By loading educational podcasts or iTunes U courses, you can improve your current work skills or develop new ones. For the intellectual challenge, download video iTunes U courses on topics that interest you so you can turn your iPad into a portable educational tool.

Bring along a pair of headphones or ear buds so you can watch a video on your iPad without disturbing others (although others will likely disturb you so they can see how the iPad works).

To avoid cramming too many videos onto your iPad, you can store videos on your PC or Mac and then stream your video to your iPad. This lets you watch videos on your iPad without having to store them on your iPad.

To stream videos, you need a Wi-Fi network. On your computer, open iTunes, click the Advanced menu, and choose the Turn On Home Sharing option. You’ll need to get a free Apple ID to turn on this feature, but then you’ll be able to watch videos on your iPad without going through the hassle of transferring those video files between your iPad and your computer.

To get even more out of watching YouTube videos, visit YouTube’s website (http://www.youtube.com/) and create an account for free. With a free YouTube account, you can upload your own videos (and view them using the My Videos icon), create video playlists (and view them through the Favorites icon), or subscribe to certain YouTube video creators.