Want to learn how to get the most out of your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch? Need to brush up on your skills for creating great photos, videos, and music? Through the Today at Apple program, Apple Stores offer free workshops for the company’s core products and services.
Normally, these workshops are held in-store, but with social distancing still in effect due to COVID-19, even Apple Stores that are fully open have temporarily shifted their in-house classroom sessions to online-only environments.
Apple offers several different types of workshops. One series of virtual sessions provides live classes that you sign up for at specific dates and times. Another series consists of pre-recorded videos that you can access anytime. All classes are taught by Apple Store professionals. Here’s how to sign up.
Sign Up For Live Classes
Check out available classes and schedule a session from the Today at Apple Product Skills page. Scroll or swipe down the page to view the different sessions. As examples, here are the sessions currently available:
- Getting Started with iPad
- Getting Started with Mac
- Getting Started with iPhone
Normally, you’d want to make sure that the listed store location is nearby, but the selected location doesn’t make a difference with virtual classes. Click the Details icon for a class you want to attend, then click the listed date and change it to the date and time most convenient for you.
Click the Sign up button and log in with your Apple account. The page confirms your reservation. You also receive a confirmation email.
When the session is ready to run, return to the page for that session and click the Join Now button. Enter your name and email address at the event form and then click Join Now. These sessions use WebEx, so click the button to add this plug-in to your browser.
After WebEx has been installed, you can test your camera and microphone, then click the Join Event button at the session screen.
The session will then start at the scheduled time, and you can watch it live. The video session allows you to chat with other participants, ask the trainer questions, or leave the event at any time.
Watch Recorded Classes
Apple also has a convenient series of pre-recorded sessions that you can view at any time from the Today at Apple At Home page. Move down the page to view all the available sessions. Current sessions include the following:
- Add a bit of magic to videos with Clips: Learn how to use Apple’s free Clips app to edit videos.
- Add drama and style to your portraits with iPhone: Learn how to take portrait photos with your iPhone.
- Make your videos more cinematic with iPhone: Learn how to shoot professional videos on an iPhone.
- Turn your home into music with GarageBand: Learn how to create music with Apple’s GarageBand.
- Draw playful portraits with iPad: Learn how to spruce up a portrait photo on your iPad with doodles and drawings.
- Capture striking photography with iPhone: Learn how to enhance your iPhone photos with angles and other tricks.
- Shoot photos full of personality with iPhone: Learn how to take photos of yourself and others using an iPhone.
Click the Play button in the bottom-left corner of a video to watch. The videos are stored on the website as MP4 files, so Firefox may have trouble accessing this content.
Click the screen at any time to pause the video. You can also drag the slider at the bottom of the screen to rewind or fast forward, adjust the sound, turn on subtitles, and switch to full screen. Safari users can also watch these videos in picture-in-picture mode.
