The 30+ Best Educational Apps for School

Leveraging the power of technology for educational purposes can have many benefits. Specialized educational apps can improve student engagement—creating quizzes and other interactive tasks on mobile devices ensures a fun way to learn. A storage drive that the teacher shares with students ensures that all learning materials are in a single location. Educational and other apps often include video calls, which boost student-teacher communication at a long distance. Thanks to all these benefits, educational apps have become a must-have asset for schools, parents, and teachers.

In this guide, we’ll list the top 30+ educational apps in different categories. We’ll start with the top software solutions for virtual learning and proceed to homeschooling apps that can help those who educate on their own.

We’ll continue with apps that teachers and parents might find useful to communicate and share important information. Classroom learning apps are great for those children who attend school, and we’ll also cover the best apps for high school and college students. Those include solutions that improve your writing, help save, share, and create PDFs and other files, and do wonders to help with organization. If you are ready, here is the list of the top educational apps!

GPS tracking logs, movement alerts and other notifications all help you keep an eye on your precious little ones when you can’t be there with them. Start using the Findmykids app right now!

Contents:

• Apps for Virtual Learning
• Apps for Homeschooling
• Apps for Parents & Teachers
• Apps for Classroom Learning
• Apps for High School & College Students
• FAQ

Apps for Virtual Learning

While a mobile app can never take the place of a teacher, today’s school systems are finding plenty of creative ways to stay connected.

Zoom

Google Play

The pandemic launched Zoom to the top of social and business apps. Whether you need an app for company meetings, classes with teachers or students, or chatting with your friends, this platform will deliver.

Zoom offers a complete solution for video calls, and yes, it’s great for virtual learning. Teachers can create a classroom and gather multiple children in a group class. Working together is a great way to enhance productivity and make the entire learning process more engaging. The estimation is that Zoom has over 800 million website visitors monthly, and the majority are more than happy with the video chatting experience offered.

Flipgrid

Google Play

Used by teachers and schools across all grade levels, Flipgrid is a fun and innovative way to facilitate class discussion and the sharing of opinions. Educators pose a question or post a topic, and students respond with their own video message. Kids can also scroll through their classmates’ answers, fostering a sense of community even when learning virtually.

Google Classroom

Google Play

Quickly becoming one of the most popular virtual learning platforms with school districts around the world, Google Classroom offers all the tools teachers need to facilitate distance learning of all ages and grade levels.

Apps for Homeschooling

Deciding to take the plunge and educate on your own this year? You aren’t alone—and there are a variety of apps that can help! And if your kids have spent any time in the public school system, they probably already know many of the apps highlighted below.

BrainPOP

Google Play

This popular app that is used by many schools nationwide is a great choice for homeschooling families as well. Students can learn information from a variety of subjects in small video snippets that are developmentally appropriate for their grade. Interactive elements also include unit studies, quizzes and games. Brain Pop Jr. is designed for students in grades K-3 and Brain Pop is best suited for grades 4-8. From the periodic table to the color wheel, this educational app has everything you need to teach kids the basics.

Epic

Google Play

Another popular app with schools that parents are discovering for at-home learning is Epic. This reading app offers students the option to read independently, listen to a story, or follow along. This award-winning app has been around for several years and offers daily age and reading-level appropriate recommendations customized to your child’s interests. Parents can track their child’s progress and time spent reading.

ABC Mouse

Google Play

Enjoying a long tradition as a popular app in preschools and elementary schools across the country, toddlers and younger kids love ABC Mouse! Your little learners can learn through play with a variety of interactive games and activities across all subject matters. The age range that is best served with this app is ages 2-8.

Duolingo

Google Play

This free app has become the most popular way for language learners of all ages to develop fluency in a foreign language. Millions of students around the world are learning more than 38 languages. This app’s interactive gameplay method of teaching is both fun and effective. Duolingo is a great supplement to any homeschool education.

Quizlet

Google Play

Used by learners of all ages, this flashcard app helps children study, practice and memorize what they are learning. Users can create their own flashcards or access study materials created by other students. Parents and teachers can create flashcard decks and quizzes for their kids to study.

PBS KIDS

Google Play

This popular app suite offers free educational games and videos for children ages 2-8. Parents who are homeschooling preschool and younger elementary grades will enjoy these award-winning apps that help kids learn. Families can access full episodes of PBS KIDS television shows for free with no subscription required, and more than 100 fun games reinforce learning concepts from the shows’ popular characters.

