Notability from A to Z

East Irondequoit Central School District

Professional Development
Instructor: Candie Black
Candace_black@eastiron.monroe.edu
Fall 2014
Table of Contents
What is Notability? ..................................................................................... 4
The Notability Homescreen .................................................................... 5
Using gestures to select & scroll (within a note) ......................... 18
Zooming in and out ................................................................................. 19
Creating a note ......................................................................................... 20
Typing on a note ...................................................................................... 21
Writing on a note ..................................................................................... 22
Highlighting a note.................................................................................. 23
Erasing annotations on a note ............................................................ 23
Cutting, copying, and pasting items .................................................. 24
Palm rest .................................................................................................... 25
Zoom view .................................................................................................. 26
Inserting media (photos, etc) .............................................................. 27
Inserting a recording ............................................................................. 28
Navigating through a multi-page document................................... 29
Creating dividers & subjects ................................................................ 30
Moving & organizing dividers, subjects & documents ................ 31
Deleting dividers, subjects & documents ........................................ 31
Renaming dividers, subjects & documents ..................................... 32
Special settings for Subjects (unit divisions) ................................. 33
Name............................................................................................................................ 33
Color ............................................................................................................................ 33
Icon .............................................................................................................................. 34

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 Password protecting a note ................................................................................. 34
Importing documents from other programs .................................. 35
Annotating student work ...................................................................... 37

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What is Notability?
Notability is an iPad app that integrates handwriting, PDF annotation, typing,
recording, and organizing so students can take notes electronically in a
manner that works best for them! Discover the freedom to capture ideas,
share insights, and present information in one perfect place on iPad. Liberate
yourself (and your students) from piles of paper and books by keeping
documents in Notability! You can hand out, complete, collect, and grade
assignments. Before class, students import your handouts so that they can
take colorful, unrestricted notes right on the handout. In addition, Notability
makes staying organized simple by keeping notes, handouts, and files in one
beautifully organized place.

Students annotate
Teacher uploads files Students open files
files, save and
to Edmodo (24/7 from Edmodo in
organize in
access). Notability.
Notability.

Student writes 1st

Student revises
writing task and
resubmits 2nd draft.
Teacher annotates
draft of writing task
draft (comments,
& submits to
grammar, etc...)
teacher.

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The Notability Homescreen

B C D E

A F

H I J

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A – Edit

a) This link allows you to edit names of subjects, dividers and notes as well
as to re-order the subjects and dividers. Use the “gear” icon to rename a
subject or divider. Use the three vertical lines to click and drag the
subject or divider to a different order.
b) Within the “Edit” menu, you can also delete a subject, divider or note or
add a new subject or divider.
c) Click on the “Pencil” icon (the “Compose” button) to create a new note.

B – Forward / Send button

This button allows you to forward a note via one of the following methods:
a) Email
b) Dropbox
c) Google Drive
d) AirDrop
e) Open in (iBooks, Moodle, Adobe Reader, WebDAV, FileManager,
Edmodo, Chrome, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive – this will depend on
the apps you have installed on your iPad)
f) Box
g) iTunes
h) Print
i) WebDAV
j) Choose default settings for Notability

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C - + (the plus icon)

This button allows you:

a) to create a divider (ex. Biology, History, English; effectively a “divider” is

a class). Create these first!
b) to create a subject (a subject is a unit within a class). Create these next
and then file them within the appropriate dividers.

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D – Search button (magnifying glass) - Click on this button to open up a
search bar to search your notes using a key term.

E – Import a note from a variety of apps (Dropbox, Google Drive, Box,

WebDav)

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F – Compose (white pencil on blue background) icon - Click on this button to
create a new note.

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G – List of dividers. Click on the arrow or the name of a divider to “open” it
and reveal its contents. Click again to “close” and hide its contents.

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H – Settings – use this gear icon to set backup options and settings for
themes, documents, typing and handwriting

a) Auto-backup – choose a backup program:

a. Dropbox – free for a limited amount of storage space (5GB) -
backup works easily
b. Google drive – free for a limited amount of storage space (5GB) -
backup works easily
c. Box
d. WebDAV – somewhat unreliable and glitch (I would NOT
recommend this as a backup option until reliability is verified) –
requires the schools “Lars” server address
e. Turn backup off – This is the riskiest option of them all – no
backup means total loss of your Notability notes in the event your
iPads crashes or if it is erased during service.
b) Manage accounts – allows you to log in or out of cloud service
accounts.
c) iCloud – turn iCloud on or off for backing up notes.

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d) Themes – choose amongst 4 themes (unified, colorful, clean, and
classic). Place a check mark in the box next to the desired theme by
clicking in the box.

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e) Document – This screen allows you:
a. To set a default note title
b. To include the date in the title
c. To include the time in the title
d. To choose the default note paper background (colored or
patterned).

