Kia ora,

It’s the last week of Term!

We know there have been multiple challenges with illness and well-being in most schools we’re supporting so we hope you all have a refreshing break over the next couple of weeks.

?In this fortnight’s Apple Education Newsletter, we have some reasons for you to explore the Apple iWork tools (if you aren’t already a super fan), a reminder about our incredible iPad 9 deal and a creative idea for storing those Apple Pencils so many schools are Purchasing.

?? HOW GOOD ARE THE IWORK APPS?

One of the comments we often get after a session is how amazed participants are with these tools. Remarks such as, ‘I never knew how great Numbers is!’ and ‘Wow, no one ever showed me that Pages could do those things.’ This is quite often the kind of thing that long-time Apple users will say.

The majority of the Cyclone Apple Team’s programs and consultancy tools are based on the Apple iWork apps like Keynote, Pages and Numbers. They are such powerful apps and super easy to use. Here’s a quick overview of iWork from Apple.

Here are 5 reasons why you should be using the iWork tools at your school:

1. The UI (user interface) is close to the same across all the tools. Once you know how to format, arrange, add content and save your files on Numbers, for example, then it’s a short learning curve for all the others.
2. These tools are more than their main function. Numbers, for example, is more than a spreadsheet tool with formula functions - it also has a great graphical interface with moveable images. Keynote is more than a presentation tool for slides and presenter notes - it’s also great for creating GIFs, exporting PDFs and creating animations.
3. There are no licensing costs. The iWork tools come free for all users with every device, whether Mac, iPad or iPhone. The only extra cost comes as you may require more storage to save all the content you’re creating.
4. The files you’re creating can be saved easily to your device AND synced to the cloud. One of the challenges that users of cloud-based tools face is what to do when the internet is down or you’re out of range (like flying, for example). The great thing about all of your iWork tools is that they can be started, offline, work offline and then easily sync when your connection is being made. (This text is being written on plane right now, in the Notes app.)
5. The iWork tools work across your Apple devices. You can start a Numbers file on your Mac, continue it on your iPad and make adjustments on the fly on your iPhone. All seamlessly when synced with your iCloud account.

?If you’d like to have some hands-on support learning more about these incredible tools, let us know! We run workshops such as ‘Teaching with Mac and iPad’ ‘Better Together’ and ‘Everyone Can Create’ up and down the country. Contact us here to talk about how we can help you, your teaching team and your students.

??FRIDAY THE 13TH IPAD DEAL

Have you seen the deal we currently have on the iPad 9? The stock numbers are becoming super low but don’t miss out on this amazing pricing - check out the specs here and let us know as soon as soon as possible about a quote for your school!

IPAD 9TH GEN

?? PENCIL STORAGE

Classes that take advantage of their iPads will just about always have Pencils, whether they use the genuine Apple Pencil or a third-party option like the Adonit SE or Skriva models.

The next challenge to overcome is choosing between the many storage and charging solutions that are out there. Sometimes schools design their own 3D printed stands or have them all stored in boxes.

One of the most popular storage options is the ‘artist paintbrush roll/wrap’ such as this example from Amazon, spotted in a Christchurch school. It’s a great way to store the Pencils overnight and an easy way to see that all of them have been returned.

Have a quick search online and solve this storage challenge ASAP!

?? EVENTS

Who’s around for a catchup over the holidays? Our Cyclone Apple NZ Educators Online Community Call is on next Thursday 3rd of October at 7 pm. If you’re keen to connect with other Apple Learning enthusiasts, see some cool features coming to your Mac with the new Sequoia OS and also some Structured Learning ideas, sign up here!

We hope you can make it - you might even win an Apple Airtag!

REGISTER HERE

?? MACOS SEQUOIA - NEW NOTES FEATURES

One of the great updates with the new MacOS Sequoia, likely to drop in your updates very soon (and once your organisation has cleared this for you) are some cool new features to one of my favourite apps, Notes. Here are a few of those additions:

• New highlighting tools
• Audio recording for meetings and notes
• Collapsable sections

You can see more of the features explained here at Apple and also a breakdown of a ton of Sequioa features from Brandon Butch here. You can see the Notes updates from 33.27 sec.

One Last Thing!

Nice work, scrolling to the end! As always, let us know if there’s anything we can do to support you and your school with everything to do with Apple Learning. Whether your have Apple tech, are thinking about switching or would like to talk about what’s possible, let us know. The Apple Team at Cyclone is working through the break so email us here or contact Mark at [email protected].

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