Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The iPad goes to school
Apple has been pushing iPads in K-12 and higher education. As part of its vision for the iPad and with
iBooks 2 and beyond, the company is throwing its considerable weight behind digital textbooks, works
that include interactive captions, quizzes, 3D objects, and video. Apple even unveiled free software for
the Mac called iBooks Author to encourage teachers and others to produce their own interactive
books for learning.
In the meantime, among the early high school textbooks produced for the iPad are titles that cover al-
gebra, environmental sciences, physics, and other subjects.
Meanwhile, if a book supports it, you can turn your notes into Study Cards — a great way for students
to learn vocabulary or prepare for exams. (If the option is available, you'll see an icon that looks like a
notepad just to the right of the Table of Contents button.) You can swipe the cards to move from one to
another, or tap a card to see one side with glossary terms or material you've highlighted, on the other
any notes you've supplied. At the time we wrote this book, there weren't a lot of new textbooks that
supported Apple's vision. But with the backing of such prominent textbook publishers as Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson, it would appear to be only a matter of time. What's more,
some third-party publishers such as Kno and Inkling are also producing some interesting interactive
textbooks.
According to Apple, hundreds of thousands of books in the iBooks Store can be used in school cur-
riculums, including novels for English or social studies. A world of educational content is also access-
ible via the iTunes U app.
As you consider these various efforts, we understand if you wish you'd had an iPad with digital text-
books back when you were in school.
We should also point out that while educational materials are a main impetus behind iBooks 3, there
are other books rich in audio, video, and other interactive materials that take full advantage of Apple's
latest software. One example: George Harrison Living In the Material World, a handsome $14.99 book
written by the ex-Beatle's widow, Olivia Harrison. You can only view it on an iPad with iBooks 2 or
later.
Changing the type size, font, and page color
If you want to enlarge the typeface size (or make it smaller), here's how:
1. Tap the Text Size and Fonts button, labeled in Figure 10-3 , at the upper-right corner of
the screen.
2. Tap the uppercase A.
The text swells right before your eyes so that you can pick a size that's comfortable for you.
To make the font smaller, tap the lowercase a instead.
 
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