Ways to Use an iPad for Education

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I've always been a learner so using my iPads for educational purposes is natural to me. I first started taking online courses many years ago when I wanted to learn more about programming languages. But even before that, I was often spending time on the internet reading informative blogs and websites to learn as much as I could about any subjects that interested me.

Online Courses

Although I have taken online courses on topics of general interest, most of my online course learning has been focused on technology. Over the years, I've taken courses on website development, programming languages like javascript and python, and AI. I prefer courses with written materials, although my most recent online learning has been primarily with video lessons. Some of the courses have been through major universities like Harvard or Stanford. When Apple had iTunes U, I used it extensively. Unfortunately, Apple discontinued it several years ago, and I switched then to using a service and app called edX. It has many free courses on a large variety of subjects from leading universities around the world.

Years ago, I used a service called Lynda to find technology courses. It was bought by LinkedIn in 2015, and a year later Microsoft acquired it. It's now called LinkedIn Learning and I use it through my local library's online services.

YouTube has also been a learning resource for me. Sometimes I use it to find out how to use a particular gadget or device before making a purchase, how to fix something in my apartment, or how to do something on my iPad. I also sometimes view news related videos or other informational videos. The YouTube app is one that I find useful at times for almost any activity I'm doing on my iPad. It's good for finding out how to make better use of a productivity app, learning more about a news story, watching and listening to a favorite performer's latest song and video, and learning about new technology.

Programming

In addition to learning about programming languages through online courses and web sources, I have some apps that help me learn how to program in a particular language. Probably the best way I learn a programming language is by actually solving a real life problem. For example, when I'm using Textastic, I sometimes need to adjust the way my blog looks and to do that, I need to go into my style sheet and fix some of the coding. Because I can flip back and forth between the coding page and the finished product on the web, I can see the changes immediately and adjust the coding in real time.

A programming app I like to play around with to solve actual problems is the Shortcuts app. I've been using a form of the app since 2015, when it was released by an independent developer as Workflow. Apple purchased it in March, 2017, and turned it into the Shortcuts app. Unfortunately, Apple's developers made changes to the app that broke some of my workflows and I lost interest in the app for awhile. But I've been having fun lately learning Shortcuts and trying to think of creative and useful ways to make working on my iPad easier.

One of my ultimate goals is to someday know enough to be able to develop an iPad app. Every year, when Apple has its developers conference, usually in June, I watch the keynote and several of the sessions online. I keep the Apple Developer app on my iPad but I have to admit I rarely go to it after the conference ends. I also keep a copy of the Swift Playgrounds app and its documentation on my iPads (Air 2 and Air 5). I haven't done much with the app yet, but it's on my to do list for this year.

Books

I've put books under education rather than entertainment because I almost always read to learn something new. I only read nonfiction books, usually history books. I enjoy them but I also consider them as learning tools. I love reading and learning about periods in history that are new areas of study for me.

I use three book apps on my iPads. I use Apple's Books app the least and usually only on the iPad Air 2. I use that app mostly for Apple's guides to iOS. Unfortunately, this year, Apple decided to be lazy and not produce a new Books guide to iPadOS 17. Instead, I now have to go to Apple's website and find the online guide, which at times is useless. Searching for a topic often leads me to a bunch of slightly related articles on the web instead of to clear answers to my search question.

For years, my main reading app was Amazon's Kindle app. In my opinion, it's the best app for reading books. I used to buy all of my books through Amazon's ebook sales and I've finally finished all of them. Although the Kindle app has special features not available on other ebook apps and better settings than the other apps, I've switched to Google Play Books as my main books app. I use that app simply for economic reasons - I earn Google Play points through the Google Rewards program and I use the money to buy books. The app itself is inferior to the Kindle app, and about equal to the Apple Books app, which also can't measure up to the Kindle one.

This ends my theme on ways I use my iPads. I hope you found the articles useful in your search for new ways to use your iPad.

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If you want to view a previous article, click a link below.
Ways to Use an iPad for Productivity
Ways to Use an iPad for Communication & News
Ways to Use an iPad for Entertainment