For the past few months now I have been using my iPad 2 for just about everything. Reading, writing, social media, photos, web browsing, even video editing… it does it all in one neat little package. Read my previous post on why I love it so much here.
But today I’d like to share specifically on what I’ve learnt about the iPad has a communicator’s tool – in my case for teaching and preaching…
Firstly, can I just say what a pleasure this device has made the entire process – eliminating so many previous steps, taking paper and printing completely out the picture, and enabling me to prepare and present better, faster, and more remotely. Here’s how I do it…
Step 1: Mind-mapping
I always start off by brainstorming general thoughts or impressions. Things on the topic I have to present that immediately jump to mind, stand out, or have been on my heart. For this I find mind-mapping to be extremely effective. I don’t necessarily have to worry at this stage about structure or outline, and mind-mapping allows me to simply splurge everything in my mind onto paper, including articles I have come across, tweets, links, Bible verses, even pictures or photos.
For this I use two programs – on my desktop: MindJet Manager (Free), on my iPad: iThoughts HD ($9.99), and on my iPhone: iThoughts (Free). These programs sync seamlessly so whether I am at home on the couch and something jumps to mind, or at the office at my laptop, I simply add to the map and all 3 devices stay perfectly synced.
At this stage I just have to mention Evernote (Free). This is undoubtably the app I use the most on my phone, laptop and iPad, and is incredibly powerful and useful! It allows me to capture ideas, thoughts, photos, websites, quotes etc etc instantly; organise my thoughts effectively; and access that information fast from anywhere. It is basically my brain on the web.
Step 2: Word Processing
After brainstorming, I begin the process of getting it down into a logical structure. With my mind-map open and at hand I start with a basic outline or a scripture as a skeleton, and then fill in the “meat” with stories, anecdotes, illustrations etc. This process usually takes the longest and requires some refining. I’ve found it helps to have a “cobb” – a single “main point” upon which everything else hangs. You may expand that idea into more sub points or applications, but ask yourself, “If my listeners get one thing and one thing only, what do I want that to be?” At this stage you have to be ruthless to stay true to the “main thing” and eliminate everything else that does not point towards or illuminate your main idea.
For this stage I use Microsoft Word for Mac on my laptop, or Pages ($9.99) on my iPad. I find these two programs are the most powerful, allow me to use the formatting I like, and using Dropbox (free) I can keep them in sync.
Step 3: Exporting
Once I am happy with the content, the next step is to get it on to my iPad ready for presenting. Of course you could always just present straight from Pages or from your Word doc, but I find that to be limiting. You can’t easily alter the text and the scrolling down feels unnatural. I prefer using GoodReader ($4.99), which in my opinion is one of the best apps for the iPad and certainly worth every penny!
Because I like my words to be big on the iPad screen, I format my text to 22 Arial and then save the doc as a PDF file, before copying the file to Dropbox. GoodReader works hand in hand with Dropbox and so I can simply open any Dropbox file from within GoodReader and I’m good to go.
Step 4: Presenting
GoodReader has many features but what I like about it most is the intuitive scrolling and zooming, the ability to highlight, scratch out, or add text on the fly. You can even add diagrams and free-hand drawings to your notes in case you get some last minute inspiration. It also has a very handy “auto-lock” function that prevents the screen from auto-rotating as you move around. Just make sure you adjust your “sleep mode” under settings on your iPad so it doesn’t go to sleep in the middle of your talk!
I also know that the iPad can be used in conjunction with a VGA out and Keynote ($9.99) to present powerpoint presentations effortlessly and stylishly, but I have not yet explored this myself…
Well, if you’ve read this far, well done! I hope that this helps those of you who communicate and/or teach regularly and that it will help you present with greater confidence and clarity! Good luck!
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Evernote turns your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your iPad to your desktop. The key to using Evernote is learning how to get your notes in (there are so many ways!)
Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. You’ll have access to over 900,000 books in the Kindle Store, including best sellers and new releases. Find I am reading so much more these days!
IMDB is the world’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity information. IMDb is the leading app on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to find watch trailers, get movie ratings, browse photo galleries, find latest DVD releases, explore popular charts and share movie info. Great app for deciding what to rent from the DVD store!
News24 is South Africa’s leading digital news brand. Stay informed wherever you are and get breaking news, sport and business news from South Africa and around the world.
WordPress for iOS is a must for any WordPress blogger and makes it super easy to moderate comments, create or edit post or pages, add images or video, and check your stats.
Facebook for iPad and iPhone. Simple, straightforward, easy to use.
Hootsuite is my preferred Twitter client for a number of reasons. Firstly I love the way you can schedule tweets/Facebook status updates/Wordpress blogs all from one place. Secondly, the stats are great. And thirdly, the iPhone version is great.
