered the reading and math apps in this book pretty thoroughly, but
now kids need to learn a new kind of basics: how to learn on their own.
Learning to learn means knowing how to research. In their parents’ day,
that meant going to the local library and figuring out what you needed
for that school report from dusty old encyclopedias written by someone
in “Britannia.” Today, it means typing a few words in a browser and get-
ting the collective knowledge of millions of people shoved in your face.
iPad for Kids
It’s a common misconception that with so much information at their fin-
gertips, students today don’t have to know how to research. In fact, noth-
ing could be further from the truth. The huge influx of so much data is
all the more reason that kids need to learn how to turn information into
knowledge that they can actually use. What’s important to know? Where
are the good sources of information? How does this apply to the broader
topic they are learning?
Adults, honestly, could use a little brushing up on how to research, too.
Just accepting chain-letter emails or what one person writes on the
Internet as fact is never a good idea. Research what you hear, if it
intrigues you. Who’s saying this? What do they know? And who dis-
agrees with them?
With its Safari browser, clearly the iPad can act as a big, wide-open door
to the deluge of information that’s out there. But there are some great
apps for the iPad that have already done a great job of pulling informa-
tion together into tightly organized packages for students to start their
research. In this chapter, we’ll look at three such apps, specifically
5 iDinoBook, which teaches and quizzes kids on dinosaurs.
5 The Elements, a gorgeous interactive app about every element under
the sun.
5 USA Manual, a vast repository of civics and government information.
Oh, Come On, It’s Dinosaurs!
$app Cost of iDinoBook: $3.99
It must be a boy thing, but dinosaurs are just…cool.
I say that with tongue firmly in cheek, because I know full well there are
lots of brilliant lady paleontologists in the world, but from my own Y-
chromosome experiences as a boy and then a father of daughters, I have
not met many girls with the kind of raging passion boys seem to exhibit,
particularly around this age, for all things dinosaur.
Somehow, the thought of giant lizards with giant teeth running around
a primordial forest where dragonflies were the size of eagles has a cer-
tain strange appeal to kids at this age. Boys, it seems, get bitten by the
dinosaur bug a bit harder.
Regardless of any gender tendencies that may or may not be true,
iDinoBook is an iPad app that contains a staggering amount of infor-
mation about the big lizards from millions of years ago. This is one app
that I wish they’d had when I was a kid.
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iDinoBook presents its data as a set of file folders, each of which con-
tains information about an individual species of dinosaur. When
iDinoBook is started, you can tap one of the three options available on
the Main Menu, shown in Figure 15.1.
Figure 15.1
The iDinoBook
Main Menu.
5 Index. The first of two organization methods in iDinoBook, the Index
screen displays the file folder “drawer,” from which you can tap a
dinosaur’s file to learn more about it.
5 Map. The second organization method in iDinoBook, the Map screen
displays a global map that can explore dinosaur information based on
where in the world they lived.
5 Quiz. This area starts a quiz mode that asks challenging questions
about the information in iDinoBook.
Tap Index to explore iDinoBook. You will see the Index screen, shown
in Figure 15.2.
There are a lot of elements on the Index screen that users can work with
to explore the library of dinosaurs.
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iPad for Kids
Main Extended Search Dinosaur Dinosaur Ages Dinosaur Help
Menu Filter Filter List Images Lived
Figure 15.2
The iDinoBook
Index screen.
Sort Sort by Sort by Sort by Sort by Dinosaur Diet of Territory of Page
Alpha- Weight Length Age Diet Measurements Dinosaur Dinosaur Control
betically
The filters above the primary list of dinosaurs are useful to narrow
the search for a particular dinosaur. Type the name or partial name of the
dinosaur, and the list will be filtered to only display dinosaurs with
the typed text in their name, as shown in Figure 15.3.
Once a dinosaur of interest is found, tap the file tab for the dinosaur, and
the information for that dinosaur will be displayed. You can tell a dinosaur
is selected by the off-kilter appearance of the file, as seen in Figure 15.4.
To remove a filter from a list, tap the close control in the Search Filter
field. Whether a list is filtered or unfiltered, you can sort the list in a num-
ber of different ways. By default, iDinoBook sorts dinosaurs alphabeti-
cally. Tap the Sort by Weight button, and the list will be sorted by weight,
with the heaviest dinosaur on top. Tap the Sort by Weight button again,
and the lightest dinosaur will be on top (see Figure 15.5).
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
Figure 15.3
Tracking a
dinosaur.
Figure 15.4
Selecting a
dinosaur.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 15.5
Clearly,
Tyrannosaurus
has weight
issues.
You can also tap the appropriate button to sort the dinosaurs by height,
age in which they lived, and the diet they ate.
To view a complete dinosaur record, swipe the selected record from right
to left. This will open the record, as seen in Figure 15.6.
Dinosaur Name Classification Main Font
Images Definition Data Entry Control
Figure 15.6
Though with
those teeth, it
can have any
issue it wants.
Notes Map of Known Range Timeline Physical Description
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
You can read the main entry with the font in the default size, but if you
want to make the text bigger or smaller, tap the font controls above the
entry. iDinoBook overlays the name definition and the classification data
sections, but you can toggle back and forth between them with a tap.
To view the images collected for the dinosaur, tap the dinosaur image to
open the album for that dinosaur (see Figure 15.7).
Figure 15.7
Picture yourself
next to this gal.
To browse through the album, swipe the pages from right to left to move
forward in the album. Swipe from left to right to go to the previous image.
When you are ready to go back to where you came from, tap the back
arrow in the upper-left corner of the screen. You can back yourself out
all the way to the Main Menu, if you want.
Though the Index is the primary way to find dinosaurs, it’s not the only
way. Tap the Map option in the Main Menu to visit the Map screen,
shown in Figure 15.8.
The Map, for the sake of us humans who have only been around a cou-
ple hundred thousand years or so, is conveniently presented with the
Earth as it is now, not how it appeared a couple hundred million years
in the past, when what would be the United States was somewhere 30
degrees south of the equator.
To find dinosaurs based on their present-day location, tap the location
to display the location action menu (see Figure 15.9).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 15.8
Dinosaurs
everywhere.
Figure 15.9
Choose a
dinosaur by
location.
Tap a dinosaur in the location action menu to view its record.
After your children have explored iDinoBook for a while, they may want
to test their knowledge with a quiz. Tap Quiz in the Main Menu to open
the Game selection screen, shown in Figure 15.10.
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
Figure 15.10
Choose your
preferred game.
Either quiz mode plays the same way. A question is presented, and you
will have a set time in which to answer it (see Figure 15.11). If you’re
right, you can move on to the next question, but if you miss it, you will
be asked to review the card for the related dinosaur.
Figure 15.11
Pangea, when
the U.S. was
closer to the
South Pole than
the North.
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iDinoBook provides a lot of information that any dinosaur enthusiast
will gleefully soak up. As your students explore the app, they may note
the presence of “Extended” dinosaur records. These records, indicated
by a red flagged “e,” provide extra interactive tools to learn even more
about that dinosaur.
To access these extended features, tap the “e” icon in an Extended
record, which will open the Extended screen, shown in Figure 15.12.
Figure 15.12
Explore more
with Extended
records.
There are a number of fun little extras in the Extended screens. Tap the
ruler, for instance, to insert another modern creature, such as an elephant,
or a paleontologist, to compare against the size of the dinosaur (see
Figure 15.13).
Figure 15.13
Vegetarian, sure,
but stay out of
its way.
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
To learn more about the extras in Extended mode, tap the Help icon in
the upper-right corner to see what’s available.
It’s All in the Chemistry
$app Cost of The Elements: $13.99
Everything you see around you—everything—was once inside a star.
Every element formed in the natural world was formed by the fusion of
hydrogen into heavier elements deep inside the furnace of a star that blew
up billions of years ago and then reformed into what we see around us.
It’s a little more complicated than that, of course, but once upon a time,
the entire universe had just one element, hydrogen, but now through
fusion, explosions, and other natural calamities has a whole lot more.
Hydrogen and all of those other elements are the topic within the book
The Elements by Theodore Gray, a lavish reference book that details the
properties of all of the elements we know of to date (and some we don’t)
with pictures of pretty much every element Gray could find.
The Elements is, like Solar System highlighted in Chapter 13, “Apps for
Second Grade,” a gorgeous app mirroring Gray’s book. Each of the 118
elements described in The Elements has its own set of pages, accessed
from the animated Home screen shown in Figure 15.14.
Figure 15.14
“Everything you
can drop on
your foot.”
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iPad for Kids
All of the elements in this app are laid out sequentially by their atomic
number (the number of protons found in the nucleus of that element,
remember?). If you want to start at the beginning, tap the hydrogen icon
at the top-left corner of the periodic table on the Home screen. This will
open the first page of the hydrogen section, seen in Figure 15.15.
Image of Element Atomic Data Position of Element Temperature Scale
on Periodic Table
Figure 15.15
The most
common element
in the universe.
Wolfram|Alpha Page Back Home Back Page Forward
Button Button Button Button
There are a lot of navigation tools within The Elements, so you and your
child can explore to your heart’s content.
5 Position of Element. The periodic table not only lists the elements,
but the position of the element on the table also helps illustrate the
properties of an element.
5 Atomic Data. This section details many atomic and chemical prop-
erties of an element.
5 Image of Element. This area displays an animated image of the ele-
ment.
5 Temperature Scale. Here is a scale that displays the boiling and melt-
ing points of the element, in Celcius.
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
5 Wolfram|Alpha. This section opens the Wolfram|Alpha popover, dis-
played in Figure 15.16. Wolfram|Alpha is a data search engine on the
Internet that The Elements taps into for data.
Figure 15.16
The
Wolfram|Alpha
popover.
5 Page Back Button. Tap to move one page back in the book story.
5 Home Button. Tap to return to the app Home screen.
5 Back Button. Tap to return to the most recent element visited.
5 Page Forward Button. Tap to move one page forward in the book story.
The Elements can be read as a book, but it is also very interactive. Tap
any of the highlighted text links to see the referenced element (using the
Back button to return to where you were, if you desire).
Beyond these Web-like navigation tools, The Elements also enables
interactivity with every image displayed in the app. Tap or swipe an
image on a page, and it will rotate for a 360-degree view or play a small
animated movie (see Figure 15.17).
Don’t worry if a lot of the raw scientific data is way above your student’s
(or your) head. Playing with this app is more than enough to intrigue the
imagination of most kids, and the casual tone of the prose is very acces-
sible to nonscientific readers.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 15.17
Lighting
hydrogen-filled
soap bubbles
looks cool.
Something to Send to Washington
$app Cost of USA Manual: $4.99
Despite its name, USA Manual is not a how-to guide for government
workers to do their jobs.
Darn it.
In the strictest sense, of course, the documents highlighted in USA
Manual are the basic instructions for running the United States.
Documents from the Declaration of Independence to the Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty are contained in the USA Manual app, as well as presiden-
tial, state, and Supreme Court information.
For anyone with a need or a desire to read the actual documents that
helped shape the direction of this country, USA Manual is a simple lit-
tle app packed with wonderful civic information.
Navigating USA Manual is simple. When the app is opened, the main
screen will appear (see Figure 15.18).
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Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade
Figure 15.18
The blueprints
for the United
States.
To view any section, tap the section to open it. Documents within the
section can be read by tapping them in the displayed list, as shown in
Figure 15.19.
Figure 15.19
An oldie but a
goodie.
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iPad for Kids
If you care to, there are additional documents that can be purchased for
viewing in USA Manual. These are listed when tapping the Store option
on the main USA Manual screen. You may want to consider such a pur-
chase carefully, since all of these documents are freely available on the
Internet or other resources. If you like having them all in one repository
on your iPad, however, the option is there for you.
Conclusion
By now, your children are completing their elementary-level education,
and the journey to learn what the world has to offer them is just begin-
ning. This is a journey that all children can take, regardless of how they
approach the challenges of school.
There are other ways a child can grow their minds, of course, beyond
learning in a traditional classroom. Learning through creativity and cul-
ture is just as important. The iPad has all the hardware and the software
that kids need to start exploring their creativity, which you’ll learn in
Chapter 16, “Art Class Without Smocks.”
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Art Class
Without Smocks
T ake out a pencil. Get a piece of paper. Set it in front of you. Wait.
What do you think will happen?
Some of you—the most organized amongst you—may use the opportu-
nity to write down a list. Things to do, groceries to buy, the kids’ sched-
ule for next week—that sort of thing. But some of you may use the free
time to create something on that sheet of paper that’s creative and artis-
tic. It could be a doodle or a sketch or a comic strip—whatever your
mind can create and your hand can draw.
The truth is, though we often deny it, there’s an artist burgeoning in all
of us. There’s something in our makeup that encourages us to draw,
mold, sculpt, weld, or paint something. We deny it because we think we
can’t do it well, and while it’s true that some people can’t, say, draw their
way out of a paper bag, they may have a talent for sculpting clay or
putting together flower arrangements. Art has nearly infinite forms, and
there’s going to be something out there for you to create.
iPads are surprisingly good platforms for exploring the visual arts,
specifically photography, videography, and drawing. The new iPad 2, in
particular, is suitable for the first two disciplines, thanks to its onboard
video and still camera. With this feature, you can capture images and
edit them directly within the iPad.
iPad for Kids
The touch surface lends itself well to any drawing app, too. With their fin-
gers or a stylus, your child can create some beautiful artwork on the iPad.
This chapter will focus on apps that work within these three mediums,
including three new apps from Apple designed especially for the iPad 2.
Specifically, you will explore
5 Camera, an app included with the iPad 2 that turns the device into a
simple point-and-shoot camera.
5 Photo, an app included with the iPad 2 that lets you view and share
photos.
5 Photo Booth, another included iPad 2 app that generates nifty special
effects on the fly.
5 iMovie, an Apple app available for purchase that enables users to
record and edit movies taken on any iOS device with a camera
onboard.
5 Glow Draw, a kid-friendly app that lets them get creative without the
mess of paint.
5 Drawing Pad, a more advanced app for creating art.
5 SketchBook Pro, a top-of-the-line drawing app.
Shutterbugging 101
$app Cost of Camera: Free
$app Cost of Photo: Free
$app Cost of Photo Booth: Free
Cameras used to be things that you would have to lug along with you
iPad
2 on family trips, for your parents to grab candid shots of you with ice
cream on your nose at the beach, or running away from the bear that
entered your campground. Or, more likely, making you stand next to your
cousins in an unnatural pose (standing still) to get a picture of everyone for
the annual family reunion picture, or taking pictures of you waiting at the
top of the stairs to see what gifts Saint Nicholas had delivered overnight.
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Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
Cameras used to be formal devices, to be treated reverently. Photos
would be taken, but then you would not see them until you had taken the
film into the photo-processing center for developing. It would sometimes
be days before you saw the final product…only to find that while every
cousin in the family looked angelic, you were crossing your eyes at the
camera in frustration.
Today, cameras are digital, and you can see what you have taken
instantly. They are also pretty much everywhere—it is hard to find a cell
phone these days that doesn’t have a camera onboard. This ubiquity has
led to some startling changes in the photo industry. Film-processing cen-
ters are gone, replaced by photo-printing services, which basically use
giant printers designed to print images on photo paper, or outsource to
specialized printing services to get the same images on T-shirts, coffee
mugs, and calendars.
What’s nice about having a camera on the iPad 2 is that it gives users the
opportunity to snap off a quick picture from the same device they are
playing or working with. This is called convergence—where fewer
devices start performing a multitude of tasks. Like Swiss Army knives.
There are some drawbacks to the cameras on the iPad 2 that should be
mentioned up front: there is no flash device on the iPad 2, so any pic-
tures you take will be in natural light. The capabilities of the camera
itself are not stunning, either. The reported camera resolution is only 720
pixels, not even a single megapixel. So don’t expect high-quality images
from the iPad 2 camera.
This is not meant to discourage you from using the iPad for capturing
images, but it is important to set realistic expectations for what the cam-
era can do. If you need quick images that are snapped spontaneously, the
iPad 2 is more than appropriate for the job.
As you may have noticed throughout the book, the camera’s functional-
ity can be embedded within other apps your child may be using.
Typically, you can use it to snap a picture of the child that can be used
as a personal avatar in the app she is playing.
To take a photo with either of the two cameras on the iPad, tap the
Camera app icon to start the camera. The image from the rear-facing
camera will appear, as shown in Figure 16.1.
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iPad for Kids
Switch Cameras
Figure 16.1
The Camera app
in action.
Last Picture Taken Take Picture Still/Video Switch
The Camera app is very simple: point the iPad 2 at the person or thing
you want to image; then tap the Camera icon in the bottom center of the
screen. A shutter animation and sound effect will indicate the picture has
been taken.
