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The Best Free Apps and Websites for Learning
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Math
Gracie & Friends Birthday Cafe
Numbers-and-quantity game has precise focus and superb scaffolding
Bottom line: Super approach to teaching a very specific topic: Help kids develop an easy familiarity with quantities under five.
Cyberchase Shape Quest!
AR adds unique twist to geometry, spatial reasoning games
Bottom line: Once kids get a hang of things, this app's puzzles will get them thinking creatively about shapes and spatial reasoning.
Matific
Engaging supplemental resource encourages conceptual understanding
Bottom line: An engaging conceptual supplement for math lessons with easy-to-find standards-aligned activities.
Inside Mathematics
Dynamic videos and printables support CCSS math practices
Bottom line: An excellent, free resource for educators who need support and inspiration for teaching and addressing CCSS and mathematical practices.
NRICH
Untangle robust math problems for all ages; plenty of teaching support
Bottom line: It's an excellent classroom companion that can be implemented quickly with little adjustment and a high probability of success.
Prodigy
Adaptive math practice wrapped in role-playing adventure
Bottom line: Standard math problems plugged into magical adventure yield helpful data.
Fraction Mash
Face mash-ups plus fractions equal goofy, meaningful play
Bottom line: Math-flavored goofy fun is great for casual exposure to fractions, but will need thoughtful integration if used as a dedicated learning tool.
Math Snacks
Satisfying mathematical treats kids will gladly gobble up
Bottom line: Teachers and students will excel with engaging, often funny material; it's a pleasure to explore these extensive resources.
Choreo Graph
Animate with fun geometry STEAM app; learning requires teacher support
Bottom line: Teachers and classroom communities are needed for app activities to meet their learning potential; start with the coordinating lessons.
Desmos
Elegant graphing calculator and math simulations promote collaboration
Bottom line: Part calculator, part interactive simulation tool, Desmos is a standout example of inquiry-driven math with super-smart instructional supports.
GeoGebra
Create, share, and modify math models and simulations
Bottom line: Free, open-source software that lets teachers build or adapt learning experiences to meet their kids' needs.
CanFigureIt Geometry
Flex your deductive reasoning muscles with geometric proofs
Bottom line: A really good way for math students to learn about proofs and explore them from a number of angles.
ELA
Duolingo ABC - Learn to Read
Variety of drills offer solid, thorough approach to reading fundamentals
Bottom line: This can be a fun way to engage struggling readers or reinforce early reading classroom instruction.
Khan Academy Kids
Creative, smart mix of pre-K to K activities is a breath of fresh air
Bottom line: It's tough to stand out in the crowded early learning space, but this collection does just that, offering a one-stop shop for creative learning of foundational skills.
ReadWriteThink
Excellent free resource for all things reading and writing
Bottom line: A language arts teacher's dream; lesson plans, professional development, and all-around quality support.
Toontastic 3D
Flexible tool hands kids the reins for creative animated storytelling
Bottom line: Despite some lack of variety and simple drawing tools, Toontastic 3D remains a terrific, versatile storytelling tool.
826 Digital
Popular after-school program shares its resources with teachers
Bottom line: This is a worth-bookmarking resource thanks to relatable writing lessons and motivating examples of actual student writing.
ReadWorks
Differentiate reading instruction with high-quality texts and lessons
Bottom line: The quality and scope of texts, lesson plans, assessments, and supports on this platform can help facilitate targeted reading instruction in any classroom.
CommonLit
Feature-rich literacy resource offers superb support for readers
Bottom line: Access a hefty collection of reliable, ready-to-print, leveled passages that allow you to tailor lessons, assign online reading, and track progress.
Rewordify
Text-leveling tool gives every student access to complex readings
Bottom line: This utilitarian differentiation tool is useful enough to be in every teacher's toolbox.
Critical Media Project
Relevant media clips get students examining identity, culture
Bottom line: Teachers will need to take time to build effective lessons, but if they do, this is a useful, relevant, high-interest resource for deconstructing identity and building critical thinking and empathy skills.
Whooo's Reading
Read, write, and share with innovative independent reading platform
Bottom line: With a few tweaks, a useful tool for building a classroom culture of active independent reading.
NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
Wildly engaging contest turns students into novelists in 30 days
Bottom line: A thoughtful adaptation of the famous and fun grown-up novel writing contest, NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program is brimming with advice and encouragement as well as classroom support.
ZoteroBib
Fewer clicks and less clutter equal a new go-to site for citing sources
Bottom line: An intuitive site that takes the stress out of citing sources, but students will still need instruction to tweak auto-generated citations.
Science
NOVA
Compelling science videos have high-quality classroom applications
Bottom line: Unparalleled science documentaries offer a window into real-world scientific topics in a high-interest way.
Code.org
Popular games, big names get kids and teachers pumped to program
Bottom line: A well-planned, -produced, and -curated set of free resources bound to get kids hooked on learning to code.
CK-12
Super STEM, social studies resource with highly customizable content
Bottom line: Making content accessible to kids with different learning styles, CK-12 could be the key to mastery for some students.
