The iPad is such a powerful tool that most users don’t fully maximize its potential. Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your device.
Text Too Small
If you’re having trouble reading text, you can make the text bigger for apps like Mail, Calendar, and Notes by going to Settings — Display & Brightness — Text Size. Then just drag the slider bar to the right. You can also increase the text size in some other apps by going to Settings — General — Accessibility — Larger Text. Then turn Larger Text Accessibility Sizes on and slide the bar to increase text size.
Recover Deleted Emails
If you accidentally deleted an email message from your iPad, you can easily recover it just by shaking the device (hold on to it firmly!) like an Etch-a-Sketch and tapping Undo.
Talk Instead of Type
Instead of typing in a message in Notes, email, Messages, or any other app that pulls up the iOS keyboard, you can simply tap the microphone icon on the keyboard (next to the space bar on the bottom row) and dictate your message. When you’re finished, tap Done.
Need a Timer?
For a fast visual timer, go to the Clock app and select Timer. This is great for classroom projects.
They’re a Drain
To find out which apps are draining your battery, go to Settings — General — Usage — Battery Usage. The screen may take a few minutes to load, but will then show you the biggest battery hogs.
For a Quick Charge
If you need to recharge quickly, put your iPad into Airplane Mode in Settings and it will charge twice as fast.
If you’re looking for some educational app recommendations, take a look at our Free, Must-Have iPad Apps divided by subject area at the bottom of this page. Or, if you’re a TCEA member, check out the Recommended iPad Apps List with more than 1,200 great educational apps. Divided by subject area and then topic, this list contains many wonderful free apps, along with a few paid ones, that will really engage students in your classroom.