If you want to use the front-facing camera and take a picture of the per-
son actually holding the iPad 2, then tap the Switch cameras button to
activate that camera. Tap the Take picture button to snap the picture as
you normally would (see Figure 16.2).
Pictures taken with the camera are stored in the standard camera roll stor-
age area on the iPad 2. Tap the Last picture taken control in the lower-
left corner of the Camera screen to open the Photo app to view that
picture and any others you may have taken (see Figure 16.3).
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Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
Figure 16.2
The author in
action.
Back to Folder Slideshow Share Delete Done
Figure 16.3
Viewing a photo
in Photos.
Image Navigation
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iPad for Kids
You can view photos by swiping back and forth between photos, or tap-
ping the appropriate image along the image navigation bar along the bot-
tom of the screen.
The Camera app is not the only iPad 2 app that grabs images. Photo
Booth is a fun little app that’s also included with the tablet that simulates
some cool effects with which kids will love to play.
Tap the Photo Booth app icon, and you will see a screen like the one
shown in Figure 16.4, with nine different views of what the camera is
picking up at the moment.
Figure 16.4
The Photo Booth
views.
Beyond the Normal view in the center of this screen, there are eight other
views presented within Photo Booth. The effects are self-explanatory
and visually very interesting. Move the camera around to find the visual
effect that’s most pleasing to you. When you see something you want to
take a photo of, tap the effect window you desire. The window will
expand to fill the iPad 2 screen so you can frame the photo, as seen in
Figure 16.5.
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Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
Figure 16.5
Taking a
“thermal”
picture.
Last Photos Taken
with Photo Booth
Effects Window Take Picture Switch Cameras
5
NOTE Special Effects Only
The Thermal Camera and X-Ray image effects are just that: effects. The
Thermal Camera image is just a false-color image based on the amount
of light and color of the object being tracked, not an actual infrared
camera. The X-Ray effect is basically a negative version of the black-
and-white image from the camera.You can’t actually see through things.
Once you have the image framed with the desired effect, tap the Take
picture icon to snap the shot.
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iPad for Kids
Quiet on the Set!
$app Cost of iMovie: $4.99
It’s not too hard to find video cameras in devices these days. Higher-
iPad
2 end phones have video capabilities, and point-and-shoot devices
are on the market now for less than $200.
The iPad 2’s cameras also have video capabilities, enabling you to capture
video quickly and easily. You can record videos using the Camera app, by
swiping the Still/Video switch and then tapping the Record button. When
the app is recording, a timer will appear in the upper-right corner of the
screen to display the current duration of the video shot. To stop recording,
tap the flashing Record button.
5 TIP Framing the Shot
You can record a video with the iPad 2 in the vertical position, but it
could be difficult to frame the shot properly. If you view the video on
another device, chances are that device will be more horizontally ori-
ented, so your iPad 2 should be, too.
To view a video taken with the Camera app, tap the Last Picture/Video
Taken button to open the Photos app and navigate to the video, as shown
in Figure 16.6.
Tap the video image to start the video playback. To stop the playback,
tap the Pause button in the top of the screen.
Using the Camera app to take video will get you straightforward video
clips that you can quickly show to others in their raw, unedited form. If
you want to create more sophisticated movies with music and effects,
you can use the iMovie app from Apple to put together some nice con-
tent from your iPad 2.
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Back to Folder Play/Pause Button Timeline Share Delete Done
Figure 16.6
Viewing a video
in Photos.
Image Navigation
5TIP Device Content Only
One of the big limitations of iMovie is its inability to use video recorded
from other sources within the app. While you can import still images
and music onto the iPad using the usual methods, video recorded on
non-iOS cameras can’t be used. Only video from iPod Touch and iPhone
devices with video camera (or another iPad 2) can be used.
When iMovie is first started, it will display a message box asking to use
your current location. Tap OK if this is acceptable, and the iMovie My
Projects screen will appear (see Figure 16.7).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 16.7
The iMovie My
Projects screen.
Project Information
Marquee
Help Add New Playback Share Download Project Delete
Project from iTunes
iMovie, like most video-editing applications, handles video content as
projects. All of the video, image, and audio clips used in creating a movie
are contained within a single project. This is important to keep in mind
as you put a video together. In the initial Home screen in Figure 16.7,
you are invited to start a new project by tapping the + icon. Tap the New
Project icon to open the project editing screen shown in Figure 16.8.
You can use video recorded from the Camera app or record video from
within the iMovie app. Tap the Record video button to start recording,
as seen in Figure 16.9.
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Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
Video Mode Playback Play Record Record
Clips Controls Monitor Button Audio Video
Figure 16.8
Starting a new
project.
Timeline
Figure 16.9
Recording video
from iMovie.
Record/Stop Button
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iPad for Kids
When you are done recording, tap the flashing Record button to stop the
video camera and display the clip review screen, as shown in Figure 16.10.
Figure 16.10
Review your clip
to make sure it’s
okay.
Tap the Play button to view the clip again, if need be. If the clip doesn’t
quite work, tap the Retake button to delete the clip and open the record
video screen again. If the clip is acceptable, tap the Use button, which
will open the project editing screen once more (see Figure 16.11).
Figure 16.11
The project
editing screen
with content.
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Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
The video clip you have recorded is now in the clips section, and the clip
has been selected automatically so it appears in the monitor and time-
line sections.
Working in the Cutting Room
The iMovie app is a fairly sophisticated tool that features a lot of edit-
ing capabilities. To give you a broader overview of how this interface
works, here’s how to put together a quick movie with a title screen and
some music.
1. Swipe the clip in the timeline so the viewing cursor is at the begin-
ning of the clip.
2. Double-tap the clip in the timeline. The timeline will be selected,
and the Clip Settings popover menu will appear (see Figure 16.12).
Figure 16.12
Every clip has
its own
properties.
3. Tap the Title Style option. The Title Style popover menu will open
(see Figure 16.13).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 16.13
Select a title.
4. Tap Opening. The option will be selected, and placeholder text will
appear in the monitor, as seen in Figure 16.14.
Figure 16.14
Enter title text.
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5. Tap the Title Text Here placeholder. A keyboard will appear for you
to enter a title.
6. Enter a new title and tap Done on the keyboard. The new title will
be entered.
7. Tap the Audio mode button. The Audio screen will open, as seen in
Figure 16.15.
Figure 16.15
Select your own
soundtrack.
8. Tap the Theme Music option. The Theme Music list will appear.
9. Tap the option that appeals to you. The music will be overlaid on
the timeline clip.
10. Tap the Play button to hear the clip. If the music isn’t what you want,
tap another option to try it instead.
5TIP Use Your Own Tunes
You can also use your own music from the iPad as the audio track for
your movie.
11. When your movie is ready, tap the My Projects control. It will now
appear in the My Projects window.
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iPad for Kids
12. To change the name of the project, double-tap the name of the pro-
ject in the project marquee. Use the keyboard to edit the project
name (see Figure 16.16).
Figure 16.16
Display your
project proudly.
There is a lot more to the iMovie than this; we’ve only just scratched the
surface. The app’s Help system, available in the My Projects screen, is
very thorough, and should be reviewed by you to help your child really
get into editing her own movies.
Drawing for All Ages
The iPad’s flat touch-sensitive surface makes for a perfect platform to
use fingers or other tools to perform the simple act of drawing. Well,
simple for some. Those of us who are not as gifted may find some iPad
apps very daunting to try out.
But really, that’s the big advantage of using something like the iPad to
draw something. If you get something wrong, a couple of taps can undo
your mistake and let you try again, without wasting paper, ink…or erasers.
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There are three apps that will be highlighted in this section on drawing,
each catering to a very specific age or skill level of drawing. Use the
descriptions of the apps to determine which app is right for your child.
Glow Draw for Fun
$app Cost of Glow Draw: $1.99
Glow Draw is a nifty little app that lets children doodle around on the
iPad screen with glowing lines.
Users can use their fingers or a stylus in Glow Draw to create simple
drawings. To change the properties of the glowing lines, just tap the draw
icon in the lower-left corner of the screen to display the properties tool-
bar, shown in Figure 16.17.
Figure 16.17
Adjusting the
lines in Glow
Draw.
Line Line Background Export
Color Thickness
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iPad for Kids
To change the line color, for example, tap the Line color button and
select a new color from the options presented. The next time a line is
drawn, it will use the new color. Changing the thickness is just as easy;
tap the Line thickness button, and then tap and drag the slider control to
decrease or increase the thickness of the line.
You can also change the background color in Glow Draw, or even use
an image from the iPad’s photo collection as a background.
Glow Draw is a very basic drawing tool, but it is something with which
even the youngest child can get creative.
Drawing Pad for Intermediate Artists
$app Cost of Drawing Pad: $1.99
Drawing Pad offers more tools with which to create artwork, so children
can really cut loose on the kind of art they would like to create. Figure
16.18 illustrates some of the tools budding artists can use.
Figure 16.18
The many tools
of Drawing Pad.
Paint Blender Pencil Crayon Marker Stamp Paper Color/Style Stickers Eraser
324
Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
To access any tool, tap it. If a tool has different colors available, such as
paint, the color options will be displayed in the toolbox (see Figure 16.19).
Figure 16.19
Paint color
options.
To view all of the color options, swipe the toolbox to the left or right to
scroll through the many available colors. When you find the color and
size brush you want to use, tap it to select it and then use a finger or sty-
lus to draw what you want on the screen.
Another nice feature of Drawing Pad is the ability to send drawings out
of the iPad via other channels. Tap the Share icon in the home toolbox
(which looks like a USB cable), and you will see tools to print, email,
save, and even share the drawing through Twitter or Facebook. The print
function alone will make for instant refrigerator galleries.
For any child with even a passing interest in art, this is a good tool to start
with. Toddlers may not enjoy it as much, because of the complexity of
the tools, but preschoolers on up will enjoy this app if they like to draw.
Advanced Art with SketchBook Pro
$app Cost of SketchBook Pro: $4.99
This app from Autodesk is a fantastic tool for talented artists, and it was
named an iPad app of the Week in May 2011.
In some ways, the tools available will not seem as diverse as those
offered in Drawing Pad, particularly when you look at Figure 16.20.
325
iPad for Kids
Tool Gallery New Information Undo Brush Draw Symmetry Text Layer
Bar Sketch Redo Editor Style Mode Transform
Figure 16.20
SketchBook Pro
2 options.
Undo Brush Erase Opacity/ Control Layer Expand Color Redo
Palette All Radius Puck Editor Canvas Palette
Tap and hold any of the tools or colors in the palettes, and you will
quickly see that the level of control an artist can have in this app is very,
very high (see Figure 16.21).
326
Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks
Figure 16.21
Millions of
colors, at your
fingertips.
New users to SketchBook Pro are strongly recommended to walk
through the introductory Help screens to get a sense of how all of these
tools work together. (To visit the Help screens again, tap the Control
icon, then the Information icon in the Tool Bar, and finally the Help but-
ton.) It is required reading.
You can even add more tools to SketchBook Pro. Tap the Store button
in the Information screen, and you will discover additional tools to
download to your app, some free of charge.
Artists with experience in using these media on paper will love working
with SketchBook Pro. It has a steeper learning curve than other drawing
apps, but it makes good use of the iPad’s gesturing system to really
deliver a sophisticated drawing app.
327
iPad for Kids
Conclusion
Art class is not the only way a child can be creative, of course. The styl-
ized rhythmic sounds we like to call music are something else that many
kid’s brains are wired to respond to.
Music is about creating beauty through sound, and it also gives children
the opportunity to stretch their math and literary knowledge. And with
the right apps, which we will visit in Chapter 17, “The Musical iPad,”
your child will be making music in no time.
328
Chapter 17
The Musical
iPad
L et’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.
Whether it’s humming a tune, tapping out fingers, or full-out belting out
a song in the shower, most of us enjoy music in some form or another.
If we don’t like making music, we like listening to music. There is some-
thing deeply rich and warm about a good song that immediately brings
out emotional responses faster than any other kind of interaction.
When children engage in music, their brains immediately fire up. Studies
have cited that the centers for language and reasoning, as well as the abil-
ity to form mental pictures of events and objects, get a big boost when
kids are exposed to music. Cooperating and discipline are also skills that
are enhanced, because music’s rhythm and complexity mean that kids
have to get with the program and practice to create better music.
And music is so easy to create. Bang a stick on a fence. Tap your feet.
Sing. It’s all there, a cacophony of sound that with a little effort and prac-
tice can be part of a symphony.
When the new iPad 2 was announced, Apple also announced a version
of its popular GarageBand app for the iPad platform. This app enables
kids of all ages to play with musical tools. Even if they never create a
full song, they can use the touch screen to hear and experiment with a
variety of instrumental sounds.
iPad for Kids
GarageBand will be the focus of this chapter, with an overview of the
various features of this very rich app. Specifically we will focus on
5 How to browse the major instrument classes.
5 Playing with the various instruments manually.
5 Using the Smart instruments.
Choose Your Instrument
$app Cost of GarageBand for iPad: $4.99
When you first start GB, the app will open to the Instruments screen (see
Figure 17.1), which enables users to select from an instrument class.
Figure 17.1
The Instruments
screen.
There are two types of instruments available in GB: normal instruments
and Smart instruments. Smart instruments will let users play chords,
beats, and grooves automatically with just a single touch of the screen.
5 Sampler. Record sounds with the iPad microphone and use the
sounds as part of your musical creation.
5 Smart Drums. Establish drum grooves by placing rhythmic tools on
a grid to set the beat.
330
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad
5 Smart Bass. Build bass lines and grooves with just a few taps.
5 Smart Keyboard. Create chords and melodies with the Autoplay
features.
5 Smart Guitar. Play chords, grooves, and single notes to rock out.
5 Keyboard. If a keyboard can do it, so can this virtual version.
5 Drums. Set the beat manually, without driving parents crazy.
5 Guitar Amp. Got your own axe? Plug it in and record your own riffs.
5 Audio Recorder. Get your own voice on track.
Playing Instruments
Let’s take a look at one of the manual instruments, the keyboard. Tap the
Keyboard option in the Instruments screen to open the Keyboard screen,
shown in Figure 17.2.
Figure 17.2
The Grand
Piano.
The first keyboard displayed in this class of instruments is the Grand
Piano, but that’s not the only keyboard instrument available. Tap the
Grand Piano button to open the Keyboard popover menu, shown in
Figure 17.3.
331
iPad for Kids
Figure 17.3
Yes, there’s a
Heavy Metal
Organ.
Tap the instrument you want to use. The screen will change to match the
look and feel of the instrument selected (see Figure 17.4).
Figure 17.4
Right down to
the scratches in
the wood.
Octave Control Glissando/Scroll Scale Arpeggios Keyboard
332
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad
There are variations between the specific keyboard types, but there are
some commonalities, such as the octave control, which enables naviga-
tion between the octaves on the keyboard.
The Glissando/Scroll slider toggles between these two ways of using the
keyboard. Glissando enables players to slide across the keys as with a
real keyboard, and Scroll enables players to scroll up and down the entire
range of the keyboard.
The Scale button displays the Scale screen, where you can select a scale
so the keyboard only plays notes within that scale (see Figure 17.5).
Figure 17.5
Different scales
are available.
Tap the Arpeggiator button to display the Arpeggiator action menu. Slide
the Run control to On to play arpeggios, which are fast sequences of
notes, for the key or keys played (see Figure 17.6). Players can choose
the speed, how many notes are in a sequence, and what order they are
played in.
You can also change the layout of the keyboard by tapping the Keyboard
button, which shows the Keyboard action menu shown in Figure 17.7.
Set the width of your keyboard so it shows more or fewer keys, or dis-
play a second keyboard over the first so you can play both at once.
333
iPad for Kids
Figure 17.6
Get those notes
flying.
5
TIP Sizing the Instruments Up
If a younger child is playing with GB, set the instruments to be as wide
or large as possible to help little fingers find their way.
Figure 17.7
Set your
keyboard size.
334
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad
Compare this keyboard with the Smart Keyboard options, shown in
Figure 17.8.
Figure 17.8
The Smart
version of the
organ.
When you first open a Smart Keyboard, you’ll see a series of towers with
chord names on top. Tap or swipe the chord towers to hear the notes and
chords.
Tap the Autoplay knob, and the towers will be split in two, as seen in
Figure 17.9. Tap either of these parts and Autoplay will perform a pat-
tern of notes based on the selected chords. The other Autoplay settings
will offer different patterns.
What’s really exceptional about all of the instruments in GB is the way
dynamics are played. Tap the screen softly, and the instrument will play
softer sounds. Tap the screen with more force and the sounds are louder.
This is evident in the keyboards and in the drum sets like the one shown
in Figure 17.10.