PhET Interactive Simulations
Massive collection of excellent (and free!) science and math simulations
Bottom line: Instantly add meaningful lab experiences to math and science classrooms for exactly $0? It's tough to beat that.
OK Go Sandbox
Creative music video-inspired STEAM design challenges
Bottom line: After watching OK Go music videos, kids will be excited to make new creations by integrating art, science, and math.
NASA
Visually super NASA-backed treasure trove may overwhelm
Bottom line: A visually stunning way to get kids interested in science and space exploration.
Prepmagic
Customize science simulations to highlight phenomena
Bottom line: Science simulations become more effective with teacher-added edits and formative assessments.
High-Adventure Science
Highly relevant site teaches how to construct arguments, defend claims
Bottom line: Provides a crucial and timely earth science backdrop to lessons on analysis, data, and modeling that are important for all students to grasp.
Science Journal by Google
Turn your phone into a lab sensor to collect and analyze data
Bottom line: Science Journal does a good job recording real-time motion, sound, and light data using phones.
BioInteractive
High-quality multimedia brings biological research to life
Bottom line: Superb multimedia tools and lesson plans help kids explore biology through real-world examples.
Social Studies
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.
PenPal Schools
Give students global perspective with pen pal projects in any subject
Bottom line: A thoughtful, ready-to-go platform that facilitates authentic, cross-cultural collaboration.
Smithsonian Open Access
Stellar museum-based resources available for exploration and use
Bottom line: This high-quality collection of museum resources -- ranging from artifacts to full-blown exhibits -- provides unlimited exploration for students, reliable primary sources for teachers.
Ken Burns in the Classroom
Critically acclaimed documentaries repackaged meaningfully for classrooms
Bottom line: Top-notch documentary clips offer opportunities to expand students' perspectives, but some lesson materials might be underwhelming.
Annenberg Classroom
Civics website makes teaching the Constitution manageable, meaningful
Bottom line: Go for the videos, stay for the lessons: Annenberg Classroom saves teachers' prep time when teaching the Constitution, current events, or other civics lessons.
Facing History and Ourselves
A wealth of resources explore racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism
Bottom line: These valuable materials empower students to understand and address difficult ethical choices -- past and present.
Ancient History Encyclopedia
Crowd-sourced ancient history site features extensive, varied resources
Bottom line: It's free, web-based, and regularly updated with vetted info, so classrooms can turn to this site often to kick off research projects.
Stanford History Education Group
High-quality, document-based lessons spark stellar historical inquiry
Bottom line: A gold mine of cross-curricular literacy lessons that encourage sound, research-backed strategies for reading, analysis, and critical thinking.
Big History Project
Fascinating look at life's bigger questions with a fresh perspective
Bottom line: A wonderfully innovative and divergent way to teach foundational concepts in history, humanities, critical thinking, and science.
Global Oneness Project
Captivating, cross-curricular stories increase cultural awareness
Bottom line: Teachers looking to enrich their curriculum with high-quality, thought-provoking videos and photos will find plenty of inspiration, but may need to create or fine-tune some lessons.
NPR News
Top-notch digital content takes students beyond the airwaves
Bottom line: Provides an easy, fun, and effective way to engage students with radio.
Arts
Picture Dots
Kids connect the dots with multisensory, interactive media creator
Bottom line: Kids will love playing with this one, but it needs more developed features and additional support to be effective for classroom use.
Artsonia Kids Art Museum
Online art museum empowers students to exhibit, explain their work
Bottom line: A well-loved digital art museum that allows students to share work and reflect on their artistic process while helping teachers assess student understanding of artistic concepts.
Scratch
Creative sandbox opens the door to coding in any subject area
Bottom line: Scratch draws students of all types into coding and lays a foundation for future learning.
Wizard School!
Curated videos and creative challenges ignite active learning
Bottom line: There's plenty of material to inspire kids to embark on learning adventures that get them to explore, create, and share safely on the screen and off.
Shadow Puppet Edu
Resource-rich video slideshow maker a gem for a variety of classrooms
Bottom line: Easy-to-use free tool is a must-have for elementary classrooms; just keep an eye on sharing and privacy.
Paper by WeTransfer
Beautifully designed digital sketchbook for any age
Bottom line: The simplicity and effectiveness of the app make this a powerful sketch and note-taking tool for the iPad.
Canva
Create snazzy designs in seconds with flexible, cloud-based tool
Bottom line: With stable internet access and enough time to get started, this is a flexible, accessible way to create beautiful designs in your classroom.
Google Arts & Culture
Well-curated art and history site inspires curious learning
Bottom line: A beautifully presented one-stop shop for compellingly curated and contextualized art, history, and culture resources, but it's lacking educator supports.
Adobe Spark
Super-flexible design tool for crafting fab images, videos, and sites
Bottom line: This one-stop shop for creating sleek graphics, web stories, and animated videos is incredibly easy to use and challenges students to think critically about visual presentation.
Snapseed
Extremely powerful photo editor will equally delight pros, amateurs
Bottom line: It successfully walks the fine line of photo-editing features, offering satisfying experiences for those making quick edits and those crafting perfect images.