iPad Holiday Tasks: "Spring Cleaning"

Even though it's not Spring in our hemisphere, it is certainly time for a clean out of your school iPad. Many of our 1 to 1 students have been experiencing sluggish iPad performance and some of their apps are refusing to start up altogether. The most common reason for issues like this is that your iPad is crammed too full of "stuff".

Please take some time on the holidays to check your Usage. Delete photos and videos you no longer require and, definitely before you come back to school in term 2, uninstall the games and movies you've been using over the break.

Remember, the iPad is first and foremost a learning tool for school. You may enjoy using it for recreation on a rainy day, but games and movies should not be taking up valuable space and preventing optimal performance for your learning tasks.

How do I check out what's taking up most space on my iPad?

Go to Settings > General > Usage

Now tap "Manage Storage"

This screen will tell you how many Gigabytes of storage space is available on your iPad. Regardless of the total capacity of your iPad, you need AT LEAST 10% of free space for the device to run properly. When you use an app, it uses the available free memory to work.

Check out the list of apps you have installed. The apps taking up the most space will be at the top. Usually, Photos & Camera app is near the top of the list.

Go to the Photos app and delete any photos and videos you no longer need. You can connect your iPad to a computer and upload any photos and videos you wish to keep.

You can tap any app in the list to delete it from your iPad. Deleted apps will still be associated with your Apple ID. This means you can install them again without having to pay.

Last minute holiday tips...

Remember never to leave an iPad in the car if it's parked in the sun. Overheating can ruin your battery and shorten its lifespan. If you are going away and won't be using your iPad, leave it in a cool, safe place. Your iPad prefers to rest at half charge (50 - 80%). Turn it off completely so the battery won't run flat.

We look forward to seeing both you AND your cleaned out iPad back in Term 2, ready to learn and perform at optimum level!

A Window into Year 4

Time for a sneak peak into the Year 4 learning spaces to see what's been happening...

ABC Splash is a wonderful website with Australian content mapped to Australian curriculum. Students watch engaging video material and use questions on the site to guide their thinking and response to the material. This week Year 4 have been watching a video about why plants make fruit. Check it out here...

 

Posters and Step-by-step guides on display help students become independent in their learning, and find answers for themselves. This means the learning of others is not disrupted and students become accustomed to a range of troubleshooting strategies and ways to seek help.

Apps are not used in isolation. Students learn how their apps can work together as tools or steps in a workflow. Magnetic app icons help the teachers demonstrate or suggest a workflow.

Students exercise more autonomy over their learning when they can choose their learning space. A cosy nooks with back support provides a distraction-free zone for independent work.

Learning is social. Students can work together in comfort, sharing ideas and learning from each other's responses.

iPad Support and Technical Help

Well it's taken a few weeks but we have almost all of our new iPad recruits set with Apple IDs, Mail passwords, Paid apps etc. The children look like 'old hands' already as you move through their learning spaces at school.

We make every attempt to support families with technical issues and troubleshooting at school, but sometimes we strike a problem that we simply can't fix here. After all, we are educators and not mobile device technicians.

So, where can you turn when you need some 'expert' iPad help? Apple do provide excellent support options which some of our parents have already found very useful. You might like to add the web links and phone number below to your Contacts. ...You never know when you'll need them!

Apple iPad Support Website

Apple Education Telephone Support: 

Call 1300 968 979

Hours of operation:
9am - 9pm Monday to Friday
9am - 6pm Saturday

More Online Support

If you're just after a quick answer, or you'd prefer to email your support request, use this website for iPad support.

New App Required for LOTE

Our lovely LOTE teacher, Mrs Amy Flynn, would like to use a free app called Kana Quiz in her Japanese lessons with years 4, 5 and 6. Would you please assist your children to install this app at your earliest convenience. Unfortunately the app called Fotopedia Japan (published on our free apps list last year) is now only available in the United States but Sensai will be able to keep her classes very busy and engaged with Kana Quiz.

Here's the icon and a link to the app on iTunes:

Kana Quiz (FREE)