Top picks for free apps in every subject
Each week of the year we round up an education oriented App of Week [1] for educators to use on their own or with students. Here we’ve curated all the free apps we’ve featured in 2014, covering everything from maker spaces to geography to media creation.
1. TinyTap [2]
A free DIY app creation platform for making your own interactive games, featuring educational games, interactive lessons and presentations, visual quizzes, music activities, and illustrated stories.
2. Brainly [3]
Got a problem with homework? Get the Brainly app and ask questions about what’s causing you trouble. [Android [4]]
3. Test Precision [5]
Test Precision is an eLearning platform for college admission test (SAT & ACT) preparation. Rather than spitting out a series of questions, the technology platform assesses the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses to create highly personalized curriculum that actually focuses on improving their scores. [Android [6]]
(Next page: more free apps for maker spaces, astronomy, and parent-school communication)
4. KidQuest [7]
This maker app features dozens of free things to make and build, with step by step illustrated guides (think table-top soccer pitches, lava lamps, and frozen fruit treats). Digital scrapbooks of creations are automatically created and ready to share with friends and family.
5. Solve the Outbreak [8]
Users play disease detective as they collect clues and analyze data to solve the outbreak and save lives in this app from the CDC. [Android [9]]
6. Planets [10]
Hold your phone or tablet to the sky and the new automatic orientation feature provides a virtual reality view using your device’s magnetometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope. [Android [11]]
7. SchoolCircle [12]
The SchoolCircle web app allows teachers to easily communicate with parents from a personal dashboard where they can share tasks, events, messages, photos and documents according to designated classes or “Circles.” At a glance, parents can see all upcoming events, classroom pictures and documents, messages from the teacher and assigned tasks.
8. NGAkids Art Zone [13]
The NGAkids app provides an immersive experience as children visit a virtual art gallery and explore a variety of works spanning more than 300 years of art history. High-resolution graphics, careful attention to detail, and a variety of subjects, painting styles, and techniques help cultivate an authentic understanding of the artistic process and reinforce users’ familiarity with the fundamental elements of art.
9. Census PoP Quiz [14]
Test your U.S. state knowledge with Census PoP Quiz, a new population challenge about the 50 states and the District of Columbia from the U.S. Census Bureau. [Android [15]]
10. Drawing Desk [16]
Free drawing app bundled with 4 different drawing modes featuring 3D brushes, full color pallet, undo and redo functions as well as a collection of stamps and stickers.
11. Global Shark Tracker [17]
OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker lets you observe the navigational pattern of sharks that have been tagged with satellite tracking technology all for the purpose of shark conservation. [Android [18]]
12. EarthViewer [19]
EarthViewer is like a time machine for exploring Earth’s deep history. Based on the latest scientific research, it lets you scroll through the last 4.5 billion years with your fingertips. [Android [20]]
13. ChemCrafter [21]
ChemCrafter lets you build your own lab to run fun and creative experiments. Chemical reactions don’t just happen—you have to make them happen. As your strategy guides you through experiments with water, acids, and salts, you’ll create surprising color changes, encounter fire and smoke, release various gases, and shatter equipment.
(Next page: free apps for video editing, geography, cloud storage)
14. CrowdFlik [22]
CrowdFlik is the mobile video app that allows users to share, view and edit mobile video footage captured by the crowd. CrowdFlik automatically synchronizes and organizes multiple video streams and lets users create multi-angle, shareable video compilations.
15. Walking with Dinosaurs – Inside their World [23]
A comprehensive and interactive dinosaur encyclopedia, with narration by actor Stephen Fry. Users can explore interactive dinosaurs, spinning turntable, and 3D animations.
16. Whole Wide World 2 [24]
Features a range of themed content around Geography, Social Studies, History, and culture introduced through action, logic, puzzle, and matching games. Students discover everything from the beautiful monarch butterflies of Mexico to the giant rocks of Iceland.
17. Virtual Nerd Mobile Math [25]
A free math app from Pearson that provides on-the-go access to a video library of more than 1,500 math tutorials.
18. SymbalooEDU [26]
SymbalooEDU is a free educational tool that allows teachers and students to save their online resources in the cloud with access from any device. Teachers can easily save their favorite web 2.0 sites to a webmix with just a few clicks then share it with colleagues or students. [Android [27]]
19. MyStories [28]
StoriesAlive has launched its first-ever set of storybook creation apps, MyStories, which allow children to craft their own narratives by adding text, audio and photos to personalize each page. [Android [29]]
20. eduClipper [30]
Adam Bellow’s educational social platform for educators and students. This app makes it easy for educators and students to explore, share and create content. Users are able to save time, build personal learning networks, and begin to shift the culture of assessment to be more holistic. [Android [31]]
21. Winning Words Match Games [32]
Winning Words takes the familiar game of memory match, and adds a twist: Instead of matching two pictures, users match two synonyms, antonyms or other word combinations.
22. BrainPOP Featured Movie [33]
Watch a different animated movie every day, then test your new knowledge with an interactive quiz–free! Recommended by Macworld, Family Circle, USA Today, iPhone Life, and Common Sense Media. [Android [34]]
23. Classroom Mosaic [35]
Classroom Mosaic is web-based app that provides an easy, efficient and secure way to perform teacher observations. Observation templates can be created to suit any school’s needs.
24. Door 24-Math [36]
Aligned to the Common Core, Door 24 provides targeted practice in the use of basic facts, number sense and algebraic thinking. Students can work through 6 different levels and multiple problem sets as they help fix Victor the robot’s circuits and solve the mystery behind Door 24.