What educational apps are best for your child?
Although many equate smart devices and applications with fun and dawdling, the truth is that our phones can be a very useful learning tool. Nowadays, there are a number of educational applications specifically adapted to the development and needs of students of different ages, which allow children to master lessons in languages, history, social and natural sciences in interactive ways.
With the help of images, sound and graphics, children acquire a love of learning from an early age, familiarize themselves with the educational role and potential of smart devices, and learn to use them in responsible and beneficial ways.
Therefore, it is good to introduce your child to different educational applications, because that way, you will familiarize them with learning and show them that technology is much more than a means of entertainment.
We present you some of the most entertaining, high-quality educational apps that will help your child acquire extensive knowledge of different subjects and improve their performance at school.
Educational apps that make learning fun and exciting
Motion Math is an innovative model for introducing children with the fundamentals of mathematics through visually rich and fun content. This math app combines games and physical game-play, connecting the child’s muscular memory with the content, and thus facilitating the understanding and acquisition of basic mathematical concepts, such as: counting, measurements, and shapes. The games don’t require the ability to read, they are easy to play and will make your child fall in love with math from an early age.
Bee-Bots are educational robots designed specifically for children. They are colorful, easy to handle, they arouse excitement and curiosity, and your child will love learning with them. Thanks to additional materials and the curricula with over 100 lessons, students will gain the knowledge of different areas of math, from recognizing shapes, counting, to native and foreign languages, and finally, nature and the world around us.
Daisy the Dinosaur is a cute dinosaur that likes to dance while at the same time teaching your child the basics of programming – the most in-demand and most profitable set of skills today. With the help of a simple drag and drop interface, children control the dinosaur through different challenges. This way, your child will begin to understand objects, events, and the connection between movement and the character on the screen.
Kodable is an application designed for children between the ages of 4-10 with a single aim: to teach your child the basics of coding through play and educational games. A special advantage of this app is the fact that children also gain the knowledge of language and math, and parents can use it together with their children, even if they have no prior knowledge of coding. Using this educational app, children strengthen their critical thinking skills, communication, creativity and cooperation with others.
Scratch Jr. enables students to create their own interactive stories and games, thus allowing them to express their creativity and to learn to solve problems, create projects and cooperate with others. Students put together blocks that represent lines of code, thus allowing video game characters to move, jump or sing. They can also design the heroes’ look, lending them their voice or face. This educational application is specifically designed to stimulate social, cognitive, personality and emotional development of children from preschool to secondary school age.
Together with their friends and teachers, your child can use the iMovie app to create interesting video stories on a variety of topics, from how they spent their day at school, what new things they learned, to recording the growth and development of the plants they grow in the classroom. A particularly interesting activity involves making a short film: students are assigned roles – while some play actors, others shoot the film, and the third group creates the sets. Your child will develop their creativity while having fun with their friends.
Greenscreen allows children to make short films, feature stories and coverages. The green screen is used in the movie industry to create the impression that actors are on another planet for example, or that the weather presenter is standing in front of a map. This way, children cover various topics – from the weather, interesting cities and landscapes, to life on other planets; they can report from the moon, desert, land and sea – wherever the exciting world of learning takes them. Their imagination and creativity know no bounds here!
The Skitch app allows teachers to present different lessons in a memorable and vivid way: counting and shapes, learning words through images, and natural phenomena. Thanks to the possibility of drawing on photos, Skitch allows your child to express their creativity and better understand presented objects by interacting with them.
Explain Everything allows teachers to make the teaching material more familiar and relatable, and to present it in an engaging and interactive way. What is even better, students can record their own explanations on how something is used together with their teacher. This way, children will better memorize things they learn, because by presenting them to their classmates, they not only adopt them, but understand them better as well.
Educreations allows teachers to record short, interactive and fun stories that summarize what children have learned. Lessons can be watched anywhere and anytime – in the classroom, at home, on the bus, on vacation, or over the weekend. Lessons are animated and interesting, so children will be happy to watch them, and remember what they’ve learned for a long time. In addition to new knowledge, children will also begin to acquire digital literacy with the help of this app.
I-pad biology apps, such as 3D Cell, 3D Brain and 3D Bones allow students to get to know the human body in detail and all its integral components: cells, brain, bones, as well as how it operates.
I-pad math applications PCalc Lite, iMathematics, Photo Math, Mathletics, Geometry Pad and Geometry Construction Tutor allow students to familiarize themselves with the following math fields: arithmetic, algebra and geometry in an efficient and engaging way.
Another school subject students used to dread now becomes something they can’t wait to try with the help of I-pad applications. Apps such as Chem Crafter, Periodic Table, Elemental and Chemist Free make chemistry interactive and fun. Whether they are building their own laboratory, or participating in creative experiments, children will acquire important knowledge of chemistry in an interactive and stimulating way.
Learning applications, such as History of the World, WWII Lite: History Challenge, European Exploration, Five Thousand Years, Learn World Geography and Museums of the World support the learning of history and geography and help students to gain knowledge of certain historical periods, discover new worlds through research expeditions, and get to know ancient civilizations. At the same time, children also have the opportunity to learn more about capital cities, largest rivers, mountains and lakes, and to visit world museums and see the works of artists from different countries and different eras through virtual tours.
Language learning becomes interesting with interactive apps, such as Dictionary, Kindle, Inkling, TED, TED Books and Audible, Duolingo, Learn with Babbel and Bilingual Dictionaries.
I-pad educational apps for acquiring IT knowledge, such as Treehouse, Udacity, Hopscotch, Swifty and Emaze allow children to familiarize themselves with the basics of web design and development, application development, databases and video games development. This way, students gain digital literacy and learn more about one of the most profitable industries of the modern age.
“Flipped classroom” apps make learning as fun as watching educational shows on TV. Khan Academy courses offer memorable math, biology, chemistry, physics, art, history, IT, and music lessons that stay with students forever. There is also Coursera that offers courses in a variety of areas that excite children’s curiosity and teach them important things.
Curious children – successful adults
There are a variety of educational applications that make learning interactive and allow children to actively participate in the learning process by making them engaged and interested. Different approaches to learning supported by these applications, and a variety of areas they cover arouse children’s curiosity, helping them develop a lifelong love of learning and introducing them to tools that enable self-improvement later in life.
The end result is: Curious children who know how to learn independently!
