Hi everyone, it's KJ here. It seems like now, more than ever, the appeal to get an iPad
as a student continues to grow. Especially because with all of these online assignments,
being able to download, complete, and upload everything from one device is just so much
more convenient then having to download, then print, then complete, then scan, then upload
that same assignment if you didn't have an iPad. So in this video, I really tried to
find my top 12 tips and tricks for using an iPad as a Student. Hopefully these tips help
you out to be more efficient when using your iPad for school. For reference, I have the
12.9 inch iPad Pro 2018 model, but most of my tips apply to any Apple pencil supported
iPad. Also my notetaking app of choice has been Notability, so some of my tips are Notability
specific. Huge shout out to Paperlike for sponsoring this video, and let's get right
into it.
My first tip is to export files to pdf. Whenever you're confronted with a document, usually
it just pops up on Safari. Sure, you can just keep it in Safari if you're just trying to
quickly reference the document. But if you actually want to do any more permanent annotations
on it, I recommend that you export it as a pdf directly to your app of choice. In my
case, I always send them directly to Notability. And you do this by simply clicking the share
icon and clicking Notability. If it isn't showing initially, you just have to click
"More" and the other apps that you can send it to will appear. Then now your document
will appear in Notability, and you'll be able to directly alter it right away. This is what
I do for every single written assignment I have, and it has helped so much.
My second tip is to name your individual notes within Notability with the course names. What
I mean is that if you have a class, include that class name in the title. Don't just name
it problem set 1 or problem set 2. Instead name it 7.013 pset 5, which lets you search
through your notes more easily. If you didn't include the course name, you would have to
individually open various notes to figure out which pset 1 you're looking for. This
is just generally good practice that will save you time later, and will just help with
your overall organization. The more you use your iPad for school, the more classes you
will inevitably use it for, so any way you can improve your organization will help a
lot.
My third tip is to copy parts of the document within Notability. I like to include the problem
statement before my problems when I am writing my assignments. This is easy if the questions
are already pre-spaced, but otherwise this could get pretty tricky. But a feature that
I learned on Notability is that you can copy a certain selection and if you click paste
image instead of just paste, Notability will paste, as an image, whatever was in the selection
rectangle. This way, I'm able to put problem statements in place, and I can write directly
underneath it. This has allowed me to organize my problem sets a lot better, and also helps
me not have to scroll up to reference the question as I'm doing a longer problem set.
My fourth tip is to sync with iCloud if you have other Apple devices. This Is actually
something that I wished I did earlier because it helps so much with referencing assignments.
Within apps like Notability, you will be able to enable iCloud syncing, which allows you
to pull up your individual notes from your phone, laptop, or any other Apple devices.
Outside of Notability, iCloud syncing also helps when saving assignments or other pdfs.
I personally have my Documents and Desktop folders automatically synced through iCloud.
So whenever I save anything to these folders, I'm able to access those files from my other
devices almost instantly. A big reason why I recommend iPads in the first place is because
of the Apple ecosystem, and iCloud is something you should definitely utilize if you're in
the ecosystem. iCloud has made it easy for me to reference files that I hadn't touched
in years, and they're just always available.
My fifth tip is a neat feature in Notability, and it's automatic shape creation. A big reason
why notes and assignments just seem to look better written on an iPad are features such
as this one. With automatic shape creation, you're able to draw various shapes just by
making your best attempt at it, then holding the pencil down for an extra two seconds.
This feature works with creating lines, rectangles, circles, ellipses, and even other random polygons.
I just think this is a cool feature to keep in mind when writing notes or completing assignments.
It just make everything look that much cleaner.
My sixth tip is that you can mirror your iPad's screen into Zoom calls. Just about every college
or university is using Zoom for their lectures, and this was a feature that really impressed
me. This is a feature you can use when collaborating with friends on a problem set. Zoom allows
you to either plug in your iPad to mirror it into the call, or AirPlay in, which I think
is cooler and more convenient. To do so, you just have to click share screen, then choose
the AirPlay iPad or iPhone button. And as long as both your computer and iPad are connected
to the same WiFi network, you'll be able to AirPlay your iPad in order to instantly mirror
anything you're doing on the iPad to the other people on the call.