335
iPad for Kids
Figure 17.9
Using Autoplay.
Figure 17.10
Bang those
drums.
5
TIP BYOI(nstruments)
Not only can you create music with GarageBand’s instruments, but you
can also bring your own instruments to the jam session. Plug your elec-
tric guitar or keyboard into the iPad with a headphone or USB adapter,
and the app can record your instrument for inclusion in any song you
want to create.
336
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad
Getting Smart
Though we have already looked at the Smart Keyboard in the previous
section, let’s examine the Smart Guitar to get a better idea of the “smart”
capabilities of GB.
Unlike the keyboard or drums, the Smart Guitar doesn’t have a non-
smart version. This means the Guitar is always going to be a little auto-
mated, though you can still play notes on individual strings.
Figure 17.11 shows an acoustic Smart Guitar in action. Swipe your fin-
ger across the strings in the chord towers and the notes will sound for
those strings based on that chord.
Figure 17.11
Chords can be
played as a
whole or in part.
Swipe down to play all of the notes in a chord or just play individual
strings or part of the strings from that chord. You can also tap the top of
the chord tower to play all strings simultaneously.
As you do with the Smart Keyboard, tap Autoplay to have GarageBand
play melodies automatically. Autoplay will remove the strings for the
guitar, so you can only interact at the chord level (see Figure 17.12).
337
iPad for Kids
Figure 17.12
Autoplay in
Smart Guitar.
For individual note playing, tap the switch from Chords to Notes. In this
mode, you’ll see a more traditional guitar layout where you can play
individual notes and even bend notes (see Figure 17.13).
Figure 17.13
Note playing in
Smart Guitar.
338
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad
Conclusion
There are a lot of great instruments to play in GarageBand, and even
children who have never played an instrument will find it interesting to
tap, pluck, and otherwise play with instruments that will never break and
never wear out. Along the way, maybe they can start working on their
own songs as they explore their own musical talents.
In Chapter 18, “Homework: Documenting with Pages,” you will learn how
to start creating written documents for schoolwork and other projects,
using the first of three great tools found in the iWork suite of apps: Pages.
339
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Appendix
Apps for
Learning
Challenges
E very loving parent of every child wants her child to flourish, to reach
out and meet the challenges that life gives that person head on.
Sometimes, though, children have extra challenges, beyond what most
kids have to face. The challenges can be physical, mental, emotional, or
environmental, and can range from minor to life-changing obstacles.
To be with children that face such challenges is at once heart-wrenching
and mind-boggling. It usually doesn’t take long to really see the spirit
of the children come barreling out, smacking you on the brain, and chal-
lenging your own preconceptions about what’s “normal.”
The iPad makes for a very good platform for children with disabilities.
With the right apps, learning is possible for every child. A lot of this
comes from the very simple form factor of the iPad, too. There’s no
mouse or keyboard to use, just a touchscreen. This means that apps can
be created to accept input without these traditional input devices and
without special hardware. The onboard camera and microphone can also
be used for input, which is a big plus.
The portability of the iPad tablet is also a big advantage, because unlike
a desktop computer, or even a laptop, iPads can be taken almost any-
where. A child can be comfortable and work with the iPad alone or in a
group. This is a kind of flexibility computers can’t always offer.
iPad for Kids
Because there is a huge range of challenges for children, this book can-
not address in detail all of the apps available that are designed to work
with kids who need them. There would be, frankly, enough to fill a whole
book in and of itself. The approach of this appendix will be to list apps
that have been highly recommended in the area of communication.
These apps not only enable children to learn, but also facilitate commu-
nication between disabled children and others. This is done through
alternate ways of getting ideas and concepts across. A child with reduced
motor skills, for instance, can speak to the iPad and create written doc-
uments. A child with autism can use the iPad to reach out beyond the
walls that surround her and speak to her loved ones.
It seems like such a little thing, but we are social creatures, and commu-
nication is the basis of how we live with each other. And how we love.
Dragon Dictation
$app Cost of Dragon Dictation: Free
Dragon Dictation is an app that enables users to speak to the iPad and
have their spoken words translated to written form.
This application is stunningly good, because it uses a connection to the
Internet to tap into an online text-recognition database in real time. That
means you don’t have to load such a massive database onto the iPad,
though it does mean you will need to have an active Internet connection
to run the app.
Dragon Dictation has an easy interface, too. Tap the single big red
Record button to start a new recording and tap the screen again to stop
it. Once the recording is done, the text appears on the screen for editing
or sending to someone via email, Twitter, and Facebook. The text can
also be cut and pasted into other iPad apps.
iCommunicate
$app Cost of iCommunicate: $49.99
Parents of autistic children and those with behavioral problems that can
degrade traditional forms of communication can use iCommunicate to
create pictures, flashcards, storyboards, routines, and visual schedules.
342
Appendix Apps for Learning Challenges
Parents can also record custom audio in any language, and there is a text-
to-speech converter in the app, too.
The idea behind the app is to create pictures of known objects and then
enable the child to string them together to form the concept he wants to
communicate. This is done in a storyboard format, which can be con-
figured to allow for various degrees of coordination.
iConverse
$app Cost of iConverse: $9.99
iConverse is another app for those with communication challenges,
which uses Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) to get
ideas across. It is similar to the iCommunicate app, except that it uses
standard AAC iconography and concepts to build concepts.
iConverse is not optimized for the iPad, but it still gives children with
language issues an easy way to communicate.
Look2Learn
$app Cost of Look2Learn: $14.99
Look2Learn is another AAC software app. It has more flexibility than
iConverse, in that users, parents, and teachers can record their own voice
within the program. Also, picture sizes can be adjusted up or down to
compensate for children with visual or motor function challenges.
Pictures can be added to Look2Learn, and they can also be removed,
which is useful if fewer choices are needed.
343
iPad for Kids
Proloquo2Go
$app Cost of Proloquo2Go: $189.99
Another AAC app, but this one could be the last one you and your child
will need. Like other AAC apps listed in this appendix, Proloquo2Go has
text-to-speech and customizability.
It also brings 8,000 symbols and conjugations to the user, which is a sig-
nificantly high number. But it also brings a high price tag. At $189.99,
it is by far the most expensive app in this book.
Is the cost worth it? The designers seem to think so; they point out that
dedicated AAC devices can cost a lot more. Parents should take a look
at this app and do the legwork to make sure it’s right for their child before
purchasing it.
344
Index
Numerics screen, with adult hints, 136
+ app symbol, 69 setting up, 139–140
#+= Symbols key, 28 showing more object types, 141–142
3G showing more objects, 142
cellular access, 55 Speak Colors setting, 141
connection, 53–57 voice recording in, 147–149
when to have, 8 voices, 140
.?123 key, 28 animal sounds, 162–165
apostrophe, 29
A app
/+ symbol, 69
ABC key, 29
basic description of, 59
accented character, 29
black X icon, 61
accidental bumps, 19
configuration, 78–79
account, iTunes and iTunes Store, 11–13
deleting, 79–80
AlphaBaby
Discover, 72–74, 76
adding camera image, 152–154
getting your, 67–69
adding multiple images, 151–152
icon, 24
adding pictures, 149–151
iPhone-specific, 68
basic playing with, 135–139
iTunes, 70–72
colors, 143–145
moving, 60–61
cost, 134
moving with iTunes, 64–66
letters, 142
opening, 60
numbers, 142
rating, 79
object clutter, 137
reviews, 67
object gestures, 138–139
storing in folder, 61–64
quiz, 146
updating, 76–77
iPad for Kids
App Store (iTunes Store), 70–74 browser
Apple iPad camera connection kit, 10 customizing, 95–97
application. See app history of, 82
Archie tool, 81 Safari, 83–86
AT&T coverage browsing
3G connection, 53 how to browse, 83–85
troublesome areas, 8 multiple pages at once, 92–94
audio book, 114, 117 tabbed, 92
audio content, 116–117 Bubbles app, 165–166
author and title, iBook, 102 buying
auto-capitalization, 39 iBook, 104
auto-correction, 39 music album, 110-112
AutoFill tool, 95–96
C
B calling on FaceTime, 128–129
Baby Flash Cards app camera
audio and written description, 158–159 front-facing, 310
Play mode, 157 iPad versus iPad 2, 6
playing with, 155–157 Thermal Camera effects, 313
Quest mode, 157 X-Ray image effects, 313
self-describing objects in, 158–159 Camera app, 309–312
setting up, 158 Cancel button, 19
settings to grow on, 158 capitalization, 39
battery drain, 19 Caps Lock, 39
battery status, 24 case, iPad, 10
beginning and ending sounds, 229–233 cell phone signal, 2
Berners-Lee, Tim, 82 cellular access, 55
Best Kids App Web site, 67 chemistry, 301–303
BINGO app, 256–257 civics and government, 304–306
blends and digraphs, 229–233 clipboard functionality, 31
Bluetooth-capable wireless keyboard, 10 clock, 24
book. See also iBook color, iPad 2, 8
audio, 114, 117 .com key, 28–29
Dr. Seuss, 178–180 configuration, app, 78–79
finding reading material, 100–104 connection
learning to love the process of reading, 99 3G, 53–57
bookmark interference, 58
adding, 87–88 to iTunes
adding to Home screen, 89 auto and manual syncing, 44–46
basic description of, 86 basic description of, 43
iBook, 100, 107 choosing what to sync, 46–48
name, 88 restoring the iPad, 48–49
opening, 87 troubleshooting, 57–58
organizing, 89 WiFi, 49–53
Web clip, 89 connection kit, iPad camera, 10
346
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
connection status, 24 Time, Money & Fractions, 233
cookie, 96–97 Toddler Counting, 160
copying USA Manual, 304–306
paragraph, 31 Walk the World with Google Earth, 240
text, 29–31 What’s the Difference?, 180
correction, automatic, 39 Word Magic, 194
cost of app creative play, toddler apps, 165–169
AlphaBaby, 134 customizing browser, 95–97
Baby Flash Cards, 155 cutting, copying, and pasting
Bubbles, 165–166 paragraph, 31
Camera, 308 text, 29–31
Dragon Dictation, 342
Drawing Pad, 324 D
Elements, 301 data plan, 56
Fish School, 172 deleting app, 79–80
GarageBand, 330 differences
GeoWalk HD, 282 Fish School app, 176
Glow Draw, 323 What’s The Difference? app, 180–182
Google Earth, 240 digraphs, 229–233
I Hear Ewe, 162 dinosaur, 292–301
iCommunicate, 342 disabilities apps, 341–344
iConverse, 343 Discover app, 72–75
iDinoBook, 292 Dock, 10
iMovie, 314 Dock Connector, 13
K12 Timed Reading, 270–274 Dock Port, 21
Letter Lab, 226 Dolch sight word, 201
Look2Learn, 343 double-clicking Home button, 18
Math BINGO, 256 double-tap, 26
Math Magic, 183 Dr. Seuss books, 178–180
MathBoard, 275 dragging, 26
Noby Noby Boy, 167 Dragon Dictation app, 342
Phonics Made Easy, 229 drawing app
Photo, 308 description, 322–323
Photo Booth, 308 Drawing Pad, 324–325
Presidents of the United States, 286 Glow Draw, 323–324
Proloquo2Go, 344 SketchBook Pro, 325–327
Sentence Builder, 222 dumb terminal, 81
Sight Words HD, 246
SketchBook Pro, 325 E
Solar System, 258 early adopter, 1
Stack the States, 237 educational use of iPad, 4
Star Walk, 263 Elements app, 301–303
Super Why?, 216 Engadget Web site, 67
TeachMe: Kindergarten, 200
Tic Tac Math, 251
347
iPad for Kids
F G
FaceTime GarageBand app instruments
accepting/declining a call, 130 list of, 330–331
basic description of, 123–124 playing, 331–336
disabling, 127 Smart, 337–338
end the call, 128–130 general keyboard settings, 38–39
limitations, 124–125 geography
making a call, 128–130 GeoWalk HD app, 282–285
rear-facing camera, 131 Google Earth app, 240–243
setting up, 125–126 Stack the States app, 237–240
video mirroring, 131 GeoWalk HD app, 282–285
fanning, 26 gestures
Favorite Apps icon, 24 AlphaBaby, 138–139
fields, keyboard, 27 descriptions of, 26–27
first grade app gift card
Letter Lab, 226–229 iBook, 105
Phonics Made Easy, 229–233 iTunes, 72
Sentence Builder, 222–226 music album, 113
Stack the States, 237–240 Gizmodo Web site, 67
Time, Money & Fractions, 233–237 glob icon, 36
Fish School app Glow Draw app, 323–324
123 mode, 172, 174 Go key, 28
ABC mode, 172, 174 Google Earth app, 240–243
Colors mode, 173, 176 Gopher tool, 81
Differences mode, 173, 176 government and civics, 304–306
Matching mode, 173, 176 GPS system, 169
Musical ABC mode, 173, 176
Play mode, 172, 175 H
playing with, 173–178 headphone jack, 21
Shapes mode, 172, 176 hiding keyboard, 29
flash cards history, 286–289
Baby Flash Cards app, 155–160 history and social studies, 221
Word Magic app, 194–200 History feature, 90–91
flat interface, 3 Home button, 18
flicking, 26 Home screen, 22
folder adding bookmark to, 89
creating, 61–63 amount of apps and folders displayed in, 24
storing App in, 61–64 components of, 24
fourth grade apps illustration, 23
description, 291–292 in landscape mode, 24
Elements, 301–303 status, 24
iDino Book app, 292–301 HTML (HyperText Markup Language), 82
USA Manual app, 304–306 hyperlink, 85
fractions, 233–237
front-facing camera, 310
348
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
I iPad Dock, 10
I Hear Ewe app, 162–165 iPhone, 1–3
iBook iPhone-specific app, 68
bookmark, 100, 107 iPod, 116–117
buying, 104 ISP (Internet Service Provider), 49
gift card, 105 iTunes
moving to another location in, 107 account, 11–13
navigating beyond one page, 107 app, 70–72
page turner control, 108 Apps configuration page, 65
rating, 104 connection to
reading in, 106–108 auto and manual syncing, 44–46
syncing, 100–101 basic description of, 43
Table of Contents, 107 choosing what to sync, 46–48
text size adjustment, 108 restoring the iPad, 48–49
title and author, 102 Gift Card, 72
turning page forward and flipping page moving app with, 64–66
back, 106 iTunes app
iCommunicate app, 342–343 music album, 110–113
iConverse app, 343 podcast, 114–115
identity alert, 96 iTunes Store
iDinoBook app, 292–301 account, 11–13
iMovie app, 314–322 App Store, 70–72
Info page, 45 password, 72
instrument app, 330–338 Redeem link, 72
interference, connection, 58
J
International keyboard, 36–37
Internet Jobs, Steve, 2, 20
Apple’s vision of, 41
safety, 42
K
video, 119–120 K12 Timed Reading app, 270–274
Internet Service Provider (ISP), 49 keyboard
iPad #+= Symbols key, 28
basic description of, 2–3 .?123 key, 28
educational use of, 4 ABC key, 29
iPad 2 versus, 5–6 Bluetooth-capable, 10
market, 1–2 Caps Lock, 39
safety, 136 .com key, 28–29
selection considerations, 5–8 fields, 27
setting up, 10–15 general settings, 38–39
where to find, 9 globe icon, 36
iPad 2 Go key, 28
color, 8 hiding, 29
iPad versus, 5–6 hold-and-slide trick, 29
safety, 136 International, 36–37
where to find, 9 language specific, 35–39
349
iPad for Kids
moving text around, 29–31 math
numbers and punctuation, 28 BINGO app, 256–257
Return key, 28 TeachMe: Kindergarten app, 200–209,
returning to main, 29 211–216
in Safari browser, 28 Tic Tac Math app, 251–256
special keys, 29 Math Magic app
symbols, 28–29 customizing, 191–192
typing in, 29 increasing the difficulty, 191–192
kindergarten apps personalizing, 183–189
iPad age appropriate, 193 playing with, 189–190
Super Why?, 216–219 Reports screen, 188–189
TeachMe: Kindergarten skill settings, 191
configuring, 201–202, 213–215 SmarTots account, 184–188
description of, 200–201 MathBoard app
extra player, 203 adding students to, 278–279
playing with, 203–212 interface, 275
rewards, 206–212 playing, 279–281
Word Magic saving results, 282
customizing, 199–200 saving settings in, 276–277
personalizing, 194–197 setting up, 276
playing with, 197–198 memory device, 8
SmarTots account, 194–197 mental and physical challenges apps,
341–344
L microphone, 21
landscape mode, 24 money, 233–237
language, 221 moving
language specific keyboard, 35–39 app, 60–61
Letter Lab app, 226–229 app with iTunes, 64–66
letter tracing, 216–219 text, 29–31
letters multimedia
AlphaBaby app, 142 basic description, 109
Fish School app, 174–175 Internet video, 119–120
Word Magic app, 194–200 music album, 110–113
Linux machine, 10–11 playback, 116–118
Lock screen, 21–22 podcast, 114–115, 117
long and short vowels, 229–233 Multiple Page icon, 92–94
long-press, 26 multitouch interface, 3
Look2Learn app, 343 music
album, 110–113
M GarageBand app, 330–338
Mac, 10–11 instrument app, 330–338
mainframe, 81 Music page, 46–47
malware, 42 mute or screen rotation lock switch, 20
