This year all students have iPads, and with them comes a few cool features that can maximize performance and learning capabilities regardless of in-person attendance. 

SPLIT SCREEN

Arguably the best feature on the school iPads is dual toggle capabilities. Being able to see two screens simultaneously allows for the user to work faster and increase productivity. This is great for when you’re comparing math homework in Notability to a key in Schoology, or annotating and writing an essay in English. 

How to: With one app you need open already on the screen, swipe up from the bottom to pull up a dock of 7 apps. Your three most recent apps will be on the right, and standard apps like Safari and mail should be on the left. Select the app you wish to add to the split screen, then, while holding the app, drag the app from the dock and place it to the  left or right of the app you’re currently using. This should initiate a split screen. 

SCAN TO NOTABILITY 

If you want to work on school papers without having to carry a paper copy everywhere you go then try scanning! I have an HP printer, and in the app HP Smart, it allows me to scan and save to files, print a scan, and save to camera roll. However, you can scan directly from Notability, where the file will be automatically saved and opened as a new note. 

How to: Click the import button (coined as a “sharrow” in BPS) scroll to the bottom and hit the scan document photo.  

STRAIGHT LINES IN NOTABILITY 

Whether you’re highlighting for English or drawing graphs in math, it’s super easy to make straight lines or curved lines with anchor points. 

How to: When trying to draw a straight line use the highlighter tool and begin to highlight. Where you start to highlight is where the anchor point remains. Hold down while you drag and this should straighten the line. 

NIGHT SHIFT IF YOU HAVE A HEADACHE 

Staring at screens all day is all fun and games until you have a headache. By turning off blue light, the display is easier on the eyes. Night shift can be used in both Dark and Light mode. 

How to: To activate night shift enter ‘Display and Brightness’ in Settings. Scroll past brightness and hit night shift. From there enable it until tomorrow, or schedule a on/off time. 

CREATING NEW NOTES/LINED NOTES IN NOTABILITY

Often we find ourselves needing scratch paper to show work or quickly jot down ideas. In Notability you can add scratch paper to an existing note and show work in the same project. You can also change the paper display from plain white, to gridded, lined, textured, and colored paper. 

How to: To add a new note to an existing document in Notability hit the vertical rectangle in the top right corner. This should pull up a list of all the pages in the note, similar to master pages. To add a note hit the three vertical dots in the bottom left corner of the page you want to create a new page after. To change paper preference select the extra page which should create a blue frame. From there hit the blue dots in the right upper corner which should let you change the paper display to fit your needs.