Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP. Over 33 years experience in AAC. OMazing Kids AAC and app consulting. Creator of several AAC Feature Matching resources (https://omazingkidsllc.com/omazing-kids-aac-resource-links/). Includes info about unique features to support Gestalt Language Processors
I receive frequent requests for info about things that can be done to maximize the battery life on an iPad or iPhone. So I’m sharing the resource that I have bookmarked for this.
Disclaimer:Please think through the pros/cons of any of the options mentioned in the article. For example, adjusting the brightness might not fit some user’s visual needs, toggling off Bluetooth would interfere with use of a Bluetooth speaker, toggling off Location Services may interfere with being able to use “Find My”, etc…
Use of these iOS devices for AAC takes more consideration than other uses. So weigh the pros/cons to make a thoughtful decision. Sometimes having an external battery pack available can be a solution to recharging on the go.
Are you a busy SLP who needs quick access to apps and digital resources to target specific goals? This resource was designed just for you.
The Ultimate App and Digital Resource Guide for SLPs (updated for 2022) includes:
Interactive PDF (240 pages with linked Table of Contents) full of lists of hundreds of apps and digital resources organized by SLP goal areas and themes
App demo videos (links to 29 unlisted YouTube videos)
Have questions? The best way to reach me with any questions is via messaging on the OMazing Kids Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/. That way AAC related messages don’t get lost among the spam in my e-mail.
Have questions? The best way to reach me with any questions is via messaging on the OMazing Kids Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/. That way messages don’t get lost among the spam in my e-mail.
Personal Professional Facebook Page (linked to OMazing Kids): https://www.facebook.com/angela.moorad (adding “friends” who have a direct role in AAC or Assistive Technology – AAC / AT app or product developers, AAC / AT consultants, SLPs who specialize in AAC, other professionals who specialize in AAC or AT, etc.)
**** Archived **** See newer blog post linked above ⬆️
If you will be using an iPad with kids, then Guided Access and Screen Time are your new BFEs (Best. Features. Ever!). They can be used to disable the home button (or swiping to exit on devices without a home button), lock the child into an app, prevent access to specific apps, etc.. Especially critical if you will be using the iPad as an AAC device or using it in therapy with kids with poor impulse control.
Let the battery drain. When it gets low enough Guided Access *should* turn off
Additional possible hacks can be found in this post. Number 3 looks interesting. I haven’t tried it yet but I’m guessing that it would only work if Location Services and Find My are both toggled on and set up: https://convergeddevices.net/iphone-stuck-in-guided-access-mode/
And there are a few important settings to adjust in order to prevent the AAC app (or any other apps) from being deleted. This is also where you need to toggle off the ability to download apps and the ability to make in-app purchases. Be sure to set a strong password.
Use Screen Time alongside Guided Access to provide even more control.
Nice tutorial from The TalkLink Trust about Screen Time. It’s more complicated that Guided Access but not hard to do once you get the hang of it. https://youtu.be/8EWNVcWWWVM
If you have a Samsung Android tablet, also look at Samsung Kids as a way to create a secured area where you can add any combination of apps: https://youtu.be/9154zJmOxis. Can use the included My Camera to take pictures and videos and then view them within My Gallery. The included Bobby’s Canvas app has a fun drawing area. Exiting Samsung Kids is secured with a PIN. More info: https://www.samsung.com/us/apps/samsung-kids/
The YouTube Kids app (https://bit.ly/3O0FpIT) or the Video Collections app (https://bit.ly/3zEuW1k or on Samsung Galaxy Store: https://bit.ly/3zGG7q7 ) can be used as a way to save links to specific YouTube videos or channels. Adding one of these apps within the secured Samsung Kids area would allow Gestalt Language Processors to access videos as part of their communication system in a secured way.
Windows: Set up a single-app kiosk on Windows 10/11: https://bit.ly/3Ocxdo3 (applicable for Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education & Windows 11. Unfortunately you can not set Kiosk mode for Windows 10 Home edition (the operating system on my AWOW AiBook 10 Windows tablet / mini laptop: https://bit.ly/3IJRBf8).
Important Note: Decisions about when and how to secure devices need to be made based on individual needs, age of the user, how long they have been using AAC, etc… The needs of a young child first learning how to use AAC are very different than the needs of an older teen or adult who uses tech to multitask.
I would never hand a young child a totally unlocked / unsecured iPad or tablet that then could access all of the internet. There are several reasons why that could be very risky.
You also need to consider financial risks. Several years ago I had a patient who had run up over $1,000 in credit card charges making app purchases and in-app purchases on an unsecured iPad. Fortunately they were eventually able to get it refunded but that’s not always the case.
As you can see above there are ways to choose how secure a device needs to be by using a combo of options. It doesn’t have to be “all or nothing”.
