TOP PICKS | 20 TOOLS
Middle and High School Geography Apps and Websites
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Explore Interactive Multimedia and Games
National Geographic Education
Top geography resource site provides global exploration opportunities
Bottom line: This is a must-bookmark site for classrooms across the curriculum hunting for inspiring geography-based resources.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
Google Lit Trips
Google Earth-powered tours explore how stories and geography connect
Bottom line: With some initial fiddling, this can be a good option to increase student interest in -- and add depth to -- literary study.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Stack the States 2
Geography trivia game balances facts and fun
Bottom line: This is a clear go-to if you're looking to help students memorize state locations, shapes, capitals, history, and more.
Grades: 2–8
Price: $2.99
Expeditions
Fire up the warp drive to bring VR field trips to your classroom
Bottom line: With stunning scenes and a flexible delivery method, your students will thank you for journeying together through space and time.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free, Paid Educators can put together their own kits or purchase a recommended kit. Pricing ranges from $3,999 for 10 students to $9,999 for 30 students.
GeoBee Challenge HD by National Geographic
Geography buffs can hone their knowledge of places, landmarks
Bottom line: For kids who already know their geography, this is a good way to practice for geography bees, but for kids trying to learn, it can be daunting.
Grades: 3–8
Price: $3.99
Oddizzi
Kids travel the world, cultivate global curiosity and responsibility
Bottom line: Kids get a sense of culture and global responsibility via kid-friendly articles and great multimedia.
Grades: 3–8
Price: Free to try, Paid 95 GB Pounds/year classroom and 280 GB Pounds/year for 99 students or under, up to 800 GB Pounds/year for 700 + students
Google Earth VR
Explore the world with an incredible new perspective and sense of scale
Bottom line: An amazing experience that brings the world to life, despite the heavy investment in VR required.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free Requires a virtual reality headset.
Geoguessr
"Just one more turn" gameplay jazzes up geography
Bottom line: It's not a typical educational game, but students are inspired to explore the world and encouraged to think critically about what defines culture and geography.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Paid The optional $2.99/month or $23.88/year Pro version removes ads and allows users to create their own maps for people to play.
Seterra Geography
Drill geography facts with oddly compelling, no-frills app
Bottom line: A basic but useful way to drill and memorize geography basics.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Free to try, Paid On iOS, the free version includes only two maps. It's $1.99 to unlock all the other maps. On Android, there's a free ad-supported version and a $1.99 version without ads.
BiomeViewer
World habitat app full of intriguing visual comparisons, useful data
Bottom line: This biome reference app helps students get local when understanding their planet Earth.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Geocaching
Leave and locate hidden packages in a real-world treasure hunt
Bottom line: Kids learn problem-solving, teamwork, and mapping skills, but the site doesn’t provide instruction or explanations for most of those topics; educators will have to fill in the gaps.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free, Paid Basic membership is free. A premium subscription costs $2.50 a month and gives users extra options, such as downloading multiple geocaches at once.
StoryMapJS
Pro-oriented storytelling and mapping tool has classroom potential
Bottom line: Getting comfortable with StoryMapJS will require some focus, but students who take the time will gain a new perspective on digital storytelling.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Historypin
Crowdsourcing is key to making history accessible, approachable
Bottom line: Historypin is an engaging tool to get kids interested in the history of their community and the world.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free
Get Lost in Atlases and Maps
Google Earth
Cool geographical exploration tool has endless classroom applications
Bottom line: Google Earth is an engaging and completely open-ended app perfect for use across the educational spectrum.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Maps101
Maps and more in this vast history, geography, and civics resource
Bottom line: A well-rounded selection of helpful classroom and research materials; better organization would help kids navigate the site with ease.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free to try Annual subscriptions are $400 to $650 and provide unlimited remote access for an entire school. Teachers can purchase an annual license for $199.
StrataLogica
High-quality customizable maps help students understand their world
Bottom line: This map app takes time to learn to use but offers both teachers and students highly useful tools for creating custom maps and interactive social studies and science presentations.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free to try, Paid Begins with 30-day free trial. Educators can then purchase individual packs which include a teacher account, multiple student accounts, and access to additional materials, such as Common Core aligned lesson plans and student activities. In-app content packs are $1.99 each.
Geo Walk - World Factbook 3D
Dazzling look at the world via an interactive atlas
Bottom line: Credible resource for introducing students to the world, which is likely to encourage them to research areas of interest further.
Grades: 5–8
Price: $2.99
Google Maps
Cool extras bolster top navigation app
Bottom line: Google Maps is an essential navigation tool that can empower students to explore their world.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
National Geographic World Atlas
Traditional reference tool gets digital upgrade but could do more
Bottom line: It offers a little more than a traditional atlas and may prove easier to navigate, but it won't offer much excitement.
Grades: 6–12
Price: $1.99
