Utilizing the ‘Pinch Out to Zoom in’ Feature of the iPad

I had mentioned in a previous post (04-06-15  - When to Add  Symbol Support in a Mixed Ability Lesson) that I liked to enhance my Animated Step-by-Steps with symbol support.  I typically alter the animation sequence to fade in the symbol support automatically after all the animations on the page have been triggered. This provides an opportunity to ‘re-read’ a page using the symbols … a strategy that is especially valuable for students with special needs. 

When adding symbols to the Animated Step-by-Steps, I size them to .8 to ensure that they fit ‘comfortably’ between the lines of text. This size works great for the majority of children using the app, but what if you wished the symbols were a bit larger?

Inherent in the iPad’s operating system is the ability to use a gesture to zoom in on an area of the screen, i.e., using your thumb and index finger to pinch out. 

To move further down the screen, to view the next line of enlarged text just swipe up with your index finger.

When you wish to return the page to its normal size, just pinch in with your thumb and index finger. These handy gestures allows you to ‘re-read’ the page using enlarged symbols.

There are a variety of reasons why it is advantageous to zoom in to create enlarged symbols. The obvious, of course, might be to better enable children with visual impairments to see the symbols. An equally valuable reason, however, would be to help students with emerging symbol skills to better see the symbols in order to derive meaning, especially when you occasionally add commentary as to why that symbol is representative of that concept.

Regardless of your reason for using this ‘pinch out, to zoom in’ feature, it is a great tool to add to your ‘therapy tool box’.   

…’til the next post …

© 2015  Carol Goossens’, Ph.D.

canadiangoosse@gmail.com