Khan Academy Kids

Google Play

Khan Academy Kids is a very popular took for parents homeschooling preschool and kindergarten. This award-winning app also features include teacher tools, weekly planners, printables and more! Hundreds of free books, activities and videos teach kids ages 2 through 7 how to read, play and learn.

Apps for Parents & Teachers

Classroom management apps and parent/teacher communication apps are more important than ever this year. Many of the best classroom apps allow students and teachers to submit assignments and comments in real-time.

Findmykids

Google Play

Never before has the thought of sending your kids off to school felt so intimidating. With the Findmykids app, you can make sure your children are where they are supposed to be. Best of all, if your child is not picking up the phone, you can activate a special background listening feature to hear what is going on around them.

GPS tracking logs, movement alerts and other notifications all help you keep an eye on your precious little ones when you can’t be there with them. Start using the Findmykids app right now!

Seesaw

Google Play

Teachers can manage their classroom, create and distribute assignments, engage in parent communication and more with this learning app. Parents can sign up for a Seesaw family account to stay on top of what their child is learning in class. Many schools are using Seesaw for their classroom management this year. Virtual learners and in-person learners alike can use Seesaw individually or side-by-side, making Seesaw the perfect pick for classroom management this school year.

Schoology

Google Play

In addition to Seesaw, this is another app that is very popular this year for classroom management and parent communication. Just like with Seesaw, users of Schoology can access their work and grades. It integrates with more than 200 other educational tools and platforms, making it extremely popular with teachers and school districts around the world. Teachers can collaborate with other school staff members and communicate with students and their parents all within the Schoology platform.

ClassDojo

Google Play

This teacher-parent communication platform is also fun for kids! Teachers and parents can assign points for a variety of positive behaviors and students can customize their own virtual monster avatar. Students can also create and share digital portfolios, and teachers can share photos, videos or announcements with parents.

Remind

Google Play

Remind has quickly become one of the top apps for parent communication and sending out school news. This simple platform allows for quick and easy communication without all the fluff. Teachers can send photos, class assignments and announcements to their entire class, a single parent or a custom group.

Google Docs

Google Play

With Google Docs, teachers can make slideshows, create parent forms such as reading logs, send text documents, videos, spreadsheets and more. All types of documents can be created and shared without any cost and accessed from multiple devices and platforms. In addition, multiple people can collaborate on the same document. All of these features make Google Docs ideal for any type of school activity.

Dropbox

Google Play

Teachers can backup, store, sync and share documents and files of all types and sizes with a free Dropbox account. Important files can be password-protected, and files can even be accessed offline when needed. Sending large files is now a breeze with the Dropbox app.

Apps for Classroom Learning

Teachers looking to keep kids engaged and learning in the classroom often employ these popular educational apps during rotations and technology time.

Kahoot!

Google Play

Kids of all ages and even adults love this fun game that fosters learning and classroom engagement. Teachers can design their own live, interactive trivia or quiz game to be played together as a class in real-time. In addition, students can practice or study on their own time with flashcards and practice mode.

Prodigy

Google Play

Played by many students across the U.S. on tablets and Chromebooks, Prodigy Math is often used in classroom math rotations. Students can take the fun home with the Prodigy Math app. Users can create their own characters, play math games, and interact with classmates in real-time gameplay.

Freckle

Google Play

Although not currently compatible with Android smartphones, Freckle is used in many school classrooms on tablets and Chromebooks. Freckle features games and activities for all grade levels across a variety of subjects including Math, English, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Specially designed for classrooms and teachers, Freckle can generate detailed student progress reports and lesson plans conform to current public school educational standards.

ABCya

Google Play

This teacher-created app features more than 400 games aligned to Common Core standards for students in PreK through 6th grade. Subject areas include Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies, Art and Music. Used in many schools across the U.S., students can also access and play fun educational games from home for free.

TumbleBooks

Google Play

As an interactive reading platform that is popular in many classrooms, a subscription to TumbleBooks is often purchased by a school or district for students to access on campus. Ideal for independent reading stations, students can listen to TumbleBooks read-alongs or read at their own pace. The app features a collection of the most popular current books for students of all ages and reading levels. School subscriptions also include a variety of lesson plans, games and quizzes as well as a K-5 English Common Core Portal with resources aligned to core standards.