matching game, 176
350
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
N pinching the screen, 26
navigation planets
Web, 86 Solar System app, 258–263
Web site, 83 Star Walk app, 263–267
Netflix app, 70–71 playback, multimedia, 116–118
Noby Noby Boy app, 167–169 podcast, 114–115, 117
numbers pop-up window, 96
AlphaBaby app, 142 power-on sequence, 19
Fish School app, 174 pre-kindergarten app
and punctuation keyboard, 28 Dr. Seuss books, 178–180
Toddler Counting app, 160–162 Fish School, 172–178
Math Magic, 183–192
O repetition in play, 171–172
What’s the Difference?, 180–182
On/Off button, 19
Presidents of the United States app, 286–289
opening
processor, 5–6
app, 60
Proloquo2Go app, 344
bookmark, 87
pronunciation, 229–233
organizing bookmark, 89
punctuation keyboard, 28
P
Q
page turner control, iBook, 108
quiz, AlphaBaby, 146
PAL video output, 131
paleontology, 292–301 R
panning, 26
paragraph selection, 31 rating
password app, 79
iTunes Store, 72 iBook, 104
protected network, 52 reading
selection, 53 in iBook, 106–108
WiFi connection, 52 K12 Timed Reading app, 270–274
pasting Phonics Made Easy app, 229–233
paragraph, 31 Sight Words HD app, 248–251
text, 29–31 rear-facing camera, FaceTime, 131
PC, 10–11 Redeem link (iTunes Store), 72
peek-a-boo, 134–135 restoring the iPad, 48–49
pens, 226 Return key, 28
Photo app, 310–311 reviews, app, 67
Photo Booth app, 312–313 Rhapsody app, 68
photography rhyming
Camera app, 309–312 Phonics Made Easy app, 229–233
Photo app, 310–311 Super Why? app, 216–219
Photo Booth app, 312–313 rotation
physical and mental challenges apps, description of, 26
341–344 mute or screen rotation lock switch, 20
pictures, adding in AlphaBaby app, 149–152 router, 58
351
iPad for Kids
S social studies, 221
Safari browser, 83–86 Solar System app, 258–263
safety space
identity alert, 96 Elements app, 301–303
Internet, 42 Solar System app, 258–263
iPad and iPad 2, 136 Star Walk app, 263–267
screen rotation lock switch, 20 speaker, 21
screenshot, 19 special key, 29
scroll, 26 spelling, 200–216
Search bar, 94 SSID label, 50
search engine, 94 Stack the States app, 237–240
Search screen, 25 Star Walk app, 263–267
searching, 94 states, 237–240
second grade apps status bar, 24
basic description of, 245 storage
BINGO, 256–257 app, 61–64
Sight Word HD, 246–250 iPad and iPad 2 comparison, 6–8
Solar System, 258–263 stretching out app, 167–169
Star Walk, 263–267 stylus, 227–228
Tic Tac Math app, 251–256 success of iPad, 1–2
security, cookie, 97 suggestive searches, 94
Sentence Builder app Super Why? app, 216–219
levels, 224–225 surfing the Web, 82
personalizing, 222–224 swiping, 26
playing, 224–226 symbols keyboard, 28–29
reporting system, 225–226 synchronizing with iTunes, 44–48
SmarTots account, 222–224 syncing iBook, 100–101
server, 81
T
setting up iPad, 10–15
Setup Assistant, 13–15 tabbed browsing, 92
shapes, 176 Table of Contents, iBook, 107
Share action menu, 87–88 tablet, 3
side switch action, 39 tap, 26
sight word, 201, 248–251 TeachMe: Kindergarten app
Sight Word HD app configuring, 201–202, 213–215
playing, 246–248 description of, 200–201
setting up, 248–251 extra player, 203
size, iPad, 17 playing with, 203–212
SketchBook Pro app, 325–327 rewards, 206–212
Sleep/Wake button, 13, 19 text
Slide to Unlock control, 21–22 clipboard functionality, 31
Smart Cover, 10 cutting, copying and pasting, 29–31
Smart instrument, 337–338 moving, 29–31
smartphone market, 1–2 size adjustment in iBook, 108
352
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad
third grade apps podcast, 114–115
basic description, 269 watching, 118
GeoWalk HD, 282–285 watching on the road, 131
K12 Times Reading, 270–274 video mirroring, 131
MathBoard, 275–282 virus, 42
Presidents of the United States, 286–289 voice recording, 147–149
Tic Tac Math app, 251–256 Volume up/down control, 20
Time, Money & Factions app, 233–237
title and author, iBook, 102 W
toddler apps “walled garden” approach, 42
AlphaBaby, 134–152 wallpaper, 31–35
Baby Flash Cards, 155–159 Web
Bubbles, 165–166 history of, 82
I Hear Ewe, 162–165 navigation, 86
Noby Noby Boy, 167–169 surfing the, 82
Toddler Counting, 160–162 Web clip, 89. See also bookmark
Toddler Counting app, 160–162 Web site
touch, 25–26 Best Kids App, 67
touch-and-hold, 26 Engadget, 67
Trojan, 42 Gizmodo, 67
troubleshooting connection, 57–58 navigation, 83
turning off, 19 Webcam, 123
turning on, 19 What’s The Difference? app, 180–182
TV show, 114, 131 WiFi
two-fingered dragging, 26 basic description of, 2
typing in keyboard, 29 connection, 49–53
wireless router, 58
U Word Magic app
unlocking, 21–22 customizing, 199–200
updating app, 76–77 personalizing, 194–197
URL (Uniform Resource Locator), 83, 85 playing with, 197–198
USA Manual app, 304–306 SmarTots account, 194–197
Usenet tool, 81 writing app, 226–229
writing skill, 221
V
Verizon coverage X
3G connection, 53 X-Ray image effects, 313
troublesome areas, 8
video content Y
best viewing of, 120 YouTube, 119–120
iMovie app, 314–322
Internet, 119–120 Z
PAL video output, 131 zoom in/out effect, 26
353
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Using the iPad to
and
Brian Proffitt
iPad for Kids
Online Bonus Chapters
Chapter 18
Homework:
Documenting
with Pages
T he urge to put words on paper is very strong in most cultures.
Paper and ink lend a sense of permanence that we don’t seem to
have in our own brains. Scientists speculate that we do indeed remem-
ber everything we have experienced, perhaps all the way back to Minute
One. But, until we can figure out how to recall all of that detail, we still
need to write it down.
The written word has more uses than just archiving memories and
events. It’s still the most pervasive form of communication in the world.
Every type of media uses writing as its basis, even television (though
some writing there is a bit shaky). The Internet has been the fastest grow-
ing medium in the world, and even with the advent of streaming audio
and video, people mostly read the written works of others.
In an educational environment, the written word is even more important.
“Getting it in writing” isn’t just a euphemism; it’s the best way for chil-
dren to convey what they’ve learned and practice their communications
skills. In the classroom, communication is primarily done with docu-
ments, so the capability to read and edit documents on the iPad is very
important.
Pages, one of the three apps in the iWork suite, is a great tool to get your
words on paper or on computer screens around your company. In this
chapter, you will learn how to
iPad for Kids
5 Get around the Pages interface.
5 Create a Pages document.
5 Edit a Pages document.
5 Share Pages documents.
Creating a Pages Document
Even though the three iWork components are completely separate apps,
the developers at Apple have built these applications to share the same
content management system. This lends a consistency to the iWork apps,
which makes it easy to navigate content with these apps.
In Pages, this content management system is accessed by the My
Document button. Tapping on any of these buttons, located in the upper-
left corner of Pages, will open up the My Documents screen, which is
shown in Figure 18.1.
New Document File Management
Figure 18.1
The My
Documents
screen.
Share Add Document Delete
2
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
To view the documents on your iPad, flick through the documents that
appear in the My Documents screen. When the one you want is centered
and highlighted, tap the document to open and begin editing it.
Create a New Document
When you create a new document, you can create a blank document or
choose from the available templates provided by Pages. To create a new
document from the My Documents screen:
1. Tap the New Document button. The Choose a Template screen will
open (see Figure 18.2).
Figure 18.2
The Choose a
Template page.
2. Flick through the template gallery until you locate a document tem-
plate that fits your needs and tap it. Or tap the Blank document
option. The document will open for editing.
You can also tap the Add Document icon, which will open an action
menu from which you can tap the New Document option to start the new
document creation process.
3
iPad for Kids
Copy a Document
If there is a document on your iPad that has many style or content features
that you need in a new document, you can make a copy of the document.
1. Flick through the documents in the My Documents screen until the
one you want to copy is highlighted.
2. Tap the Add Document icon. The action menu will open.
3. Tap the Duplicate Document option. A copy of the document will
appear.
Rename a Document
If you would like to change the name of the copied (or any other) docu-
ment, long-press and release the name of the document on the screen.
The Rename Document screen will appear (see Figure 18.3).
Figure 18.3
The Rename
Document
screen.
Type a new name in the document name field and tap Done. The new
name will be applied.
4
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Import a Document
Besides creating new documents, Pages can open existing documents
that you can import to your iPad using iTunes.
1. With your iPad connected to your iTunes-equipped computer, click
the device listing to view the iPad window.
2. Click the Apps tab. The Apps page will open.
3. In the File Sharing section of the Apps page, click the Pages app.
The app’s file window will open (see Figure 18.4).
Figure 18.4
The File Sharing
section of the
Apps page.
4. Click the Add button. The Open dialog box will appear.
5. Navigate to the file(s) you want to add, click to select, and then click
Open. The files will be added to the file window.
6. Click Sync. iTunes will add the files to Pages.
7. In Pages, tap the File management icon. The File Management
action menu will appear.
8. Tap Copy from iTunes. The Import Document form will appear (see
Figure 18.5).
5
iPad for Kids
Figure 18.5
The Import
Document form.
9. Tap the document you want to import into Pages. The document will
be imported to Pages (see Figure 18.6).
Figure 18.6
Pulling in a
document.
6
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
5
NOTE Bumps on the Import Road
Sometimes, particularly when you are importing Microsoft Office
documents, iWork apps may bring up an Import Warning about
missing fonts. They’re not missing; they’re just fonts that the iWork
app doesn’t use. Typically, the iWork app will substitute another font
that’s similar in appearance.
10. Tap Done to dismiss any Import Warnings. The document will
appear in the Edit window and in the My Documents page.
Now that you understand the basics of creating new files or importing
content to Pages, let’s start looking at how to use Pages.
Exploring the Pages Interface
Part word processor, part desktop publisher, Pages has plenty of tools
and functions to put a document together. This section will detail the
tools that make up the Pages app.
When you work with a document in Pages, you will see a clean and sim-
ple interface (see Figure 18.7).
This interface seems almost too simple, but it contains a lot of power.
5 My Documents. Opens the My Documents screen, where documents
can be created, opened, and shared.
5 Undo. Undoes the last edit performed in the document.
5 Document Title. Gives the file name of the document.
5 Info. Opens the Style, List, and Layout menus, which handle para-
graph-level formatting.
5 Insert. Inserts photos and other objects into your document by using
the Media, Tables, Charts, and Shapes menus.
5 Tools. Accesses the Document Setup screen, as well as Find and Help
functions. Controls for edge guides and spell check are here as well.
5 Full Screen. Hides this toolbar when Full Screen is tapped.
7
iPad for Kids
My Documents Undo Document Title Info Insert Tools Full Screen
Figure 18.7
The Pages
interface.
This is not the end of the tools available in Pages. Tapping within any
document will immediately open the Ruler toolbar, shown in Figure 18.8.
8
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Paragraph Bold Italic Underline Align Align Align Justified Tab Close Ruler
Styles Left Center Right Menu Toolbar
Figure 18.8
The Ruler
toolbar.
Indent Left Margin Right Margin
The Ruler toolbar primarily focuses on the manipulation of text and
paragraph styling:
5 Paragraph Styles. Applies the selected style to selected text.
5 Bold. Applies the bold style to selected text.
5 Italic. Applies the italic style to selected text.
9
iPad for Kids
5 Underline. Underlines selected text.
5 Align Left. Aligns selected paragraphs to left margin.
5 Align Center. Centers selected paragraphs on page.
5 Align Right. Aligns selected paragraphs to right margin.
5 Justified. Justifies selected paragraphs to fill all space between margins.
5 Tab Menu. Enables insertion of a tab, line break, column break, or
page break.
5 Close Ruler Toolbar. Hides the Ruler toolbar.
5 Ruler. Enables accurate positioning of text.
5 Indent. Sets position of paragraph indentation.
5 Left Margin. Sets position of left margin.
5 Tab Stop. Sets position of tabs.
5 Right Margin. Sets position of right margin.
Editing Documents
When you work with a Pages document, you will do more than just type
in text. You will also need to do what’s known as word processing, a
technology that’s been around so long that most users have forgotten
what life was like before word processors came along. Two words: type-
writers and Wite-Out.
Word processing enables users to edit text at any point in a document. If
you make a mistake, you just go back and fix it. If there’s a body of text
to be moved, you just cut and paste it somewhere else (harkening back
to the days when text was literally cut and pasted with scissors and hot
wax or paste).
This functionality has been around for PC and Mac users for a long time,
but there weren’t many powerful tools available on a mobile platform,
until Pages.
Navigating Documents
Before you learn about word processing with Pages, it’s important that
you know how to move around within a document.
The easiest way to scroll within a document is to tap and drag up and
down on the screen. If you have a lot of pages to cover, you can also flick
up or down to move through the document more quickly. This method
is a little less accurate than the tap-and-drag technique.
10
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
If you want to have a higher degree of navigational control, tap and hold
the right edge of the document screen to see the visual scrolling tool
known as the Navigator (see Figure 18.9).
Figure 18.9
The Navigator.
Drag the Navigator up and down the screen until you find the page you
want to view. Release the Navigator, and the page will be displayed.
Selecting Text
Of all of the available menus in Pages, the Edit menu is perhaps the most
useful. It contains the most helpful commands in Pages.
In the Edit menu, you'll find the ubiquitous Cut, Copy, and Paste func-
tions, as well as the Copy Style, Replace, and Definition commands.
To use the Edit menu, you first need to select some text in the document.
There are two ways to select text in Pages:
5 Double-tap will select a single word in the document.
5 Triple-tap will select a paragraph in the document.
11
iPad for Kids
When you perform one of these tapping actions, the Edit menu will also
appear adjacent to the selected text. However, the Edit menu changes
with the amount of text selected. For instance, as you can see in Figure
18.10, when a single word is selected, more commands are available.
Figure 18.10
The Edit menu
for a selected
word.
When more than one word is selected, such as when you triple-tap to
select a paragraph, fewer commands are available (see Figure 18.11).
You can select more than just a single word or an entire paragraph.
Double- or triple-tap to select text in the document; then carefully tap
and drag one of the blue selection handles to position the selection to a
new location. The useful thing about changing a selection is that while
you’d think you would need to zoom into the document to see the
selected text better, dragging a selection handle actually brings up a mag-
nification tool to assist you in placing the handle more accurately (see
Figure 18.12).
12
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Figure 18.11
The Edit menu
for multiple
words.
Figure 18.12
Moving a
selection handle.
13
iPad for Kids
After the text is properly selected, you can use the Edit menu command
to manipulate text, such as cutting and pasting.
1. In an open Pages document, select a passage of text.
2. On the Edit menu, tap Cut.
3. Long-press the destination point for the cut text in the document.
The Edit menu will reappear.
4. Tap Paste. The cut text appears in the new spot.
You can create copies of text in just a few steps.
1. To copy text, select the text.
2. On the Edit menu, tap Copy.
3. Long-press the destination point for the cut text in the document.
The Edit menu will reappear.
4. On the Edit menu, tap Paste. A copy of the text appears in the new
spot.
Defining Words
Another useful tool in the Edit menu is the Definition tool. If you select
a single word, you can have Pages define that word for you.
1. Double-tap a word to select it.
2. On the Edit menu, tap More. Additional tools will appear.
3. Tap Definition. A Dictionary popover will appear with a definition
of the word (see Figure 18.13).