Bible is a fantastic free app from Lifechurch.tv. Join over 30 million people who read, listen and share God’s Word using the Bible App. Huge selection of 150+ Bible versions and 200+ plans to help you track your progress. Now also with free audio Bibles!
SimpleNote is a very clean and simple note-taking app that I use every single day. It syncs via a cloud across all devices, much like Apple’s built-in notes, but the reason I prefer it is because it has a great online desktop version, and you are able to “scroll back in time” on each note.
Skype allows you to call, video call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
SuperSport may be one of the best iPhone sports apps around! Get all the latest news, live scores and information on your favourite sports including football, rugby, cricket, golf and more. All in a well-designed and easy to use app.
Instagram is the iPhone’s best love photo app. With amazing photo filters that transform regular ol’ photos into works of art. Fun & simple to use, snap photos wherever you go to show the world what’s going on in your life, and follow your friends’ photo updates as they move through the world.
Windguru is a paddler’s/kiter’s/surfer’s best friend. Probably the best weather site is now available on your iPhone. Accurate wind, wave and weather data can be accessed for almost 3000 spots around the world, from wherever you are in the world
Shazam. Hear a song you don’t know? Shazam identifies it instantly – the 4th most downloaded App of all time.
Audible Audible.com, the Internet’s premier provider of digital audiobooks and more, is now available on your iPhone and iPod Touch! This free app features the most comprehensive audiobook experience ever, including Wi-Fi delivery of your Audible.com library, an optimized audiobook player, detailed listening stats, and much more
Discovery app is great for anyone on Discovery Health Insurance. It’s simple to use and provides a convenient way to access your information on Discovery Health, Vitality, Discovery Life, Discovery Insure, Discovery Invest and DiscoveryCard – anywhere, anytime. Was really surprised by how good this is
RunKeeper uses the GPS technology found in the iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to an expensive GPS watch. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface of the app makes it easy to track how far you went, how long it took, what your pace/speed was, how many calories you burned, and the path you traveled on a map. One of my personal favourites – without it I wouldn’t have made the Comrades Marathon!
Daily Tracker is a very basic but easy-to-use app, which lets you take notes, organize lists or track other important things in your life, such as time, workouts, expenses, calories, food, weight, sleep and actually… pretty much anything else you can think of.
MyFitnessPal is without a doubt the best calorie and exercise tracker around (and I’ve tried a bunch!) With the largest food database of any calorie counter (over 1,000,000 foods including many South African brands), and amazingly fast food and exercise entry.
Photosync ($1.99) will transform your photo handling forever. It‘s the first app that makes wireless transfer of your photos/videos from/to your Computer, other devices, Dropbox, and Flickr a breeze. You will never want to use a cable again! Although iCloud now provides this in some form, I still prefer PhoytoSync just in terms of syncing between multiple devices.
GoodReader ($4.99). With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. It is hands down the best PDF reader and lets you annotate notes, highlights, freehand right onto the PDFs.
iBank ($4.99) Mobile lets you track your day-to-day spending and monitor account balances on the go. It’s easy to enter and categorize transactions, track expenses, or view running balances — all from your iPhone or iPod touch. This comes with a great Desktop app ($59.99). If you are serious about getting your finances and budget in order, this is well worth the price.
GoodPlayer ($2.99) Do you enjoy watching videos on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? Do you hate not being able to because your device cannot support the video format? Or do you hate the inconvenient and time-consuming hassle of trying to convert video formats to fit into one that your iPhone/iPad can support? This is why GoodPlayer was created.
Jamie Oliver’s Recipes (Free, but with in-app purchases) is honestly phenomenal! I have been using it for a while now and it has truly opened up a whole new world of cooking! My wife is a useless cook (by her own admission), but even she makes the most delicious meals using the app. It is elegantly and beautifully designed with all the details well thought out! Try it – you won’t regret it!
TomTom South Africa ($59.99) offers world-class TomTom navigation on your iPhone or iPad. COmplete with South African accent and constantly updated SA maps. Has got me out of some sticky situations..
MyPhone+ ($0.99) is a nifty little app that keeps your contacts up-to-date with their latest pictures and information from Facebook. MyPhone+ automatically finds the matching Facebook friends for your contacts and download their data (picture, birthday, status, address, website, company & job title)
AppBox Pro ($1.99) is like the Swiss Army Knife of the iPhone! It is a multipurpose app that combines 21 single purpose applications into one, including unit converter, currency exchange, clineometer (level), date calc, loan calc, ruler, tip calc, translator etc etc.
WhatsApp ($0.99) Messenger is a cross-platform smartphone messenger currently available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones. The application utilizes push notifications to instantly get messages from friends, colleagues and family. Switch from SMS to exchange messages, pictures, audio notes and video messages with WhatsApp users at no cost.
Of course there are so many other great apps out there. That is the beauty of Apple devices – they are all personal depending on what apps you use.
So what are your favourite apps? I’d love to hear from you.
