If you haven't started classes, you should be ready. Gone are the days when the backpack was an executioner for the back, carrying books, notebooks, folders and other educational supplies. In the digital age, a computer is enough to have everything at hand. And speaking of the c acareada era post-pc , the issue seems much lighter. We say this because with the help of a tablet, like Apple's iPad 2, for example, the educational experience can be much more comfortable and engaging.
Not only because the support itself is light and very sweet (a slim terminal, with a spectacular design and with a fantastic touch screen well deserves the attention of the student), but also because the catalog of available applications multiplies the options available the user to enrich the learning process, while making it much more agile and complete. Let's see why.
For starters, long gone are the days when the teacher gave his spiel for an hour or two on a podium before a student body who opposes yawning. Today the classes are participatory, looking for a more immersive experience. The iPad 2, in that sense, allows the student to expand data in real time using the Internet connection (as long as they use a 3G version of the tablet, or the school has an authorized Wi-Fi connection), either through the terminal's own native browser or using specific applications.
Thus, the first thing that should be noted is that the iPad 2 has a series of applications that will be very useful for consulting data. Those that help us to download electronic books are especially interesting. The terminal has a series, iBooks, which in addition to being used to read books in eBook format, allows us to view PDF documents and presentations. In addition, it gives us access to an electronic library with hundreds of free volumes, many of which are reference works in many educational programs.
In any case, if we had to resort to a larger bibliographic fund, we could do so through Kindle (the Amazon application, with many free books, although most are paid) or from the web interface using dedicated websites. From here we recommend the Google Books reference, or the fantastic proposal of EPubGratis.es.
There is no doubt that the iPad 2 can also concentrate the functions of many devices that have traditionally made a big difference in the backpack, and that now we have them within reach of a touch of icon, like the classic calculator. The one that comes by default in the Apple tablet system is very good and complete, although if you need something more advanced, you can opt for Graphing Calculator (for 1.6 euros).
On the other hand, if something is essential when we go to class, it is to take notes. Having an iPad, gone are the days when we ended up with sore hands to write with the pen. Using the tablet we can take notes comfortably, either using a Bluetooth keyboard linked to the terminal, or using the virtual keyboard on the screen.
In any case, it is interesting to choose the application that interests us the most for this task. The iPad is equipped with a notes application, but it may not be the most appropriate for what we want. If we need to edit word files that we will later open from another computer, we may be interested in using the popular Documents To Go (between eight and fourteen euros, depending on the version) or Pages (eight euros), although the latter is more focused on integrate with Apple equipment.
Anyway, if you want to have the notes synced across all your devices (whether they are tablets, smartphones, computers, netbooks or laptops), the solution is through an application like Evernote. And not only because it is free (there is a premium version that expands the remote storage capacity), but also because it is very complete, allowing you to take notes on the program itself and synchronizing almost in real time with the rest of your information in the cloud.
Finally, and in order that you do not have to turn to anyone to take your lesson, you can use a voice recognition application like Dragon Dictation. It is a system that listens to your voice and interprets it to pass what you say in writing. It is very useful for taking voice notes, as well as for what we have just suggested, in case you want to review the knowledge acquired. Where you may not be so lucky is using it as a recorder to record the classes that the teacher voices and have the notes in writing and with trick. The power of this free application does not give much.
If you think there are more applications that can be very useful to exploit the advantages of the iPad 2 in the studies, do not hesitate to share them with all of us.