Figure 18.13
Defining iPad.
14
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Spell Checking Your Work
As you type words into Pages, you may notice that every once in a while
a suggested word will appear underneath the word you are typing. This
word is what Pages thinks is the correct spelling of what you’re typing.
Most of the time, this is a useful suggestion, and when you tap the space-
bar, the word you typed will be replaced with the correctly spelled word.
If you want to ignore this suggestion, tap the X icon in the suggested
word to remove it.
When you import existing documents, you may find existing misspelled
words. Fixing these words, indicated by a red dashed underline, is quick
and painless. Tap the word, and a menu of one or more alternatives will
appear (see Figure 18.14).
Figure 18.14
Getting the
spelling right.
Tap the correct word, and Pages will replace the misspelled word.
Applying Styles
Formatting a document is essential in today’s world. No longer are read-
ers content to see a page with plain-looking letters. Even a large fiction
novel, which is nothing but words, has been formatted with the font that
the publisher feels is most attractive and at the same time most legible.
Pages has three levels of formatting: characters, paragraphs, and pages.
15
iPad for Kids
When you format these items, you apply new fonts, change font sizes
and colors, set tab stops, indent lengths, and page margins—and that’s
just for starters.
The following two examples will guide you through the basics of for-
matting at the character and paragraph levels.
1. In an open Pages document, select a passage of text.
2. Tap the Italic button. The text will appear in an italicized font.
3. With the text selected, tap the Info icon. The Info action menu will
appear (see Figure 18.15).
Figure 18.15
The Info action
menu.
4. Flick to the bottom of the action menu and then tap Text Options.
The Text Options action menu will appear, shown in Figure 18.16.
5. Tap the Size control up or down to select a new size.
6. Tap the Color control. The Text Color action menu will appear.
7. Tap a desired color. The selected color will be represented by a
check mark.
8. Tap the Back button to return to the Text Options menu.
9. Tap the Font control. The Fonts action menu will appear (see Figure
18.17).
16
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Figure 18.16
The Text Options
action menu.
Figure 18.17
The Fonts action
menu.
10. Tap the desired font. The selected font will be represented by a
check mark.
17
iPad for Kids
5 TIP Working with More Font Options
In the Fonts action menu, many of the fonts have a blue options icon.
Tap the icon to find more variants of the font from which to choose.
11. Tap the Back button to return to the Text Options menu.
12. Tap the Info icon to see the results of your setting changes.
Paragraphs can be restyled as well.
1. Triple-tap a paragraph to select it.
2. Tap the Paragraph styles button on the Rulers toolbar. The Styles
action menu will appear.
3. Tap the desired style. The selected style will be represented by a
check mark.
4. Tap the Paragraph styles button to see the results of the changes.
5 TIP Another Path to Paragraph Styling
You can also tap the Info icon and change styles in the Style window
of the Info action menu.
If a paragraph or word has a specific style you would like to apply else-
where in your document, you don’t have to reformat text all day. Just
copy the style you want and paste it somewhere else.
1. Select the text with the style you want to duplicate. The Edit menu
will appear.
2. Tap the Copy Style option. (If a single word has been selected, tap
the More option to make this option available.) The style will be
copied.
3. Select a new passage of text. The Edit menu will appear.
4. Tap the More option.
5. Tap Paste Style. The style will be applied to the selected text.
18
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Making Lists
Lists in documents are commonplace. Two major types of lists include
numbered lists and bulleted lists. The following steps describe how to
create a list in Pages.
1. Type a four- to five-item list, pressing Enter after each item.
2. Select the entire list.
3. Tap the Info icon. The Info action menu will appear.
4. Tap the List option. The List page will appear.
5. Tap any of the available options. The selected option will be denoted
by a check mark.
6. Tap the right indent control to indent the list by an increased amount.
7. Tap the Info icon to see the results of the changes.
Working with Objects
In the early days of electronic document creation, there was text. That
was it. Things got rather more exciting when italic text came on the scene.
Underlining caused a huge ruckus. But then things sort of calmed down.
That lasted for a few years (eons in computer time), until someone got
the idea to put real-time artwork in documents. Today, if you don’t have
graphics in your document, people look at you funny.
Pages enables you to insert artwork quickly and easily into your docu-
ment, as explained in the following steps.
1. In an open Pages document, tap the Insert icon. The Insert action
menu will appear (see Figure 18.18).
2. Tap the Photo Album where your image is stored. The contents of
the album will be displayed.
3. Tap the desired image. The image will be inserted in the document.
4. Tap the Insert icon to see the results of the changes.
In the document, the image appears surrounded by a box comprised of
blue circles (see Figure 18.19). These are the graphic handles. The fol-
lowing steps show you how to size and move the image in your document.
19
iPad for Kids
Figure 18.18
The Insert action
menu’s Media
page.
Figure 18.19
An inserted
image, ready for
placement.
20
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
1. Tap and hold the left-center handle. Drag the handle to the right to
make the image smaller. You can repeat this action with any of the
graphic handles, sizing the image as you desire.
2. Tap and drag the image across the screen. The image will move
where you point it.
You can also rotate any image by using the special rotating gesture. Tap
an image to select it. Using two fingers as if rotating a dial or knob,
slowly rotate the image until you get it to the angle you want. Release
the image and tap anywhere else on the screen to see the results, as seen
in Figure 18.20.
Figure 18.20
It’s a topsy-turvy
world.
You can also insert tables into a Pages document. More complete than
lists, tables provide a fast, compact way of getting information across
to readers.
Creating a table in Pages is a fairly automated process, as the following
steps will show.
21
iPad for Kids
1. In an open Page document, tap the point where you want to insert
the table.
2. Tap the Insert icon. The Insert action menu will appear.
3. Tap the Tables tab. The Tables window will appear (see Figure 18.21).
Figure 18.21
Begin building a
table.
4. Flick to the left and right to find a table design that appeals to you.
5. Tap the option you want to use. A placeholder table will appear in
the document (see Figure 18.22).
22
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Row Handle Row Bar Column Bar Table Handles Columns Handle
Figure 18.22
A placeholder
table.
6. To add rows to a table, tap the row handle. A number control will
appear.
7. Tap the number control up or down to set the number of desired
rows.
8. Repeat to add columns, using the column handle.
9. To resize a table, tap and drag a table handle to bring the table to the
size you want.
10. Double-tap any cell to insert text.
23
iPad for Kids
Configuring a Document
Most documents you’ll create will be configured for letter-sized paper,
with standard margins. If you need to create a different type of docu-
ment, it’s a simple process to set that up.
1. Tap the Tools icon in Pages. The Tools action menu will appear.
2. Tap the Document Setup option. The Document Setup screen will
appear (see Figure 18.23).
Figure 18.23
The Document
Setup screen.
3. Tap and drag any of the margin handles to resize the margins.
4. Tap the folded corner. The page will flip up to reveal the Paper Size
options (see Figure 18.24).
5. Tap the size option you want. The page will flip back down, and the
new option will be displayed.
6. Tap Done. The main Pages screen will appear with the new options
in place.
24
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
Figure 18.24
Viewing the
Paper Size
options.
5TIP Persistent Objects
If you want to insert an image (such as a corporate logo) or other
object on every page of your document, tap the Object icon in the
Document Setup screen to insert the object on the page just as you
would an individual page.
Share Pages Documents
You may have wondered where the option is to save your work. You
might be surprised, and even alarmed, to learn that Pages doesn’t have
a button or control for you to save a document.
There is nothing to worry about. Pages, and the other iWork apps, will
automatically save your work as you go. This enables you to click the
Home button to leave the Pages app at any time, or just click the
Sleep/Wake button to put down the iPad and come back to it later.
25
iPad for Kids
Instead of saving a document, Pages gives you the option to share your
document. This can be done through one of three options:
5 Send via Mail. The document will be sent to a specified recipient via
the Mail app.
5 Share via iWork.com. The document will be sent to Apple’s
iWork.com site, where you and other permitted users can access the
document and collaborate on it online.
5 Export. The document will be sent back to your iTunes computer so
it can be saved there.
Of the three options, it is likely you will use the Export option most, as
saving your work on a local computer is a more typical function. Here
are the steps to export your document:
1. When ready to export a document, tap the My Documents button.
The My Documents screen will open.
2. Tap the Share icon. The Share action menu will appear.
3. Tap the Export option. The Export Document form will appear (see
Figure 18.25).
Figure 18.25
The Export
Document form.
4. Tap the format you want to use. The document will be exported.
5. Sync your iPad.
6. Click the device listing in iTunes and then click the Apps tab. The
Apps page will open.
26
Chapter 18 Homework: Documenting with Pages
7. In the File Sharing section of the Apps page, click the Pages app.
The app’s file window will open.
8. Click the file you exported. The file will be selected.
9. Click the Save to button. A Save dialog box will open.
10. Save the file to the desired location.
Conclusion
This introduction to Pages and its many functions covered a lot of mate-
rial, but there is more to the iWork suite than just a word processor.
Chapter 19, “Homework: Analyzing with Numbers,” will focus on the
spreadsheet app for iWork, the Numbers app.
27
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Chapter 19
Homework:
Analyzing with
Numbers
A ccountants aren’t the only ones using spreadsheets these days.
With online banking, online trading, and online loan applications
available to the average consumer, more and more people are using
spreadsheets to track their rapidly changing finances.
But spreadsheets have another, almost-secret use: they are great for
putting together sharp tables and charts for school presentations and
reports. Not to mention the way they handle math in ways that will chal-
lenge students to learn more. This is why spreadsheet applications are
getting taught as early as elementary school in some districts.
Parents can get a lot of use from a spreadsheet, too, as they track house-
hold finances, chore charts, and any other kind of information that reads
well in a table.
Numbers, the iWork spreadsheet app, delivers the spreadsheet power you
need from your iPad. This app delivers many of the same functions
found in Microsoft Excel or Numbers on OS X, and it maintains inter-
operability with these applications and the rest of the iWork suite.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Use the basic interface of spreadsheets and Numbers.
5 Build basic spreadsheets.
5 Format data in Numbers.
iPad for Kids
5 NOTE Creating and Sharing Spreadsheets
All of the iWork apps share the same file management tools, so creat-
ing, importing, and sharing spreadsheets in Numbers is functionally
identical to performing these actions in Pages and Keynote. Refer to
the appropriate sections in Chapter 18, “Homework: Documenting
with Pages,” for details on these actions.
A Spreadsheet Primer
You have likely used a spreadsheet before at one time or another. Many
spreadsheet users, however, often do not create or modify the basic
workings of the spreadsheets they use. They just plug in the numbers
and print the assigned reports like they’re supposed to.
There comes a time in computer users’ lives when they need to create a
spreadsheet for themselves. At that time, it’s a good idea to know how
these spreadsheet doodads work.
It all comes down, more or less, to cells. A familiar type of cell is the
basic building block of your body. There are many different types of
cells: muscle cells, skin cells, liver cells—the list goes on and on. But
no matter what kind of cell you look at, they all have pretty much the
same basic structure: nucleus, plasma, cell wall, mitochondria, and other
hard-to-pronounce components. Even though they have the same overall
structure, cells can have vastly different jobs because of the specialized
way they have been put together.
The same theory applies to spreadsheet cells. They are all rectangular,
and they all can contain data. But each cell in a spreadsheet can have a
different task. One cell may sit empty, filled in with an attractive shade
of purple. Another cell may contain the number 42. Still another may
contain a formula that refers to the number 42 in another cell and dis-
plays something completely different.
Cells are all the same, but they can be used in many different ways.
Cells are typically positioned and referred to in rows and columns. By
universal convention, spreadsheet rows are denoted with numbers, and
columns are denoted with letters. Because spreadsheets sometimes need
more than 26 columns, the columns after the letter Z move to a two-
letter notation (AA, AB, AC, and so on).
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Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
You can identify cells by their row and column position in the spread-
sheet. The cell that’s five rows down and two columns across contains
the number of goals made by Tracey, as seen in Figure 19.1.
Figure 19.1
Here are
Tracey's goals.
Multiple cells are called ranges. A selection box denotes a selected range
of cells. The coordinates of a range include the cell in the upper-left cor-
ner of the range and the cell in the lower-right corner of the range. Thus,
you would reference the range selected in Figure 19.2 as B5:G5.
Numbers is unique among spreadsheet applications because it does not
usually deal with cell data in a coordinate fashion. Instead, data is con-
tained within a table format, which means that on a given sheet within
a spreadsheet, Numbers only manipulates data as a table.
Now you’ve got the basics down. As you progress through the chapter,
you will start to see how the cells of a spreadsheet fit together to make
a body of data.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 19.2
A Numbers
range.
Exploring the Numbers Interface
When you start cooking, you want to have all of your ingredients out on
the counter before you begin. Nothing is so frustrating as having to stop
to find the jar of peaches when your hands are covered in flour. Even
better, have your ingredients chopped, cut, and measured before you
begin for true speed.
The same concept applies when building a spreadsheet. You need to have
all of your tools before you begin. In this section, the Numbers interface
will be examined.
When you open a spreadsheet in Numbers, you will see a clean and sim-
ple interface (see Figure 19.3).
32
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
Sheet Tabs Undo Spreadsheet Info Insert Tools Full Screen
Title
Figure 19.3
The Numbers
interface.
This interface seems almost too simple, but it contains a lot of power.
5 My Spreadsheets. Opens the My Documents screen, where spread-
sheets can be created, opened, and shared.
5 Undo. Undoes the last edit performed in the spreadsheet.
5 Spreadsheet Title. Shows the file name of the spreadsheet.
5 Info. Opens the Table, Headers, Cells, and Format menus, which han-
dle cell and table formatting.
5 Insert. Inserts photos and other objects into your spreadsheet with
the Media, Tables, Charts, and Shapes menus.
5 Tools. Accesses the Find and Help functions. Controls for edge guides
and spell check are here as well.
5 Full Screen. Hides this toolbar (when tapped) and enters the full-
screen mode, which can display summary data.
5 Sheet Tabs. Shows tabs that open any single sheet within the spread-
sheet document.
There are more tools available in Numbers. Double-tapping within any
cell will immediately open what Apple refers to as an “intelligent key-
board” to edit cell data, as shown in Figure 19.4.
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iPad for Kids
Number Date & Time Text Formula and Functions Cell
Keyboard Keyboard Keyboard Keyboard Value
Figure 19.4
Number
keyboard
The keyboard will adjust to the type of data found in the cell. Double-
tapping a cell with text, for instance, will bring up the Text keyboard
shown in Figure 19.5.
By tapping on any of the keyboard control buttons, you can switch to a
new keyboard, such as the Date & Time keyboard and the Formula and
Functions keyboard.
Figure 19.5
The Text
keyboard.
34
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
The Full Screen view does more than hide the toolbar and keyboard. Tap
the Full Screen icon, and these elements will indeed be hidden, but if
you long-press a cell, you will see a summary window for the data in the
cell pop up. Drag across a range of cells, and you will see a summary of
the data in that range, as seen in Figure 19.6.
Figure 19.6
A summary of a
data range.
Swipe the summary window to the left, and you will see a graph of the
same data, generated on the fly.
Editing Spreadsheets
When you work with Numbers spreadsheets, you will notice that many
of the tools involved resemble the table editing tools in the Pages app.
That’s because Numbers organizes data in tables. Fortunately, this model
makes a lot of sense for a device where you’re using a touchscreen and
virtual keyboards.
Navigating Spreadsheets
Before learning about spreadsheet work, it’s important that you know
how to move around within a spreadsheet.
To scroll within an individual sheet, the easiest way is to tap and drag
up and down the screen. If you have a lot of data rows to cover, you can
also flick up or down to move through the sheet more quickly. This
35
iPad for Kids
method is a little less accurate than the tap-and-drag technique. Most
sheets don’t contain that much data, so this is usually all that is going to
be needed.
Spreadsheets can contain any number of sheets. To get from sheet to
sheet, simply tap the sheet’s tab on top of the Numbers screen. If a tab
is not visible, tap and drag (or flick) the tabs left or right to scroll to the
proper tab.
If you need to add a sheet to the spreadsheet, scroll to the far right of the
tabs and tap the Add Sheet tab, denoted by a “+” sign. A blank sheet
called Sheet 1 will be added to the end of the sheet tab row.
To rename the new sheet, quickly double-tap the sheet label in the tab.
A cursor and keyboard will appear, enabling you to rename the sheet.
To move the sheet, tap and drag the tab across the tab row to the new
location and release.
If you want to remove a sheet, you will need to perform a slightly mod-
ified gesture. Tap the tab to be deleted once, pause, and then tap again.
The Edit menu will appear. Tap the Delete option, and the sheet will be
removed.