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f) Typing – This screen allows you:
a. To set the default font
b. To set the default style for text (bold, italics, underline)
c. To set the default type size
d. To set the default text color
e. Set spellcheck on or off
f. Tap anywhere option (to begin typing anywhere by typing on a
particular line)

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g) Handwriting – This screen allows you:
a. Turn on or off “Tap and hold” setting to enter zoom mode while
handwriting.
b. Turn on or off “Left-handed mode” – this allows the palm rest to
be dragged down from the top of the screen.

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h) iOS Sleep Timer – When this function is enabled it will keep the iPad
awake so that Notability doesn’t automatically close when the iPad has
remained inactive for a while.

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I – Notability User Guide – look up various tutorial topics.

J – Notability Support Center –

see troubleshooting topics and
FAQs.

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Using gestures to select & scroll (within a note)
a) Selecting
a. Tap and hold on a piece of text to select it. (Drag the blue circles
to a larger or smaller selection.
b. A menu will appear with the following options:
i. Cut
ii. Copy
iii. Speak (the iPad will say the selected word(s))
iv. Define (will provide a definition or will search the web for
one)
v. Replace
b) Scrolling
a. To scroll through a note, use one or two fingers to swipe up and
down.
b. Alternatively, use the up and down arrows to move from page to
page (up and down).

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Zooming in and out
a) Using two fingers pinched together and draw draw them out to an
extended position to zoom in (make the image larger).
b) Using two fingers simultaneously, draw two extended fingers closer to
each other (pinching motion) to zoom out (make the image smaller).

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Creating a note
Click on the “blue pencil” icon.

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Typing on a note
a) Activate the typing function by click on the outline “t” icon (stands for
“text”) across the top menu. The “t” icon will be filled with white.
b) Use your finger or a stylus to click anywhere on the note where you
would like to insert text. The iPad’s keyboard will pop up.
c) Type your text.
d) There are several text settings that can be changed when the keyboard
is open:
a. Indent / unindent – use the forward-facing arrow to indent and
backward-facing arrow to unindent.
b. Font name – the selected font name will be displayed. Click on it
to change the font.
c. Size – the default font size will be displayed flanked on either side
by the letter A. Click on the smaller “A” to reduce the font size and
the larger A to increase the font size.
d. Color – select one of the 16 possible text colors.
e. Style – bold, italics, underline
f. Favorites – Notability allows you to set 3 “favorite” text styles
(font, size, color, etc…). Once set, you can click on the favorite
button and it will change the font style to your preselected option.
To create a preset of your favorite style, set the style (font, size,
etc..) and then tap and hold on one of the hearts.
g. Bulleted list – this

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Writing on a note
a) Activate the writing function by click on the outline “Pencil” icon across
the top menu. The pencil will fill with the last selected color.
b) Use your finger or a stylus to write on the note.
c) There are several pencil settings that can be changed by clicking on the
“Pencil” icon again:
a. Pressure – select one of the two curved lines to choose high
pressure or low pressure.
b. Size – select one of the 12 possible sizes of pencils
c. Color – select one of the 16 possible pencil colors

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Highlighting a note
a) Activate the highlighting function by click on the outline “Highlighter”
icon across the top menu. The highlighter will fill with the last selected
color.
b) Use your finger or a stylus to highlight words, sentences or section on
the note.
c) The highlighter has the same settings (pressure, size, and color) as the
pencil.

Erasing annotations on a note

a) Click on the outlined “Eraser” icon to activate the eraser function.
b) Drag your finger or stylus across areas you would like to erase.
c) The eraser will erase any single contiguous line (that is, you don’t have
to drag the eraser along the length of an entire line, but simply touch the
line and it will be erased.
d) Use the undo icon (backward facing arrow) to undo any action,
including erasing.

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Cutting, copying, and pasting items
a) Click on the “Scissors” icon.
b) Draw a shape (oval, circle, rectangle, square) around the text you want
to cut. (A marquis of dashed lines will appear around the selection.)
c) A menu will appear that includes the following options:
a. Style – allows you to change the style (thickness of writing
strokes, color of writing)
b. Cut – this will cut everything within the selection. (Note, if part of
the writing falls outside of the selection, it will still be cut so long
as there is no break in the contiguous lines.
c. Copy – this will copy everything within the selection.
d. Delete – this will delete everything within the selection.
d) With the marquis circling the selected area, click anywhere else on the
note and the “Paste” button will appear. Click it to paste the copied
area.

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 Palm rest
a) Click on the “Right Hand” icon located in the lower right-hand corner of
the screen.
b) Click, hold and drag the three horizontal lines that appear up to increase
the “palm rest” area. In this greyed out area, you can rest your palm
without creating any pencil marks.
Palm rest area

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Zoom view
a) Click on the “Palm rest” icon (white right hand).
b) Click on the magnifying glass with the yellow swiggle in it.
c) Your note will be greyed out except for a white triangle.
d) Everything contained within the white triangle will be blown up in the
lower window of the screen allowing you to make precise adjustments.
e) You can now writing in large and have the writing appear small on the
page above.
f) Resize the target box in zoom view by dragging the lower right-hand
corner.
g) Tap anywhere on the screen to reposition the target box around another
area.

