I'm just learning to use ipad myself. The shake seems to undo the last action - hold the iPad vertical & give it a quick flick upwards. A dialogue box opens to let you undo or cancel. To swap between apps, put four fingers on the screen and slide sideways. Or press the Home button twice and choose from all the recently used apps, which will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can delete any of these from the list by holding the icon until it shows a '-' sign next to it. Press it to make it go (just off the Recently used list)