By Sophie, MPP Student Staff Writer
We all know that in order to learn efficiently, it is helpful to make learning fun. Now apps are the epitome of making learning fun and easy for kids. Now along with being accessible, apps are fun and sometimes free! To help you out, I tested out tons of apps and websites that claim to promote learning and compiled a list of the top 5 best education apps for your kids.
1) Khan Academy
This is the best app that you can get. It is also a website so if you don’t have an iPad but you do have a computer or laptop, this platform is for you! From learning numbers in kindergarten, to doing division in 5th grade, to studying for the LSAT, Khan Academy has you covered. They teach short lessons and have questions and quizzes to test what you’ve learned. Khan academy also has a small incentive to do the work it gives you: by completing levels and quizzes, you can earn points. Those points go towards upgrading your avatar and helps track your progress.I personally have been trying to learn Javascript from Khan Academy and they taught me so much within a few days. I could write simple codes that were awesome and rewarding. I definitely recommend Khan Academy for anyone that wants to get ahead in a grade or learn something new. The best part is that it is completely free! No in-app purchases and no subscription needed to gain FULL access to the wonderful choice of courses! You can find them online here: https://www.khanacademy.org/
A sister app to the app ABC mouse (which I will discuss later on in this list), Adventure Academy is meant to target a slightly older age group than abcmouse.com. Adventure Academy takes a normal style video game, where you have an avatar and you complete tasks and quests for rewards, but they weave in education in a way we never thought was possible. They also have a never-ending list of books for kids that your character is able to read. You can even “friend” other players and chat, but this ability can easily be turned off using parental controls. There are a few downsides. The first is: it is a subscription-based game. There is the option to pay monthly and yearly. Another is that while most of the quests are related to education, not all of them are so if you are looking for something that is very straightforward in terms of education, this may not be the app for you. You can find them online here: https://www.adventureacademy.com/
3) Prodigy
Prodigy is a mythical game that takes you to a realm where you fight monsters and duel with your friends. You can form alliances and battle monsters using the power of math! As you continue the game and play more, you will unlock other spells and pets. You can customize your avatar and the different education parts of the app so I definitely recommend this for kids. The only downside is that it doesn’t teach you the math concepts – it only lets you practice them. Other than that, I think kids will really love this app. You can find them online here: https://www.prodigygame.com/
4) Quizlet
A quick way to learn new things and memorize facts is Quizlet! You can use Quizlet to make online flashcards and mini-games to help you study and memorize facts. You are able to put your knowledge to the test and practice how well you’re able to memorize the facts. You can learn anything you want. I personally was trying to learn Greek and this helped so much. I would type the proper definition of it on one side and the greek word on the other side. It made learning new words so much easier! You might be thinking “Oh, there are a bunch of apps where I can make custom flashcards with” and I would say you are right, but Quizlet has more features than normal apps. One feature is ready-made quizzes created by other people on a variety of different topics. For example, if I were to make a quiz for myself on multiplications up to 12, I could make it public and someone else could use the flashcards and use them to learn. The only downside is that it doesn’t teach you anything but it helps you retain the information a lot faster. You can find them online here: https://quizlet.com/
5) ABC Mouse
This app is aimed at a younger audience to learn while weaving in fun. There are games and songs and mini things that you can do. I think ABC mouse is a little bit more limited than the Adventure Academy app. You can learn a mountain of things including reading and writing as well as penmanship. It is available on the computer and on an iPad. It is really fun and can teach a lot of fundamentals for little kids that are just learning their words and how to string together sentences. This app is aimed at a target of preschoolers and kindergarteners with the occasional first grader. But that doesn’t mean that anyone older can’t join in on the fun. It is a subscription-based model. They have a small book collection that kids can use to practice reading. They even help kids develop fine motor skills and fundamentals like recognizing colors are animals. There are coloring pages and lots of new content being added everyday. There is a learning path that guides your kid into each activity and gets them ready to level up and move on with what they are trying to learn about. I really, really recommend this app to little kids that just want fundamentals and beyond. Only downside that I have is it is a subscription but I really believe this is worth it. You can find them online here: https://www.abcmouse.com/
Conclusion
That is all I have for the top 5 best apps to use this summer! Be sure to check out all the apps as well as the websites for them. Most are absolutely free but others are not so just use your money wisely. Have any others to recommend to the list? If so, please share them in the comments. Thank you so much for reading this!
Sophie is a student staff writer at My Private Professor, which provides individualized online & in-person tutoring to students in all subjects, including K-12 math, science, language arts, history, foreign language, AP exams, test prep, essays, & college counseling, by top tutors from top universities.
www.myprivateprofessor.com
