Friday 3 June 2016

Apple Mac Tips - Meredith Bean



Today, Meredith Bean from Apple came to our MDTA Friday to give us some tips on using Apple Mac functions and features. So that I wouldn't forget the features which stood out to me, I created a quick brainstorm on Explain Everything. Some of the functions I thought were extremely useful in the classroom were:

1. Create student user - Creating a student user account enables students to work on the same computer as the teacher without having access to all the teacher's files (which often have confidential information).

2. Text to speech settings - Depending on where in the world you are teaching you can select the appropriate speaker for the language you are teaching - the teacher or students can highlight text in a document and by clicking the fn key twice (or the function you have selected) the text will be read aloud. This can be a great tool for writing as students can hear their work being read out.

3. Change keyboard preferences - Choose different keyboards in order to get the appropriate letters and macrons for the language you select.

4. Do not disturb function - Limit the times in which you receive notifications by altering the time in the do not disturb settings.

5. Switch controls - Alter controls in order to support students with a variety of learning needs.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this summary Steph. I have been looking forward to someone sharing what was covered. Great you had this opportunity to come to grips with your laptop functions in more depth

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    1. Yes it was amazing to see how much the laptop can do - especially in how it can create accessibility for a wide range of learning needs. It was great to get the pointers and now we can explore the different functions to see what works best for our teaching :)

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