Manipulating Content
As with iWork apps, replicating or moving content around can be done
with the Edit menu, using the Cut, Copy, and Paste functions. In
Numbers, you can also select cells or a range of cells to move them.
To use the Edit menu, you need to select cells in a table first. This is done
by tapping on a cell once. To select a range of cells, tap and drag one of the
cell selection handles so the selection box encompasses the cells you want.
To see the Edit menu, you need to tap once more on the selected cell or
cell range. This will bring up the Edit menu shown in Figure 19.7.
If you want to select content within a cell and access the Edit menu, dou-
ble-tap the cell to bring up its associated keyboard. Then double-tap the
value of the cell in the keyboard to see its Edit menu, as seen in Figure 19.8.
Table rows and columns can also be changed with the Edit menu. Tap a
cell in a table to see the table bars. To select an entire row, tap the row
bar next to the row you want to select. Then tap the row handle once to
see the row’s Edit menu (see Figure 19.9).
Once the cell, value, row, or column is properly selected, you can use
the Edit menu command to cut and paste these items, just as you would
in any iWork app.
36
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
Figure 19.7
The Edit menu in
Numbers.
Figure 19.8
A value’s Edit
menu.
37
iPad for Kids
Figure 19.9
A row’s Edit
menu.
Numbers also has an even easier way to move content around—just tap
and drag.
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, tap a single cell once to select it.
2. Long-press the cell and drag it to a new location in the table.
3. Release the cell. The cell appears in its new spot.
Any selected item can be moved this way. The trick, which takes a little
practice, is not to double-tap the item. Select it, pause, and then long-
press the object or its handle if it’s a row or column to start moving it.
Table handles can be used to add rows or columns quickly. Tap and drag
the row handle down the screen, and you will add rows to the table, as
seen in Figure 19.10.
38
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
Figure 19.10
Resizing a
Numbers table
adds rows or
columns to the
table.
Working with Cell Content
There is no one way to display data values. One dataset may project a
significant value to the hundredths place, while another projects it to the
thousandths place.
Even in the English-speaking cultures, numbers carry different names.
In the United States, citizens refer to 1,000,000,000 as a billion. In the
United Kingdom, a billion is officially 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Advocates of the Queen’s English refer to this as yet another example
of the insidious U.S. corruption of the English language. Quite.
Within a spreadsheet, it may not be obvious to users what is a data value
and what is text. Is that 1999 a year, one short of 2,000 items, or the
brand name of a new band?
In Numbers, the easier way to tell is to double-tap the cell to see which
keyboard appears. You can also use the keyboard to reformat a cell’s value.
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, double-tap a numeric cell once to
select it. The Number keyboard will appear.
2. Tap the Currency button. The format for the cell will change to cur-
rency, which will be reflected in the keyboard and in the cell.
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iPad for Kids
If you want to get more refined formatting, or you need to format a range
of cells, you can use the Info action menu to format the data.
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, select a range of cells.
2. Tap the Info icon. The Info action menu will appear (see Figure 19.11).
Figure 19.11
The Info action
menu in
Numbers.
3. Tap the Format button to open the Format window.
4. Tap the Currency option control. The Currency Options window will
appear (see Figure 19.12).
5. Tap the Currency option. The Currency Symbol window will appear.
6. Tap the desired currency symbol option. The format will be applied.
Using the Info action menu, you can format the values of a cell and the
look and feel of the cells as well.
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, select a range of cells.
2. Tap the Info icon. The Info action menu will appear.
3. Tap the Cells button to open the Cells window (see Figure 19.13).
4. Tap the Fill Color option. The Fill Color window will appear.
5. Tap the desired color. The selected color will be denoted by a check
mark and applied to the selected range in the table.
40
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
Figure 19.12
Detailing the
currency format.
Figure 19.13
Formatting cells.
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iPad for Kids
Creating Formulas
A key function of any spreadsheet app is performing calculations on
your data. Otherwise, your spreadsheet will be nothing more than a
nice-looking collection of words and numbers. This is useful for pre-
senting school reports and similar information, but older kids may want
to also take advantage of the mathematic features of Numbers to help
get their advanced math work done.
Numbers has hundreds of functions to apply to your data, ranging from
accounting to engineering to trigonometric. Whichever one you use, it’s
not hard to use these functions to create simple or advanced formulas for
your work.
To create a formula (in this case, a straightforward SUM function), fol-
low these steps:
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, double-tap the cell to which you
want to add the formula. The keyboard for the cell will appear.
2. Tap the Formulas and Function control. The Formulas and Functions
keyboard will appear (see Figure 19.14).
Figure 19.14
Prepping to add
a formula.
42
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
5TIP Learn Your Functions
If you want to learn more about the functions in Numbers, tap the func-
tions key on the Formulas and Functions keyboard. Navigate to the
function you want to learn and click the blue advanced icon next to the
listing to reveal a detailed explanation of the function’s purpose and
how to implement it.
3. Tap the SUM key. The function will be inserted with Numbers
guessing the data range you want summed.
4. To change the range to be summed, tap and drag the range handles
to encompass the correct range.
5. Tap the green check mark to submit the formula to the cell. The
value of the formula will be displayed in the cell.
Adding Charts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and rarely is that more
true than when working with a bunch of data. Envisioning the impact of
rows and rows of information can be challenging, to say the least.
To help convey the meaning behind the numbers, spreadsheet applica-
tions like Numbers use charts to display data in a format that enables
users to grasp the data immediately.
1. In an open Numbers spreadsheet, tap the Insert icon. The Insert
action menu will appear.
2. Tap the Charts button. The Charts window will appear.
3. Tap the chart type you want to use. A placeholder chart will appear
on the sheet (see Figure 19.15).
43
iPad for Kids
Figure 19.15
A placeholder
chart.
4. Double-tap the placeholder chart. The chart will be readied for
adding references.
5. Tap the table from which to pull the chart data.
6. Select the range of data to chart.
7. Tap Done. The new chart will be configured with the data (see
Figure 19.16).
44
Chapter 19 Homework: Analyzing with Numbers
Figure 19.16
A completed pie
chart.
Conclusion
Numbers is an effective tool for the creation and management of sharp-
looking data and information for your child. This chapter reviewed many
of the basic tools of Numbers, and as you explore this application in your
continued use of the iPad, you will find it to be a very powerful tool.
Chapter 20, “Homework: Presenting with Keynote,” will review the
iWork app that will enable your child to present your ideas to the world
in new and attractive ways: Keynote.
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Chapter 20
Homework:
Presenting with
Keynote
E ducators around the world have begun to recognize that how we
meet is at least as important as why we meet.
Why we meet is to teach new ideas and improve the knowledge of our
children. And fancy collaborative fads aside, classrooms, conferences,
and meetings work better when the many settle down and listen to one
person every once in a while.
Which means that one person has to get up and speak before the many.
This is something a lot of students now have to do, beyond the usual
show and tell. Oftentimes, students not only have to write a report for
school but present it as well. And that is where the iWork application
Keynote comes into play.
In this chapter, you will
5 Explore the Keynote interface.
5 Learn how to organize ideas for a presentation.
5 Create a Keynote presentation.
iPad for Kids
5 NOTE Creating and Sharing Presentations
All of the iWork apps share the same file management tools, so creat-
ing, importing, and sharing presentations in Keynote is functionally
identical to performing these actions in Pages and Numbers. Refer to
the appropriate sections in Chapter 18, “Homework: Documenting
with Pages,” for details on these actions.
What the Heart Wants, with Slides
True story: when my middle daughter was nine, she was very committed
to getting the Wii game console. We were not sure how this little obsession
started, but for a few days that summer, her mother and I were inundated
with fun little facts about this device at the time…but no direct request.
We were bracing for that request, since her birthday had just passed, and
Christmas was a long way off.
Then, for two days, nothing. No mention of this or that cool game. Just
a lot of quiet from her room. Quiet that made us rather nervous.
The silence on the matter ended when she asked to borrow my laptop,
and in front of a curious audience of two in the living room, proceeded
to make a very good slideshow presentation on the pros and cons of her
getting the Wii, complete with pictures of acceptable devices and tables
on how much and when she could contribute, based on extra chores.
There were typos, and a penchant for lots of animated objects, but at the
end, her mother and I were impressed enough with the thought process
and initiative that we set up an agreement with a payment schedule for her.
What can I say? It was a great presentation.
Getting stuff from parents is not the primary reason one should use pre-
sentation software. A much more common use is preparing school pre-
sentations, something schools do far more than using spreadsheets or
word processing documents these days. This brings us to the component
in iWork that gets this job done for you: Keynote.
Exploring the Keynote Interface
The makers of Keynote have loaded it with quite a few interesting tools
that help you build great-looking presentations with ease. This is read-
ily apparent when looking at the Keynote interface (see Figure 20.1).
48
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
My Undo Presentation Info Insert Animations Tools Start
Presentations Title Presentation
Figure 20.1
The Keynote
interface.
Add Slide Slide Window Preview Window
While it shares some similarities with the other iWork apps, Keynote is
immediately different from Pages and Numbers in that there is only one
orientation available: horizontal. You can pivot your iPad all you want,
but Keynote will always stay in this orientation, since that’s the most
optimal for Keynote.
The main tools that Keynote uses are
5 My Presentations. Opens the My Presentations screen, where pre-
sentations can be created, opened, and shared.
5 Undo. Undoes the last edit performed in the presentation.
5 Presentation title. Shows the file name of the presentation.
5 Info. Opens the Style, Text, and Arrange menus, which handle for-
matting for slide text.
5 Insert. Inserts photos and other objects into your presentation with
the Media Tables, Charts, and Shapes menus.
5 Animations. Starts the Animations tool to create slide transitions.
5 Tools. Accesses the Find and Help functions. The controls for guides,
slide numbering, and spell check are here as well.
5 Start Presentation. Starts the presentation when tapped.
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iPad for Kids
5 Add Slide. Enables you to add slides based on the current theme or a
blank slide.
5 Slide Window. Displays the slides for your presentation in a window.
5 Preview Window. Previews individual slides in your presentation in
the editing and display window.
Creating a Presentation
After you have figured out what to say, there are two opposing schools
of thought when creating a new presentation in Keynote:
5 Outline your presentation content first and worry about the design later.
5 Create a blank design and fill in the text later.
There is no right way to do this, really. Each method has an equal num-
ber of pros and cons. It basically comes down to personal preferences:
Do you like to organize your text first or your slides first?
If you are new to using Keynote or a similar application, I recommend
that you use the “Create a new presentation from scratch” to get things
started. It’s simple and quick. Plus, it’s much easier to build a base of
slide design and add content as needed.
1. Tap the Keynote app icon. Keynote will start.
2. Tap Presentations. The Keynote screen will appear.
3. Tap the Add Presentation icon. The Add Presentation action menu
will appear.
4. Tap the New Presentation option. A gallery of presentation templates
will appear on the Choose a Theme page (see Figure 20.2).
5 TIP Get More Themes
There are many third-party vendors who have themes for Keynote for
iPad available. Some are free, and some come with a small cost. One
such vendor is KeynoteStage.com.
5. Tap the White Portfolio option. The template will appear in the
Preview window (see Figure 20.3).
50
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.2
Keynote has
some nice
themes with
which to work.
Figure 20.3
The first slide
in your
presentation.
51
iPad for Kids
Editing Text
When you create any new slide in Keynote, it will usually have what’s
known as placeholder text on the slide to get you started. You can use the
position and format of the text that’s there and just replace the dummy
content with your own. Or you can get creative and move things around.
1. In a new slide, double-tap the placeholder text you want to replace.
The cursor and keyboard will appear.
2. Type your text in. When finished, tap somewhere else on the slide.
3. To change the position of the text, long-press the text block and drag
the text to a new position on the slide (see Figure 20.4).
Figure 20.4
Repositioned
text.
4. To change the text format, tap the text block once to select it and
then tap the Info icon. The Info action menu will appear.
5. Tap the Text button. The Text action menu will appear.
6. Flick to the bottom of the action menu and tap Text Options. The
Text Options action menu will appear, shown in Figure 20.5.
52
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.5
The Text Options
action menu.
7. Tap the Size control up or down to select a new size.
8. Tap the Color control. The Text Color action menu will appear.
9. Tap a desired color. The selected color will be represented by a
check mark.
10. Tap the Back button to return to the Text Options menu.
11. Tap the Font control. The Fonts action menu will appear.
12. Tap the desired font. The selected font will be represented by a
check mark.
5TIP Working with More Font Options
In the Fonts action menu, many of the fonts have a blue options icon.
Tap the icon to find more variants of the font from which to choose.
13. Tap the Back button to return to the Text Options menu.
14. Tap the Info icon to see the results of your setting changes.
53
iPad for Kids
Handling Images
Images are an important part of any presentation. They can be abstract
images designed to entertain and intrigue the audience or images of spe-
cific things, such as new products.
Whatever the image, you can insert and manipulate images very quickly
in Keynote.
1. In a Keynote slide, tap the Insert icon in the toolbar or tap the Insert
icon on any placeholder image. The Insert action menu will appear
(see Figure 20.6).
Figure 20.6
The Insert
Action menu’s
Media page.
2. Tap the Photo Album where your image is stored. The contents of
the album will be displayed.
3. Tap the desired image. The image will be inserted in the document,
replacing the placeholder image.
In the document, the image appears surrounded by a box comprised of
blue circles. These are the graphic handles. The following steps show
you how to size and move the image in your document (see Figure 20.7).
1. Tap and hold any handle. Drag the handle toward the center of the
image to make the image smaller. You can repeat this action with
any of the graphic handles, sizing the image as you desire.
2. Tap and drag the image across the screen. The image will move
where you point it.
54
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.7
The new resized
image.
You can also rotate any image using the special rotating gesture. Tap an
image to select it. Using two fingers as if rotating a dial or knob, slowly
rotate the image until you get it to the angle you want. Release the image
and tap anywhere else on the screen to see the results.
Adding Slides
It’s easy to build an individual slide, but unless you’re planning on just
having a single placard behind you on the screen, you might want to add
more slides to your presentation.
1. In Keynote, tap the Add Slide icon. The Tap to add a slide action
menu will appear (see Figure 20.8).
2. Tap a slide sample. The slide will be added to the end of your pre-
sentation and displayed in the preview window.
3. Repeat these steps as needed.
As you add slides, you may want to edit text and images as you go or
continue to add slides now and come back to edit these objects later.
55
iPad for Kids
Figure 20.8
The Tap to add a
slide action
menu.
Changing Slide Order
Sometimes, as you’re creating slides on the fly, you may decide to
change your mind about the order of your slides. Maybe it’s a good idea,
for instance, to talk about last fiscal year’s results before you project the
coming fiscal year.
You can change the order of the slides with just a single gesture. In the
Slide window, long-press the slide thumbnail you want to move and drag
it to the new position in the presentation. Release the thumbnail, and the
slide is in the new position.
Another useful presentation trick is hiding an individual slide in your
presentation. A good use case for skipping a slide is a presentation you
make in three different offices that will share most of the same material,
but has at least one slide with unique information about each respective
office. You could make three separate presentations for each office, but
why waste the storage? Make one slide for each office and then have
Keynote skip the two slides that don’t apply to the office where you are
making your presentation.
1. In Keynote, tap a slide thumbnail to select it and tap it again. The
Slide Edit menu will appear (see Figure 20.9).
56
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.9
The Slide Edit
menu.
2. Tap the Skip option. The slide will be compressed to a line, and the
Slide window will renumber the “visible” slides (see Figure 20.10).
Figure 20.10
Skipped slides
aren’t deleted,
just hidden.
57
iPad for Kids
3. To stop a slide from being skipped, tap the skipped slide thumbnail
to select it and then tap it again. The Slide Edit menu will appear.
4. Tap the Don’t Skip option. The slide will be expanded and made vis-
ible again.
Animating Transitions
If you were to show your slides now, they would simply flash from one
slide to the next, with no transition between them. What you need is an
animation that will transition your presentation smoothly from one slide
to the next.
1. In Keynote, tap a slide thumbnail to which you want to add a tran-
sition; then tap the animation icon. The Animation tools will appear
(see Figure 20.11).
Figure 20.11
The Animation
tools.
2. To add an animation to the entire slide, tap the blue advanced icon
on the slide thumbnail. The Transitions action menu will appear (see
Figure 20.12).
58
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.12
The Transitions
action menu.
3. Tap the transition option you want. The slide thumbnail will be
marked with a transition icon, and the animation will be previewed
once in the Preview window.
4. To change the animation effect, tap the Options button in the
Transitions action menu. The Effects page will appear (see Figure
20.13).
Figure 20.13
The Effects
page in the
Transitions
action menu.
59
iPad for Kids
5. Slide the duration slider to adjust the length of time for the anima-
tion effect.
