by TeachThought Staff
1. Civilization 6
Cost: Varies by platform
Developer Description: “Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you attempt to build an empire to stand the test of time. Become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the Stone Age to the Information Age. Wage war, conduct diplomacy, advance your culture, and go head-to-head with history’s greatest leaders as you attempt to build the greatest civilization the world has ever known.”
Platforms: iOS, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Steam
See also How To Teach With Video Games
2. Kahoot
Cost: varies
Developer Description: A platform to create games to learn and review content, “Kahoots are best played in a group setting, for example, a classroom. Players answer the questions on their own devices, while games are displayed on a shared screen to unite the lesson. It creates a ‘campfire moment’ encouraging players to look up and celebrate together. Besides creating your own kahoots, you can search among millions of existing games.”
Platforms:
3. IXL
You can read more about How To Use IXL.
See also 55 Of The Best Free Education Apps
Cost: free; varies with features and plan
Developer Description: “Tynker is a complete learning system that enables everyone from beginners to advanced programmers to code with intuitive, interest-based activities. Tynker’s self-paced courses let kids experiment with visual blocks before progressing to intermediate programming and even languages like Javascript and Python.”
Platforms: iOS, Android
Also consider: Hopscotch, Scratch, Swift Playgrounds, Codea
5. Seesaw
Cost: standard is free while SeeSaw Plus is $120 per teacher, per year
Developer Description: “Seesaw empowers students to independently document what they are learning at school. Students can “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. You can also import directly from most popular apps, like Google apps.”
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linus (browser-based), Kindle
Cost: varies ($35 per user per year as of early 2022 with school-level pricing available as well)
Developer Description: Create collaborative, digital whiteboard-based “learning experiences where students and teachers can share thoughts and ideas in real-time.”
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Steam
See also The Best Free Browser-Based Games For The Classroom
7. FlipGrid
Cost: free
Developer Description: Flipgrid is the leading video discussion platform used by PreK to Ph.D. educators, students, and families around the world. Teachers post topics to spark the conversation and students respond with short videos. Bring the back row to the front and engage all your students.
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Steam
8. Khan Academy
9. Google Classroom
Cost: free
Developer Description:
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux (browser-based)
Also consider: Google Docs, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple Pages
10. Epic!
Cost: $9.99/month
Developer Description: “Epic! is the world’s leading online children’s subscription book service offering immediate, on-demand access to over 25,000 high-quality illustrated books and chapter books for children ages 12 and under. Epic!’s ever-expanding library also includes thousands of Read-to-Me books, audiobooks, educational videos, and fun educational quizzes. Partnerships with leading publishers, including HarperCollins and National Geographic, bring age-appropriate, award-winning fiction and non-fiction books to your child’s fingertips.”
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows
Also consider: Newsela, News-o-matic, The Skimm
Also consider: Noggin
12. YouTube
Cost: free; YouTube Premium is $11.99/month (includes Google Music subscription)
Summary: Everyone knows what YouTube is, so no need for the developer to explain. (YouTube Premium is their ad-free/paid version that comes free with Google Music subscription, making it well worth the money in our mind.) Put simply, YouTube is one of the best (formal and informal) learning platforms on the internet. (See ‘How To YouTube Your Classroom‘ for more reading.)
Also consider: Netflix, Brilliant, edX, Coursera
Platforms: iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux (browser-based)
Platforms: iOS, Mac, Android, and Windows
More Of Apps For Learning Inside And Outside Of The Classroom
Audible (audiobooks via Amazon)
Audiobooks
Libby
Quizlet
Khan Academy Kids
Duolingo
Seek by iNaturalist
Prodigy Math Game
Brilliant
MasterClass
Cost: free
Developer Description: “Hologo is made for Education. Where ever you may be, look through the lens of your device into your real world and get projections of lifelike virtual images and animations customized for learning. With Hologo you can choose an experience, walk up to and around the educational AR models. Users can zoom in and break apart objects and dive deep into the models.”
Platforms: iOS
Also consider: Boulevard AR, Assemblr
BrainPOP
Sago Mini School (Kids 2-5)
12 Of The Best Learning Apps For 2022