MacBook Air
Basics
Brooke Hall
Tech Integration Specialist
brooke.hall@scsd1.com
Macbook Air Guide

Multi-Touch
trackpad
Magsafe 2 power
connector
AC
plug
Power
Adapter
Power
Button
AC power
cord

SD Card Slot
Transfer photos from your camera’s memory card
USB 3
Charge devices, connect external storage, and more
Thunderbolt
Connect external displays and high-performance devices
11
inch
13
inch

MagSafe 2
Magnetically attach the power cord
USB 3
Charge devices, connect external storage, and more
Headphone
Plug headphone into jack and listen quietly
Microphone
Built-in for recording
11
inch
13
inch

FaceTime HD camera
Make video calls, capture HD video, and take snapshots

Top Row of Keyboard

Control Trackpad
Tap to Click (Option)
Single tap or double-tap of your
finger can act as a click or double-
click, without having to physically
press on the trackpad
Change Settings for Trackpad
➔ Choose System Preferences
from dock or Apple Menu (top
left)
➔ Choose Trackpad
➔ Under “One Finger”, enable
the option for Tap to Click

System
Preferences
DockFinder
SearchWi-FiMenu barHelp

System Preferences
Click on
“System Preferences”
in Dock
Click on Apple in top
left corner
“System
Preferences”

Finder
Click on
“Finder”
in Dock

Take a Screenshot
Take pictures of your screen (screenshots) on your Mac.
These are saved automatically on your desktop

• Capture your entire screen
*Press Command (⌘) Shift 3
*The screenshot is added to your desktop
• Capture some of your screen
*Press Command (⌘) Shift 4
*Drag the crosshair pointer to select the area
*To cancel, press Escape (esc) before you
release the mouse button
• Capture a specific window
*Press Command (⌘) Shift 4
*Press the Spacebar, move the camera pointer over the
window to highlight it, and then click
*This works with open Finder windows and most
application windows

Mail - Sync...
Sync mail, contacts,
calendar, etc.. on Macbook
➔ Open Apple Mail and go to “Mail’ menubar
at top of screen and then select
‘Preferences’ from menu
➔ Select the ‘Accounts’ tab
➔ Click on Gmail
➔ Add your School Gmail Account
➔ Click ‘Create’

Mail - Sync Cont..
➔ Go back to Mail ‘Preferences’
➔ Click on ‘Mailbox Behaviors’
➔ Un-tick Drafts, Sent, and Trash
Once Gmail is Created
Un-Tick

Apple ID
Username for a free account that lets you access
• Mac App Store
• iTunes Store
• iCloud
Will I have to enter Credit Card info?
● No
● BUT you will not be able to download apps, books, etc..unless
it is “free”
Paid Apps?
• Input your credit card info

Create Apple ID
Click iTunes (in dock)
• Click Sign In
• Click “Create Apple ID”
• Follow Steps
• Prefer: School Gmail (unless
you already have Apple ID

iCloud
Stores up to 5GB of content such as music, photos, calendars,
contacts, documents, and supported documents
• Use your Apple ID
• Purchased music, apps, TV shows, books, photostream DO
NOT count against your free space
• Wirelessly pushes content to other iOS devices and computers
Mac and PC (Win 7 or 8 is required)
**IMPORTANT
To avoid duplicates, keep contacts, calendars, and notes in sync using iCloud or
iTunes, not both

Access iCloud
Select System Preferences in the Dock and click iCloud
System
Preferences

Mac App Store
Apps only for Mac OS X
Best way to get apps for your MacBook
Air

Click Apple (top left
corner on desktop) >
App Store
Click App Store
(in dock)
Doc
k
Access Mac App Store

Apps, Programs, & Browser

LAUNCHPAD
➔ Find apps pre-loaded in
Launchpad
➔ Apps you download
from Mac App Store
automatically appear in
Launchpad
Pinch your thumb and 3 fingers
together to see all the apps on
your Mac. “Launchpad”

Open
Launchpad
Click the Launchpad
Icon in the Dock
FOLDERS
Group apps in folders by
dragging one app on top of
another

iBooks
Download latest best-selling books or ones you
want to use in the classroom.
How to open and read book
• Click book to open
• Flip pages with swipe or click
• Add notes/bookmarks
• Highlight passages
Find and download book
• Click download (Check price)
• Find in Library
• Open Book

iTunes
Mainly for iOS devices such as iPad, iPhone, and
iPod
You can access and use
iTunes U
through iTunes

iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand
Gives you everything to create and share
movies, photos, and music.
iMovie
• Model teaching strategies and have students model their learning
iPhoto
• Organize your library by faces, places, and events
GarageBand
• Teachers/Students record reading, re-telling, practice public
speaking, etc…

Pages, Numbers, Keynote
Create documents, spreadsheets,
and presentations on your Mac
• Quickly Export to PDF or Microsoft
• Share by email
• Open and use in Google Docs

Safari
Web browser developed by
Apple
Browse the Web
https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/?platform=mac
Google Chrome (recommended)
Web browser developed by
Google

TIS Website
http://scsd1.weebly.com/
STEP UP
We highly encourage you to submit a ticket at:
https://scsd1.fsticket.com/
We all want this transition to go smooth and successful, but we need to work as a team
You may contact
Joe Ext. 749
Mike Ext. 745
Robert Ext. 800
Brooke Ext. 600
Vanessa Ext. 589
if an emergency arises, but please be patient with us as we move forward