If you've noticed that throughout the video, there has been a certain screen protector
on my iPad, that's because there is, and it's made by the sponsor of today's video, Paperlike.
I've had a Paperlike screen protector on my iPad for the last two months, and honestly,
I couldn't go back to just writing on the bare glass anymore. The screen protector does
exactly what its name suggests, and just makes writing on the iPad feel a lot more paper-like.
It does a weirdly great job. It provides just enough friction and physical feedback now
where it makes writing on the iPad so much more pleasant. It's something that I didn't
know I would love so much until actually using it. Since these Paperlike screen protectors
also do a good job of maintaining the clarity of the screen, I really can't envision using
any iPad in the future without a Paperlike screen protector on it. Use the link down
below to check them out. You definitely won't regret it.
My seventh tip is to open multiple windows at the same time. With the new iPadOS updates,
you can now open multiple instances of even the same app on your iPad. So a lot of the
times, I use Notability with multiple instances of it open. This allows me to reference my
lecture notes, while also completing my assignment. Just as a side note, this is another reason
why I really like the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, because I'm able to split the screen and still
have plenty of space to write my assignments on a reasonably sized portion of the screen.
In general, try to make as much use of the iPad's multitasking features because it'll
help you finish your assignments more efficiently.
My eighth tip is to style your writing after the fact. Notability's selection tool is powerful.
We previously saw that it allows you to copy and paste pieces of the pdf. But something
that could prove to be very useful is styling your text after the fact. This means that
on top of being able to select writing, move it around, and resize it, you'll be able to
select that writing to do things like change the pen weight and the color. This has saved
me a lot of time in the past because I didn't have to completely erase certain sections
because I didn't like how they looked. Just knowing that you can style your text after
the fact will allow you to really just focus on the content and material, and worry about
the organization and aesthetics after, which will just help with your overall workflow.
You can even change the selection tool from a rectangle to free form, so you can just
change the text that you want to.
My ninth tip is that when you're AirPlaying and writing notes in Notability, you can go
into presentation mode. In this mode, notifications will not come onto the screen. This will help
whenever your iPad's screen is being mirrored, so presentation mode will definitely also
work within Zoom. This puts your iPad in a more monitor and TV friendly 16 by 9 aspect
ratio, and also allows you to do things like point out certain areas on your iPad screen
without actually having to write on the screen. I think this is just a cool thing to keep
in mind, and especially during these times, could really help with collaborations.
My tenth tip is to utilize the pop-up panel in iPadOS. Even with how big my iPad is, I
still like to do things in full screen whatever chance I get, so having a side panel to quickly
reference something has been very convenient. With the floating panel functions, you can
quickly look at an article that is helping you for your assignment, or you can quickly
check a notification without having to completely change apps. This panel basically functions
like an iPhone where you can quickly switch between apps within the panel using the same
gestures that are on your phone. And if you ever wanted to transition that page into a
half or full screen, you can do that too.
My eleventh tip is to zoom into lecture notes to write notes. This may seem like a very
simple tip, but it is something that I didn't start doing until this past semester. A lot
of lecture notes will probably be in Powerpoint format, so writing notes in the relevant areas
gets kind of difficult when there isn't too much available white space. You can work around
this by choosing the thinnest pen weight and then zoom into a section of that white space
to write what you wanted to write. It will be very small, but when you're referencing
the notes later, you will always be able to zoom in to see what it says later.
My twelfth and final tip also involves zooming in. But this time for reference sheets. A
lot of classes that I have had over the course of my MIT career allow for one double-sided
note sheet for exams. Previously, to fill in note sheets, you had to be very careful
to write only what's needed. But with an iPad, you'll be able to zoom into various sections,
write smaller, move things around, and style things in a way that will be more legible
when you're referencing things later. Of course you have to be cognizant of the fact that
you'll have to be able to read what you write later, but just being able to zoom into various
areas and make sure you're writing is legible for these reference sheets is a huge plus.
You'll also be able to use my other tips like copying and pasting certain pieces of lecture
notes into different places within the reference sheet.
So that's all of the tips and tricks I have for this video. Let me know in the comment
section if you have anymore tips that you use on a daily basis, and we can all help
each other out. Make sure to subscribe and have the notification bell clicked to stay
up to date on my latest videos. Also, make sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter
to see what I'm up to. As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.