6. Dial the orientation tool to change the direction of the animation.
7. Tap Done. The transition will be added to the slide.
You can also add transitions to items in a slide, such as a list that will
display only one item at a time.
1. In Keynote, tap a slide thumbnail to which you want to add a tran-
sition; then tap the animation icon. The Animation tools will appear.
2. To add an animation to a list, tap the text block with the list. The
Transitions Edit menu will appear (see Figure 20.14).
Figure 20.14
The Transitions
Edit menu.
3. Tap the + icon in the Build In option. The Build In action menu will
appear (see Figure 20.15).
4. Tap the option you want to use for building in the list items. An ani-
mation of the effect will appear in the Preview window.
5. To apply the effect to individual list items, tap the Delivery button
in the Build In action menu. The Delivery page will appear (see
Figure 20.16).
60
Chapter 20 Homework: Presenting with Keynote
Figure 20.15
The Build In
action menu.
Figure 20.16
The Delivery
page in the Build
In action menu.
6. Tap the By Paragraph option.
7. Tap Done. The animation will be added to the list items.
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iPad for Kids
Presenting Your Ideas
Presenting your Keynote presentation can be done by either exporting
the file to another computer or exporting it directly from your iPad, using
the optional iPad VGA to Dock adapter, which will allow you to con-
nect the device directly to a slide projector.
5 TIP Exporting Presentations
If you export your presentation as a PowerPoint file, you should note
that you will likely lose many of the transitions you built into the file.
Exporting to Keynote is a better option, if you can.
To run a presentation, all you have to do is tap the first slide in the pre-
sentation and then tap the Start Presentation icon. This will expand the
slides to full screen, and as you keep tapping, the presentation will
advance through its slides.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you reviewed the wealth of tools contained within the
Keynote app. You can create slick-looking presentations in very little
time and can present them directly from your iPad with some additional
equipment.
In Chapter 21, “Homework: Printing,” you will discover how to put all
of your ideas on paper by exploring the printer options available from
the iPad—even if you don’t have a compatible printer.
62
Chapter 21
Homework:
Printing
T oday, the number of communication devices you can use is just
phenomenal: printers, speakers, television tuners, cameras, alarm
systems…and yes, even the iPad.
But believe it or not, people still like to see things on paper. Maybe it’s
the feel in their hands. Maybe it’s the sense of permanence. Whatever
the reason, print is still a big part of our daily lives.
When the iPad was first introduced, many industry watchers immedi-
ately noticed the lack of a USB port, and wondered aloud, “How will
users be able to print from the iPad?” (There are people who actually get
paid to think up questions like this.) Surely, they thought, Apple will pro-
vide a utility for wireless printing. But when the iPad was first
announced, imagine their surprise when no such utility was available.
It would not be long, though, before third-party vendors would step up
to provide solutions that would provide printing functionality from
nearly every iPad app that could utilize it. The best of these, to date, is
PrintCentral by EuroSmartz.
With the release of iOS 4.2, Apple itself added AirPrint functionality to
the iPad (and the later-released iPad 2). AirPrint will seamlessly connect
to any AirPrint-compatible printer on your network, without any con-
figuration steps.
iPad for Kids
In this chapter, you will find out how to
5 Print from most apps with AirPrint functionality.
5 Connect to printers on your local network.
5 Connect to printers via 3G access.
5 View and print files on your local PC.
5 Print emails, contacts, and Web pages from your iPad.
5 Mount your iPad as an external drive.
Print with AirPrint
If you are fortunate enough to have a printer that’s compatible with the
AirPrint system, then whenever your iPad is in the same network as such
a printer, you can print directly to that printer.
Currently, there are 15 printers that will work with AirPrint, all in
Hewlett-Packard’s ePrint line of printers:
5 HP Envy eAll-in-One series (D410a)
5 HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fn Color Multifunction Printer
5 HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw Color Multifunction Printer
5 HP LaserJet Pro CP1525n Color Printer
5 HP LaserJet Pro CP1525nw Color Printer
5 HP LaserJet Pro M1536dnf Multifunction Printer
5 HP Photosmart e-All-in-One (D110)
5 HP Photosmart eStation (C510)
5 HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One (B210)
5 HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One (B210a)
5 HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One (C310)
5 HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One (C310a)
5 HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One (C410)
5 HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One (C410a)
5 HP Photosmart Wireless e-All-in-One (B110)—Europe and Asia-
Pacific
Fifteen printers is not a lot to choose from, so hopefully other printer
manufacturers will comply with AirPrint protocols so more iOS devices
can print. If you have one of these printers, and have it correctly set up
on your network, then printing is very simple.
In most apps, you will find the Print function in the Share action menu—
the idea being that users are “sharing” the screen content when they print
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
it. There are exceptions, of course. In the iWork apps (Pages, Numbers,
and Keynote), the Print command is in the Tools action menu, so you
may need to look around for the command.
Once you locate the Print command in your app, it’s a simple matter
to print.
1. Tap the Print command. The Printer Options action menu will open
(see Figure 21.1).
Figure 21.1
The Printer
Options action
menu.
2. If a printer is not available, tap the Select Printer option. The Printer
action menu will open, listing all compatible printers in that network
(see Figure 21.2).
Figure 21.2
Viewing
available and
compatible
printers.
65
iPad for Kids
3. Tap the printer you want to use. The Printer Options action menu
will reappear.
4. Tap Print. A message box will open showing the progress of the print
job, as seen in Figure 21.3.
Figure 21.3
Sending the
print job to the
printer.
5
NOTE Not Exactly Speedy
You may note that printing jobs sent from the iPad are a bit slower than
the usual print job. That’s because much of the work done to prepare
the content for the printer is done on the printer, instead of on the iPad.
That means the printer has to do more work, and a lot more bandwidth
is used to send content across the network to the printer.
If you have one of the many printers that doesn’t have AirPrint capabil-
ities, don’t fret: with PrintCentral, you can print to nearly any printer on
your network.
Set Up Printers with PrintCentral
After you install PrintCentral, you may be able to print directly to a
printer immediately, if the printer is connected directly to a network.
“Connected directly to a network” is a concept that should be clearly
defined. Many users assume that if they can access a printer not con-
nected to their computer, it is therefore “on the network.” This is actu-
ally a common mistake.
There are two ways of connecting a printer to a network. The first is shar-
ing a local computer, which is a printer connected to someone’s machine
and his computer allows other users to use it remotely. The advantage of
this method is that it enables users to get to older printers that can’t be
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
directly connected to the network. The disadvantage is the computer to
which the shared printer is attached must be turned on for the printer to
be used.
The other method is the direct network connection, where the printer has
no connections to any computer, only the network, either through a net-
work cable or WiFi. This method is preferred because the access to the
printer is usually better.
PrintCentral enables you to make use of either type of connection, as
you will see.
Network Printers
If your printer is directly connected to a network, and your iPad is con-
nected wirelessly to that same network, you may discover PrintCentral
has automatically done the configuration for you.
1. Tap the PrintCentral app icon. PrintCentral will start with an initial
notification dialog.
5
NOTE What Browser?
Because few iPad apps, if any, provide options to print, PrintCentral’s
clever solution is to provide its own tools from which users can print.
Need to print a Web page? Don’t use Safari; use PrintCentral’s browser.
2. Tap the option that appeals to you. PrintCentral will open to the
Documents screen (see Figure 21.4).
Figure 21.4
The Documents
screen in
PrintCentral.
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iPad for Kids
3. To check to see if a networked printer has been configured, tap the
Getting Started file. The contents of the file will appear in the pre-
view window.
4. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open, as seen in
Figure 21.5.
Figure 21.5
The Print dialog
box.
5. Tap Choose. The Printers dialog box will open (see Figure 21.6).
6. If you see the network printer you want to use, tap the printer option.
The printer will be added to the Print dialog, and the Printer setup
dialog box will appear immediately (see Figure 21.7).
7. Confirm that the printer is connected correctly and tap the Test but-
tons. A printer test page will print, and you will be asked to confirm
the operation.
8. Tap Yes if the test page printed. The network printer is configured
correctly.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.6
The Printers
dialog box.
Figure 21.7
The Printer
setup dialog box.
69
iPad for Kids
If the network printer you want to use did not show up within the Printer
dialog box, you can still add it.
1. Following the previous steps to get to the Printer dialog box, tap the
Add Printer button. The Add Printer dialog box will appear, and you
will be reminded to use the WePrint application.
2. Tap Continue to close the reminder dialog and then tap the Printer
tab to view the Printer page (see Figure 21.8).
Figure 21.8
The Add Printer
dialog box.
3. Enter the IP address of the printer to which you want to connect.
4. Enter a name for the printer in the Nickname field.
5. Tap Connect. The printer should be found and added to the Printers
dialog box.
WePrint for Wi-Fi
Even if you have a networked printer, you can improve the quality of
your print jobs by installing WePrint client software on your Mac or PC.
WePrint acts as a printer server, routing the print jobs from your iPad to
the printer connected to a computer on your network, either locally or
via the network.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
For users who do not have a network printer, WePrint is a required tool
to use PrintCentral, because only through WePrint can your iPad reach
the printer. But, if you already have your printer connected to the net-
work, and have completed the steps in the previous section, you may
be asking yourself why you would need to use WePrint? The short
answer is quality.
When PrintCentral communicates directly with a networked printer, it
uses software on your iPad to send a “generic” print job to that printer.
This is done to save room on the iPad, because installing the printer soft-
ware for every possible printer would eat up a lot of iPad storage. So
your print jobs will be adequate, but not the best quality.
WePrint takes advantage of the fact that your computer already has the
best software to use for your printer—it has to; otherwise, you wouldn’t
be able to print from your PC or Mac. With WePrint, a print job is sent
from the iPad to the WePrint software, which then hands off the job to
your computer’s printer software, which, in turn, sends it to the printer
in the best format.
This may sound convoluted, but unless your network is under a very
heavy traffic load, print jobs from the iPad via WePrint take very little
extra time. Best of all, the WePrint software is free to download and install
from http://mobile.eurosmartz.com/downloads/downloads_index.html.
Installing WePrint is no different than installing any other Windows or
OS X application. You will be asked, during installation, if you want to
allow WePrint to communicate outside of your computer’s firewall. You
will need to say yes; otherwise, your iPad will be blocked from handing
off print jobs to WePrint.
After WePrint is installed and running on your computer, make a note of
the Server Address and Port information shown on the Status page of the
WePrint application (see Figure 21.9). You will need this information to
configure the printer in PrintCentral.
Figure 21.9
The status tab
of the WePrint
application.
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iPad for Kids
1. In the Printer dialog box, tap the WePrint Server over WiFi option.
The Add Printer dialog box will appear, and you will be reminded
to use the WePrint application.
2. Tap Continue to close the reminder dialog.
3. Enter the IP address of the WePrint Server to which you want to con-
nect.
4. Enter a name for the server in the Nickname field.
5. Tap Connect. All printers on the WePrint computer should be found
and added to the Printers dialog box.
WePrint for 3G/EDGE
Another great advantage of using PrintCentral is the capability to print
documents from a cellular network to a printer that your WePrint com-
puter can access.
The way this works is pretty ingenious. Since outside traffic into your
home or school network is usually not a good idea due to security con-
cerns, PrintCentral will email the print job to a specified email address.
Every few minutes (you can specify how often), WePrint will check your
email account for print job messages from your iPad. If it finds one, it
will then send the job to your printer.
EuroSmartz recommends that you use a Gmail account, since
PrintCentral and WePrint are each configured to handle that. However,
you can use any other type of email account if you have the settings.
1. In WePrint, click the Printing over 3G tab. The Remote printing via
proxy page will open.
2. Click the Settings button. The Preferences dialog will open to the
Print via Proxy page (see Figure 21.10).
3. Click the Remote printing via Email/WebDAV server option. The
configuration fields will appear.
4. Enter the information for the email account you want to use.
5 TIP Separate Address?
EuroSmartz recommends you obtain a separate account for receiv-
ing print jobs from PrintCentral. This is a choice point for you: if you
don’t plan on printing a lot of documents over the 3G connection,
then just use an email account you already have.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.10
The Print via
Proxy page.
5. Set the interval you want WePrint to check the email account for
print jobs.
6. Click Test. If the login information is correct, you will see a success
notice.
7. In the Printer dialog box, tap the Printing over 3G/EDGE option.
The Add Printer dialog box will appear, and you will be reminded
to use the WePrint application.
8. Tap Continue to close the reminder dialog.
9. Enter the account information for the email account you want to use.
10. Tap Connect. All printers on the WePrint computer should be found
and added to the Printers dialog box.
Printing
Once you have the printer configuration set, you can now start printing.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, PrintCentral does not enable print-
ing in existing iPad apps. Instead, it duplicates the functions of some of
the more useful apps and lets you print content from PrintCentral,
instead.
Files
You have a lot of files in your work that may need printing at any given
time. Some of them will be on your iPad, and some will be on your com-
puter. With some easy configuration, you can use PrintCentral to handle
them all.
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iPad for Kids
Local Files
When you use PrintCentral to print a file, it will print documents to
which PrintCentral has access. In the “File Sharing” section, we’ll dis-
cuss the best way to get PrintCentral access to your files, but for now,
let’s walk through the basics of file printing in PrintCentral.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Files tab. The Documents screen will appear.
2. Tap the file you want to print. The contents of the file will appear in
the preview window.
3. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open.
4. Type the number of copies you want to print.
5. Tap Print. The document will be printed.
iWork Documents
If you have created a document in one of the iWork apps (Pages,
Numbers, or Keynote), you may want to print the document. But there’s
no way to directly use PrintCentral to print from the iWork apps. What
to do? Get the file to a location from which Print Central can print it.
1. When ready to print a Pages document, tap the My Documents but-
ton (or the equivalent file manager in Numbers or Keynote). The
My Documents screen will open.
2. Tap the Share icon. The Share action menu will appear.
3. Tap the Share via iWork option. An email message screen will
appear.
4. Enter an email address of someone with whom you want to share
the document, or your own email address, and tap Share. The
announcement email will be sent, and the document will be sent to
iWork.com.
5. In PrintCentral, tap the Web Pages tab. The browser will open.
6. Tap the Bookmarks icon. The Bookmarks page will open.
7. Tap the iWork.com bookmark. The browser will open to the iWork
home page.
8. If needed, log in to iWork.com using your Apple ID and password.
The Shared Documents page will open (see Figure 21.11).
9. Tap the document you want to print. The document will open in the
PrintCentral browser window (shown in Figure 21.12).
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.11
Shared
Documents in
iWork.com.
Figure 21.12
Viewing an
iWork document
in PrintCentral’s
browser.
75
iPad for Kids
10. Tap the Printer icon on the iWork.com page. The Print dialog box
will open.
11. Type the number of copies you want to print.
12. Tap Print. The document will be printed.
Email
Printing email messages and their attachments can also be done easily in
PrintCentral. All you need to do is set up your account information, which
PrintCentral can use to pick up copies of the messages in your inbox.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Email tab. The Email Accounts screen will
appear.
2. Tap the Add a new account option. An accounts dialog box will
appear.
3. Tap the account type you need. The Edit Account screen will open.
4. Type the settings for your email account and then tap Test. If the set-
tings are correct, a green check mark will indicate your success.
5. Tap the Email Accounts navigation control to return to the Email
Accounts screen.
6. Tap the email account from which to print. The account’s mailbox
page will open (see Figure 21.13).
7. Tap the mailbox folder that contains the message you want to print.
The contents of the folder will be downloaded.
8. Tap the message you want to print. The contents of the message will
appear in the preview window.
9. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open.
10. Type the number of copies you want to print.
11. Tap Print. The message will be printed.
5 TIP Printing Attachments
If an email message has an attachment, click the attachment to open it
within PrintCentral. Then click the Printer icon to start the printing
process. You can use this method to mail yourself an iWork document
as an attachment and print it in PrintCentral instead of sharing via
iWork.com.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.13
An example of a
multifoldered
account.
Web Pages
In the previous “iWork Documents” section, you already went through
printing a Web page, but that was using iWork.com’s print software to
format the document properly for printing via PrintCentral. Most Web
pages don’t have such tools, and you should know how to handle dif-
ferent settings for Web pages in PrintCentral.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Web Pages tab. The browser will open.
2. Navigate to the Web page you want to print. The page will open in
the PrintCentral browser window.
5TIP Quick Navigation
If you find a page to print while using Safari, select the Web address
in the URL bar and use the Edit menu to copy the address. Paste it into
the PrintCentral browser’s URL bar to get to the same page fast.
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iPad for Kids
3. Tap the PrintCentral Printer icon. The Print action menu will appear.
4. To print a screenshot of the page, tap Print from Screen option. To
print the contents of the page, tap the Print from Address option. The
Print dialog box will open.
