Apple’s new iOS’s folder making capability has a hidden benefit. Helping your children find their apps. It might decrease the chance your preschooler will send an email to your boss.
If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you may have already discovered the ability to make folders; which is now standard with iOS 4.1 and higher for iPod Touch and iPhone, and is coming in November for iOS 4.2 for your iPad. You can now cluster up to 12 apps or Web Clips (icons made out of Web pages) into one folder. Folders already exist for Android phones, see http://bit.ly/bZPE4U and — of course– regular computers.
To test the new iOS, I successfully tried making on a nearly two-year old second generation iPod Touch. Here’s what I did.
1. Find two icons that your child might use frequently, or better yet, ask your child to name some of their favorite apps. Press and hold your finger over one, until it starts to wriggle. Now, slide the icon app over the other, and presto, a folder appears, along with a dialog box. Type in your child’s name, and tap the icon again. Now you can fill up the folder with up to 12 apps or web clips simply by dragging and dropping new apps over the folder. (To drop in pre-selected web pages, you can make a web clip by finding the + icon in Safari).
2. Next, move your child’s folder to your dock — the shelf on the bottom of the screen — so it is always easy for your child to find. This concept is useful supporting your child’s budding academic interests.
3. You can also name folders after hobbies or school subjects.
4. If you have more than one child, each can have his or her own folder, giving them their own place to freely explore that’s a layer away from the grownup stuff that can get mom or dad very grumpy.
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