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Inserting media (photos, etc)
a) You can insert the following media into any Notability note (or file
imported into Notability):
a. A photo that you have on your iPad or have downloaded from the
internet
b. A photo that you take right at that moment
c. A figure
d. A web clip (picture of a website)
e. A sticky note (handwritten or typed)
b) Click on the + (plus) icon and choose the type of media. Follow the
prompts.

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Inserting a recording
a) Click on the microphone. Notability will start recording.
b) Click on the microphone again to stop recording.
c) Click on the downward facing arrow next to the microphone to display
the menu below to playback the recording.
a. Change the speed of the recording. (0.7 to 2.0).
b. Play button
c. Slider button to navigate to a particular section of the recording.
d. Volume control
e. Gear icon – manage recordings

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Navigating through a multi-page document
a) Click on the “Page” icon in the upper right-hand corner to
display a navigation pane that shows thumbnails of all
pages.
b) From this menu, you can add a bookmark to a particular
page or search the document.

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Creating dividers & subjects
a) To create a divider ( = a class), click
on the + (plus) button at the top of
the homescreen.
a. Choose “divider”
b. Type in the divider name.
c. Click on the “Done” button.
d. Dividers are automatically
placed at the bottom of the list
of dividers.
b) To create a subject (unit division
within a class or divider), follow the
same procedure as above except
select “Create Subject”.
a. Name the subject and click on the “Done” button.
b. Note that new subjects are automatically placed under the last
divider.

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Moving & organizing dividers, subjects & documents

a) To move or re-order a divider, click on the “Edit” button while in view of

the divider in question. Click and hold the three horizontal lines to the
right of the divider in question and drag it until it is in the desired
position.
b) To move a subject under a different divider, click on the “Edit” button.
Click and hold the three horizontal lines to the right of the subject in
question and drag it until it is in the desired position.

Deleting dividers, subjects & documents

a) To delete a divider, click on the “Edit” button while in view of the

divider in question. This will reveal the gear button for each divider.
a. Click on the gear icon for the divider you wish to delete.
b. Click on the red “Delete” button.
c. Click on the confirmation button labeled “Delete This Divider”.
d. Click on the “Close” or “Delete” button.

b) To delete a subject, click on the “Edit” button while in view of the

subject in question. This will reveal the gear button for each divider.
a. Click on the gear icon for the subject you wish to delete.
b. Click on the red “Delete” button.
c. Click on the confirmation button labeled “Delete This Subject”.

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Renaming dividers, subjects & documents

a) To edit the name a divider, subject or document, click on the “Edit”

button while in view of the item in question. This will reveal the gear
button.
a. Click on the gear icon for the item you wish to rename.
b. Edit the name.
c. Click on “Done”.

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Special settings for Subjects (unit divisions)
a) To change these settings, select a subject by clicking on it.

b) Click on “Edit”.

c) Click on the “Gear” button for the subject.

d) Select one of the following settings:

Name

Color

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Icon

Password protecting a note

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Importing documents from other programs
a) From any other
application (Edmodo,
your email), you can
“open” a file in
Notability by clicking
on the icon that looks
like a box with an
arrow pointing up
coming out of it. This
will open a menu.
b) One of the options is “Open in Another App”. Choose this and then
select the “Notability” icon. (Be aware that this icon may be hidden on
the right. If you cannot see the Notability icon, swipe your finger to the
left to reveal it.) This automatically opens the Notability app and will
display the following “Import” menu:
c) Choose between the following options:
a. Create a new note (this opens the file in a new note).
i. Select the page range (if you want to import all pages of
your document, click “OK”; if you only want a few pages, use
the sliders to select those pages and click “OK”.
ii. The document is now opened in Notability and can be
annotated.

b. Add to another note (this will add the file to an existing note).

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 i. Click on “Add to other note”.
ii. Select the target note (in which to insert the new file).
iii. Select the page range (if you want to import all pages of
your document, click “OK”; if you only want a few pages, use
the sliders to select those pages and click “OK”.
iv. The document is now opened in Notability and can be
annotated.

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Annotating student work
a) Teachers can annotate student work (for instance, first drafts of writing
tasks) in Notability. Note that no matter what format the original
document is in (Word, PowerPoint, PDF), once you as the teacher make
annotations to the document, it becomes flattened and will be saved as a
Notability note.
b) Open the document in Notability by clicking and holding on it.
c) Choose “Open in Another App”.
d) Choose “Notability”.
e) Type, write & highlight to annotate the student document.
f) Click on the “Forward” button and choose the means by which to
forward it back to the student (email, etc…).
g) The student can use the “flattened” document to update his or her
original document.

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