Personal Professional Facebook Page (linked to OMazing Kids): https://www.facebook.com/angela.moorad (adding “friends” who have a direct role in AAC or Assistive Technology – AAC / AT app or product developers, AAC / AT consultants, SLPs who specialize in AAC, other professionals who specialize in AAC or AT, etc.)
There were two “iPad only” apps that require iOS 13 that were free last month. But neither of my iPads are running iOS 13. My iPad Mini 2 can’t be updated and I have chosen not to update my iPad Pro beyond iOS 10.3.3 in order to not lose a bunch of older apps that were never updated to be compatible with iOS 11.
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So I tried out the workaround from this article on my Windows laptop and it worked. Woo Hoo! I have to admit I did a tech-geeky happy dance 💃🏼💻
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Now those apps are in my “purchased” area in iTunes and available to download when I eventually get a new iPad.
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I’m sharing this as a workaround for those who may not have an iPad yet or may not have access to it in the midst of the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic.
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Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC
Want to access high quality free clip art .png images and use it directly on your iPad? I’ve been looking for additional clip art to use in the iESLp app and other projects. Most are .zip files meaning they contain subfolders with one image per folder. In order to open a zipped file on your iPad go get this FREE app.
Zip Viewer – Archiver Manager Browser Reader of Zip Files, unzip directly from email, Safari, Dropbox or iCloud Drive by Oliver Koehler https://appsto.re/us/BcC-J.i
Then choose that app when given a list of options for opening a file.
They also have a free app to create zipped files. I used it to forward two videos that normally would have been too large to send via E-mail.
Zip to Mail Compressor – easily create and upload archives from photos, videos and any other files by Oliver Koehler https://appsto.re/us/23TP2.i
Both apps contain ads but they don’t interfere with the functionality of the apps.
Anybody else out there playing the never ending “app shuffle” where you painstakingly decide what to delete off your device to free up memory? I had been doing this daily to keep at least 1GB of memory free to insure that all of my AAC apps and therapy apps run smoothly. Even with a 128 GB iPad Air the struggle is real.
I’m usually skeptical of “hacks” since they never quite live up to the hype but was intrigued when I saw a post about this one on Lauren Enders’, an AAC and tech guru, Facebook page. I highly recommend following her on Facebook and Pinterest!
NOTE: I had one person leave a comment on my Facebook page that she was charged after tapping “rent” despite following the steps in the CNET post. She indicated that she suspected that it might have been due to her having an available balance to spend in her iTunes account. So please be advised that this could occur if you have an iTunes balance. I have had many other comments and messages that the steps in the CNET post worked for them and I know that it worked for me.
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This is seriously the best iOS hack ever! I did a hard reboot after following the steps in the post and went from 1.2GB of free space up to 5.0GB of free space (a gain of 3.8 GB additional free space on my iPad Air). That’s huge! I wonder what on earth is going on behind the scenes to hog that much space and then magically free it up?
And nothing seems to be running glitchy after doing this… is it “tech geeky” to be this giddy over the sight of 5.0GB of free space on my main therapy iPad? Probably so but I’m loving it 😉
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 27 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.
{App Update Tips} There are several reasons why I have “automatic downloads” toggled OFF on all my iPads:
Some app updates cause you to lose access to an app. See the “First Nouns” app in this screenshot as an example. The developer has switched to a subscription based model.
If an app is working properly with the version of iOS that I’m running on that device, there is no need to update. Doing so may cause problems. The saying “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” applies. As a side note, I always hold off on updating to the latest iOS operating system to allow time for bugs to be worked out and to allow time for app developers to release updates to make their apps compatible with that iOS and work out bugs there too. I use my iPads everyday in speech therapy and especially depend on AAC apps and therapy apps so I can’t afford to take any risks. I look for comments on an app developer’s page and in a variety of FB groups for signs that it’s safe to update the iOS and/or the app.
Some updates add content that I’m not interested in. An example of this is when many apps add seasonal content for Halloween.
But there are times that I do need to update an app. I often will look to see if an app has been updated if it is acting glitchy or after I have updated to a more current iOS and apps are acting glitchy with that.
Important reminder: It is always wise to back up any programming that you’ve done on an AAC app BEFORE you install an update. It’s also wise to get any info you need from the data collection area of a therapy app before you install an update.
In order to update apps manually, you go to the App Store, tap “Updates” at the bottom of the screen (or search for the app by name) and read the info closely about the update to decide if you want to install it. NEVER click “update all”. Instead click “update” just on the specific app you have decided to update. Some updates are large and will require a strong WiFi connection and may require you to free up space on your iPad before you install them.
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OMazing Kids AAC Consulting 