5. Type the number of copies you want to print.
6. Tap Print. The Web page will be printed.
Contacts
Want to print out the information on one of your contacts? PrintCentral
will connect you right to the Contacts data on your iPad and print them
out as needed.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Contacts tab. The Contacts Groups screen
will open.
2. Tap the group with the contact you want to print. The list of contacts
will appear.
3. Tap the contact(s) to print. Each selected contact will be marked
with a check mark.
4. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open.
5. Type the number of copies you want to print.
6. Tap Print. The contact(s) will be printed.
Images
If you need to print a copy of the images on your iPad, here’s how to do it.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Images tab. The Photos screen will open, as
well as the Photo Albums action menu (see Figure 21.14).
2. Tap the album with the image you want to print. A gallery of images
will appear in the action menu.
3. Tap the image to print. Each selected image will appear in the Photos
screen.
4. Tap the images to print. The selected images will be marked by a
box.
5. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open.
6. Type the number of copies you want to print.
7. Tap Print. The image(s) will be printed.
78
Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.14
Selecting
images.
Clipboard
Sometimes you may need to print just a portion of a document, instead
of the whole thing. You can use the iPad’s editing tools to copy a selec-
tion to the iPad clipboard and then print the selection from PrintCentral.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Clipboard tab. The Clip archive screen will
open (see Figure 21.15).
Figure 21.15
The archived
content of the
clipboard.
79
iPad for Kids
2. Tap the clipboard items to select or deselect. Selected items will be
denoted by a check mark.
3. Tap the Printer icon. The Print dialog box will open.
4. Type the number of copies you want to print.
5. Tap Print. The selected content will be printed.
File Sharing
Not only can PrintCentral do a good job printing, but it also features util-
ities to pull files to your iPad for viewing and editing without syncing
with a computer.
Moving files to the iPad to view them is useful in and of itself, but once
in PrintCentral, you can print them to whatever printer PrintCentral can
access. One use-case scenario might occur when you need to print a doc-
ument on your computer that’s needed back at home while you’re on a
trip thousands of miles away.
Pretty handy.
You’ve already seen how PrintCentral uses its browser to connect to
iWork.com, but there are even more direct connections available.
Network Sharing
With network sharing, you can turn your iPad into a remote drive that
your computer can access over the network. Any files you drop into this
drive will be available for viewing on the iPad, wherever you are.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the File tab. The Documents screen will open.
2. Tap the Network Sharing icon in the lower-left corner. The Network
Sharing screen will appear (see Figure 21.16).
3. Tap Start. Connection addresses will appear.
4. In Windows or OS X, map a network drive to one of the addresses
shown on the Network Sharing screen.
5 NOTE Keep the Connection Going
In order to keep PrintCentral connected to your network drive, you
must keep the Network Sharing screen open.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Figure 21.16
Starting the
document server.
5. On your computer, copy or move the files you want on the iPad to
the new network drive. They will appear in the Documents window
of PrintCentral, even after the document server disconnects.
5
NOTE Map a Drive?
In the OS X Finder, click the Go menu and select Connect to Server.
Type the PrintCentral address. Click OK. A new icon to the mapped
drive should appear on the desktop.
In Windows, right-click the Computer icon in Windows Explorer and
select the Map Network Drive option. In the Map Network Drive dia-
log box, select a drive letter and type in the PrintCentral address.
Click OK. A new folder to the drive should appear in Explorer.
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iPad for Kids
Google Docs
Not only can you connect to your computer’s files with ease, but you
can also access documents on the Internet to view and print. One popu-
lar Web collaboration site is Google Docs, to which Print Central can
directly link.
1. In PrintCentral, tap the Places tab. The Places screen will open.
2. Tap the Add Server icon. The Add Server Type dialog box will
appear (see Figure 21.17).
Figure 21.17
Add a server
connection.
3. Tap Google Docs. The Google Docs screen will appear.
4. Type in the login and password information and then tap Test. A
green check mark will denote a successful connection.
5. Tap the Places navigation control. Google Docs will now appear in
the Places screen.
6. Tap the Google Docs option. The contents of your Google Docs
account will appear.
If you have Dropbox or other storage accounts on the Internet, use
PrintCentral to connect similarly to those locations.
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Chapter 21 Homework: Printing
Conclusion
In this chapter, you discovered that printing from the iPad is not partic-
ularly difficult, even without an AirPrint-compatible printer.
In Chapter 22, “Homework: Mail,” we will examine how to use the other
most-used aspect of the Internet: email, and how the iPad's Mail app han-
dles this important communications outlet for your student.
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Chapter 22
Homework:
Mail
I t is not entirely clear when the use of email became so indispensable
to the world, but it was a fast adoption, that’s for sure. When the
Internet was opened to the general public in the mid 1990s, most busi-
nesses were relatively quick to adapt email, but home and education
users were a bit slower on the uptake (although not higher education—
colleges had been using Internet email for decades, thanks to govern-
ment research grants).
That hesitancy didn’t last long; the prospect of being able to send mes-
sages of virtually any length instantaneously to anyone in the world with
an email address was simply too great a communications tool to ignore
for all Internet users.
The iPad is endowed with a built-in email app, cleverly named Mail. Don’t
let the simple name fool you—this is a robust and versatile application.
If you’ve used any email application on a computer, there’s a lot about
Mail that you are going to recognize.
In this chapter, you will learn how to
5 Create an email account.
5 Download your messages.
5 Organize your email.
iPad for Kids
Setting Up an Account
$ app Cost of Mail: Free
Getting an email account these days is a pretty simple thing. Most
employers have them for their employees, universities have them for stu-
dents and staff, and home users can get them from their Internet Service
Providers, which often provide multiple email accounts per house—one
for each member of the family.
Most emails (especially away from internal business accounts) are deliv-
ered over the Internet via the Post Office Protocol (POP) or Internet Mail
Access Protocol (IMAP). A POP or IMAP account works typically like
this—someone sends you an email. The Internet’s control servers route
that message to your email server, a machine that can be located any-
where in the world. There your message will sit until you come along
and download it (and any other messages) into your Mail app. Unless
you have an email server in your house, emails never come straight to
you. This is actually good, because this two-step process gives your mail
server a chance to clean out spam and junk mail.
Outbound mail is a little different. You type a message, address it, and
tap Send. The message is immediately sent out to its destination server
via a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server. It doesn’t stay there
long; the outbound mail server has one job to do, and it does it very
quickly. It checks the email address in your message and makes sure
there’s actually a mail server ready to receive messages at the other end.
If there is, boom! off your message goes. If there isn’t, the outbound
server will immediately bounce your message back to your Mail app and
tell you what went wrong.
Whenever you set up a new email account, your Internet Service Provider
will provide you with some important information that you need to mem-
orize or store in a safe place somewhere. For a POP mail account, you need
5 Your new email address
5 Your user name for the POP server
5 Your password for the POP server
5 The Internet address of the POP server
5 The Internet address of the SMTP server
For other accounts, such as MobileMe or Gmail, Mail only needs your
user name and password.
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
When you first start Mail, you will immediately be given the opportu-
nity to set up an email account. You can set up as many accounts as you
would like, but you should have the complete set of information for at
least one of your accounts configured when you start Mail for the first
time. Here’s how to set up an account on Gmail, the popular email ser-
vice from Google.
1. Tap the Mail app icon. The Welcome to Mail screen will open (see
Figure 22.1).
Figure 22.1
Welcome to
Mail.
2. Tap the Gmail option. The Gmail form will open (see Figure 22.2).
3. Type the appropriate information in the fields. It is important that
you fill out all the fields.
4. Tap Save. After verification, the Mail app will open, download your
messages, and display the latest message (see Figure 22.3).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 22.2
Provide your
Gmail account
info.
Figure 22.3
Your email,
displayed.
88
Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
If you don’t have an account at one of the major provider types listed on
the Welcome to Mail screen, you can still use your POP or IMAP server
information to get your account set up.
1. Tap the Mail app icon. The Welcome to Mail screen will open.
2. Tap the Other option. The New Account form will open.
3. Type the appropriate information in the fields. It is important that
you fill out all the fields.
4. Tap Save. Mail will determine if your mail server uses IMAP or
POP. If it does, the Enter your account information form will open,
as shown in Figure 22.4.
Figure 22.4
Provide your
POP or IMAP
account info.
5. Tap the POP or IMAP button, depending on the type of account you
have.
6. Type your account information into the appropriate fields.
7. Click Save. After verification, the Mail app will open, download
your messages, and display the latest message.
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iPad for Kids
Your account is set to manually download email by default, which means
email will be downloaded only when you specify or when you first start
Mail. You can set Mail to download email automatically, using these steps.
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings screen will open.
2. Tap the Mail, Contacts, Calendars setting. The Mail, Contacts,
Calendars setting pane will open (see Figure 22.5).
Figure 22.5
The Mail,
Contacts,
Calendars
setting pane.
3. Tap the Fetch New Data setting. The Fetch New Data pane will open
(see Figure 22.6).
4. Tap the interval option you want. The selected option will be
denoted by a check mark.
5. Click the Home button. The options will be saved.
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
Figure 22.6
Configure how
often you want
to get email.
5TIP Taking It Easy on the POP Server
You can set Mail to download email automatically at a certain interval.
The fastest interval is 15 minutes, so you don’t overload your POP
server. That’s a good idea if you’re connecting through 3G. If you can
control the timing of email downloads, you can manage the flow of traf-
fic through your wireless connection.
If you want to add another email account to Mail, you will need to use
the Welcome to Mail tool again. To access it, follow these few steps in
the Settings app.
1. Tap the Settings app icon. The Settings screen will open.
2. Tap the Mail, Contacts, Calendars setting. The Mail, Contacts,
Calendars setting pane will open.
3. Tap the Add Account setting. The Add Account pane will open (see
Figure 22.7).
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iPad for Kids
Figure 22.7
Adding an
additional
account.
4. Tap the type of account you want to add and follow the steps you
used in the Welcome to Mail screen to complete the task.
Receiving and Sending Email
Once you have one account set up in Mail, you are free to send and
receive email as long as you are connected to the Internet.
5
NOTE Checking for New Email
If you did not set Mail to download messages automatically (or just
want to see what’s out there before the next scheduled download
occurs), tap the Inbox button and then the Reload icon at the bottom
of the Inbox menu. Your messages will be downloaded.
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
As you can see in Figure 22.8, the Mail app is very simple.
Mailboxes Navigation Message Mailboxes Trash Reply/ Compose Reading
Tools List Forward Window
Figure 22.8
The vertical
Mail interface.
Reading a message is simple: just tap the Inbox folder, then tap a mes-
sage in the Message list, and its contents will be displayed in the Reading
window.
After you have read an email, you will note that the blue dot icon next
to the message in the Message list will be removed.
If you want to always see the Message list, turn the iPad 90 degrees until
the Mail app is displayed horizontally (see Figure 22.9). You can tap
messages in the Message pane and read them in the Reading pane.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 22.9
The horizontal
Mail interface.
Of course, you can do more with an email than just read it. In fact, more
often than not, a message will warrant a reply. To reply to only the sender
of the message:
1. Open a message to which to reply. The message will be displayed
in the Reading window.
2. Tap the Reply/Forward icon. The Reply/Forward action menu will
open.
5
NOTE One Reply, or Many?
Mail is clever enough to notice when you have received an email sent to
just you or to other people, too. If the message has multiple recipients,
the Reply to All option will be visible on the Reply/Forward action menu.
3. Tap Reply. A preaddressed Compose window will open (see Figure
22.10).
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
Figure 22.10
Replying to a
message.
4. Type your reply in the body of the message.
5. When finished, tap Send. The Message window will close, and with
a whoosh sound effect, the message will be sent.
If the message was sent to you and other people, you can send a reply to
all the recipients and the sender.
1. Tap a message to reply to all recipients. The message will be dis-
played in the Reading window.
2. Tap the Reply/Forward icon. The Reply/Forward action menu will
open.
3. Tap Reply to All. A preaddressed Compose window will open.
4. Type your reply in the body of the message.
5. When finished, tap Send. The Message window will close, and with
a whoosh sound effect, the message will be sent.
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iPad for Kids
If you want to forward a message to someone else, it’s just as easy.
1. Tap a message to forward. The message will be displayed in the
Reading window.
2. Tap the Reply/Forward icon. The Reply/Forward action menu will
open.
3. Tap Forward. A preaddressed Compose window will open.
4. Type an additional message in the body of the message.
5. When finished, tap Send. The Message window will close, and with
a whoosh sound effect, the message will be sent.
If you want to send a new message to a single or multiple recipients,
here’s how.
1. Tap the Compose icon. A New Message window will open (see
Figure 22.11).
Figure 22.11
A New Message
window.
2. Type an email address in the To field.
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
5TIP Contact Connection
If you use the Contacts tool on the iPad, tap the blue + icon on the
right end of the To:, Cc:, or Bcc: fields to open the All Contacts list.
Tap the addresses you need without typing a single ampersand.
3. If you need to blind carbon copy a recipient, tap the Cc/Bcc: field
to open separate Cc: and Bcc: fields and type the address in.
4. Type a Subject.
5. Type a message in the body.
6. Tap Send. The Message window will close, and with a whoosh
sound effect, the message will be sent.
Organizing Mail
After you have read your messages and sent your replies, what next? You
don’t want to leave your inbox cluttered, and unless it’s junk mail, you
don’t want to delete everything, either.
Mail is very good about handling lots of email at once. Let’s take some
steps to organize the inbox first.
Sorting Your Mail
If you tap the Inbox button and then tap the Mailboxes control, you will
see a list of mailboxes with which to filter the Message list (see Figure
22.12). Usually, these mailboxes are folders or categories imported from
your email account. Tap these mailboxes, as desired, to see the results
on your Message list.
The mailbox is a really useful tool in Mail for organizing your informa-
tion. Using mailboxes, you can essentially treat messages as files, which
is what they are. Mail cannot create or change mailboxes—this has to
be done directly within your account. But moving messages into fold-
ers is easy.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 22.12
Viewing your
mailboxes.
1. Tap a message to organize. The message will be displayed in the
Reading window.
2. Tap the Mailboxes icon. The Mailboxes list will open (see Figure
22.13).
3. Tap the mailbox into which you want to move the message. The
message will “fly” into the mailbox, and the latest message in your
inbox will be displayed.
If you want to move a number of messages into a folder, that’s simple
to do as well.
1. Tap the Inbox button. The Message list will open.
2. Tap the Edit button. The list will shift into Edit mode (see Figure
22.14).
3. Tap the messages you want to move into a mailbox. The messages
will be selected by red check mark icons and “stacked” in the
Reading window (see Figure 22.15).
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
Figure 22.13
Organizing with
mailboxes.
Figure 22.14
Editing the
inbox.
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iPad for Kids
Figure 22.15
Selecting
multiple
messages.
4. Tap the Move button. The Mailboxes list will open.
5. Tap the mailbox into which you want to move the messages. The
messages will “fly” into the mailbox, and the latest message in your
inbox will be displayed.
Deleting Mail
Deleting individual messages is a piece of cake, too.
1. Tap a message to delete. The message will be displayed in the
Reading window.
2. Tap the Delete icon. The message will be deleted.
You can also delete multiple messages, just like organizing multiple emails.
1. Tap the Inbox button. The Message list will open.
2. Tap the Edit button. The list will shift into Edit mode.
3. Tap the messages you want to delete. The messages will be selected
by red check mark icons and “stacked” in the Reading window.
4. Tap the Delete button. The messages will be deleted.
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Chapter 22 Homework: Mail
If, perchance, you happened to delete a message that shouldn’t have been
trashed, don’t panic because you can still get the message back.
1. Tap the Inbox button. The Message list will open.
2. Tap the Mailboxes button. The Mailboxes list will open.
3. Tap the Trash mailbox. The Trash list will appear.
4. Tap the Edit button. The Trash list will shift into Edit mode.
5. Tap the messages you want to recover. The messages will be selected
by red check mark icons and “stacked” in the Reading window.
6. Tap the Move button. The Mailboxes list will open.
7. Tap the mailbox into which you want to move the messages. The
messages will “fly” into the mailbox, and the latest message in your
inbox will be displayed.
Conclusion
There is a lot more to email these days than just reading and writing.
With this medium becoming so integrated in our daily lives, it’s good to
see that there are excellent tools in iPad that can make email use easy.
Actually, this is the promise of the entire iPad family of hardware and
apps: to make life easier. For your children, the iPad offers a window
into learning what they need to know to become successful and happy
adults. As your children continue to use their iPads, they will discover
that there’s a whole big, wide world out there about which they can
learn—and it’s all in their hands.
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