Apps for High School & College Students

A variety of study apps, time management apps, note-taking apps, and classroom communication apps are developed specifically for college or high school students to manage their studies. Below are some of the essentials.

Canvas Students

Google Play

Along with the corresponding Canvas Teachers and Canvas Parents app, Canvas Student is a popular classroom management app for older students. Simple and organized, this app facilitates effective virtual learning through a basic and intuitive platform. Students can access course content, submit assignments, view their grades, organize their coursework, message with their teachers, post to discussion boards, watch videos and even take tests and quizzes.

Brightspace Pulse

Google Play

Another classroom management app especially popular with college campuses, the Pulse app is compatible with all students taking D2L / Brightspace courses online. Online students will never miss an update with this convenient learning platform.

SimpleMind

Google Play

With this fun app, students can create their own mind maps to help with brainstorming and idea organization. Reviewers find the platform easy to use and intuitive, with plenty of free-form tools to work a solution the way you want it to. Best of all, SimpleMind is a free app.

StudyBlue

Google Play

Popular for its large database of educational materials, StudyBlue is a crowdsourced resource library featuring information from millions of students around the world. Flashcards and quizzes can be created, studied and shared with this fun app. Create your own or learn from other students and teachers. Teachers can create special study materials designated for their own students as well.

Evernote

Google Play

Keep track of all your notes in one place with this popular note-taking app. Evernote has been around for decades and can sync to all of your devices including your computer. Notes can include text, photos, sketches, videos and more. They can then be organized, searched, edited and even archived. Different notebooks can help separate notes from school and work. This free app also helps students with organization and project management.

Forest

Google Play

Through a fun method of growing a virtual forest, this unique time management app helps students and individuals of all ages be more productive and stay focused. Students simply set a timer for focusing on the task at hand, such as studying, and a tree begins growing. Best of all, the app penalizes players for wasting time on distracting activities such as social media. It may sound silly, but thousands of reviewers say—it works!

My Study Life

Google Play

This app for students is like a digital version of a student planner. This comprehensive app allows students to track their classes, projects, assignments and homework all in one place. The app can sync all your data between multiple devices and will send you reminders of upcoming tests and other important due dates. Tasks can be arranged by order of importance or by date. Never fall behind again with My Study Life!

Grammarly

Google Play

It’s hard to imagine academic success without Grammarly. This unique tool, available on Windows but also as a mobile app, will proofread any text you write. It detects issues and offers suggestions to ensure your spelling and grammar are in order.

You might be writing an important email or need to complete a school assignment. Grammarly will offer corrections but also suggestions on how you can sound better and more fit to the situation. Apart from the free version, there are premium subscriptions for advanced-level students and professionals.

Notion

Google Play

Notion is an app that includes an intuitive and detailed organizer with the goal of optimizing collaboration and maximizing productivity. You can create daily, weekly, or other tasks and share pages easily. It’s possible to add multiple participants with a click of a button, making Notion great for teams.

The software makes it easy to create attractive-looking documents with to-do lists, image additions, and different content types. Multiple folder layers ensure you organize everything to the smallest detail and avoid any mess and confusion. Notion can even publish files on the web in only a few clicks.

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While this school year may look different than most, technology helps us to connect with each other in new ways, explore new ways of learning, and foster creativity. All of the apps for students and teachers listed above are easily accessible on both Android and iOS devices, and many of them are free.

Do you have a favorite education app not featured above? Let us know in the comments below!

Don’t forget to download the best app for parents — Findmykids!

FAQ

What Makes a Good App for a Student?

The first consideration is usefulness, so the apps should have a purpose and provide a reason for a student to use them. That could be a learning tool, an app that assists in assignment completion or makes organization easier.

How Effective Are Educational Apps?

Educational apps achieve incredible effectiveness by making the learning process shorter and more engaging. Apps also provide methods that classic teaching techniques can’t offer, making them a vital learning asset.

How Apps Help Students, Parents, and Teachers?

Apps can be true collaborative platforms. Zoom and similar apps offer video calls, while some learning platforms allow sharing files, writing notes, and other useful options.

Which Is the Best App for Studying?

It depends on the purpose—you can use Duolingo to learn different languages, Zoom to meet with teachers via video calls or Quizlet and Kahoot for some trivia knowledge tests.

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