Must have apps for a teen girl?

[mathnerd]

I'm giving my iPad to a teen girl who can really use her own computing device. Long story, but it boils down to she needs it and I use it so little that I actually had to clean a quarter inch of dust off it when I dug it out in February, used it for a specific purpose and haven't touched it since, so I can't think of a better thing to do with it. Last night I factory reset it, set her up an iCloud account, linked her to my family sharing account, and started loading stuff on it.

So far I've only put Pages, Numbers, and one game I know she plays. I want her to be able to use it for school as well as just random internet surfing and entertainment. It's a first generation mini with only 16GB of memory, and not cellular capable so I don't want to bloat it, but I feel like there's sonething I'm missing.

What other apps should I be considering?

[Ophbalance]

Won't they be lost once she uses her own iTunes account? Just a curiosity question, but that was my understanding of what happens when you switch accounts.

[mathnerd]

It's set up with her own iCloud and iTunes, but linked to my FamilySharing, which means she can download anything I or my boys have purchased. That's for both apps and music, but I'm going to let her pillage through our playlists on her own, since everybody's taste in music differs. My overriding reason for doing that was because Pages is not free and I bought it a long time ago, and didn't want to buy it again. FamilySharing is a new thing as of iOS 8,and it's got some neat features. I just want to have some of the larger apps already there because it is slow, and don't want her to have to spend hours downloading stuff.

[kaherbert]

I would check with the school. She might be able to submit work electronically. She would need the apps for what the school uses. Some schools use google docs, some drop box, and some one drive. The school might even have a system that allows the students to get the apps "free"

The district pays a discounted price because they buy a high volume of licences. A teacher, CITS, or IT person would put a school acount on the device with the parents/guardians permission and download the apps for the student.

Snap type allows you to take a picture of a document and fill it in. Useful for kids with LD or physical disabilities that make handwriting difficult to manage. A the son of a friend uses it to turn in all his worksheets. It is a good work around for both his dysgraphia and ADHD. (The child can lose or destroy a paper by fiddling with it in the time it takes to go from his desk to the turn in station.)

[Soulstealer]

I wouldn't worry to much, unless she's completely computer illiterate she can download her own apps. You might want to put some parental controls if hers are concerned but that's their call.

Course if you're being and doing it for her ask her what she wants.

[mathnerd]

The big deal here is that her access to wifi will be limited for a little while, and I don't want her to have to waste what little time she does have downloading stuff. It's a first generation iPad mini, so it's super slow (at least by current standards).

I have some parental controls already on it. Her parents aren't an issue, but her caseworker is, and I'm working with her to make sure it's in line with what they want.

She also has problems asking for things she needs, let alone wants. I took her shopping to replace her clothing and had a difficult time getting her to show an opinion on anything. She's just grateful to have something that she feels bad asking for what she really likes. Heck, we went through this in the shampoo and tampon aisles too. I finally had to say "look, honey, you're the one using this stuff. I'm gonna walk away and you just put what you want in the cart." Needless to say, she's a little overwhelmed that somebody's just up and giving her an expensive tablet, so she's being difficult when it comes to just telling me what she wants on it.

I think I might go buy an iTunes gift card and pre-load it so she can buy non-free stuff, but something tells me she'll feel guilty and not spend it.

[prjkt]

Hey! I've got the first gen iPad mini, and it's not that slow Well, maybe in Safari occasionally...

On topic, Pages & Numbers are definitely a safe bet, maybe a decent scientific or graphic calculator app, depending on what's been studied at school.

As for other stuff, it really comes down to her interests & school requirements - I use mine for the occasionally photography portfolio, light editing/cataloguing of photos, but mostly as an e-reader or web-browser.

[pudddykat]

My parents had an interesting slightly frustrating experience with the new family sharing deal. If someone called one of their cell phones both would ring. They eventually got that straightened out. In regards to your issue I agree with what has already been said.

[mathnerd]

Thanks.

For the school stuff, her current school doesn't do anything fancy, but she's going to high school next year, so I'll contact that school to see if there's anything I should be putting on it over the summer.

In good news, I was fretting over limited wifi for nothing. She's been moved to a real home, and I love the foster mother, and they have a good wifi network, so I don't have to worry about her not having enough time to download the stuff she wants. Yay!