Best Educational Apps for the 2024-2025 School Year: Must-have apps for the back to school season

Educational apps can help teachers hone and optimize their skills, streamline administrative tasks, and engage and communicate with students and families. As we head into a new school year, here’s a roundup of educational apps we love, from classic favorites to emerging stars.  

Microsoft Teams 

A diverse communication app that focuses on collaboration, Microsoft Teams is free for K-12 educators and students. The Microsoft Teams app includes Reflect, a social and emotional learning tool. Newer additions to Microsoft Teams include AI features that assist educators in generating module content. 

Google Classroom 

Chances are, you’re already a Google Classroom pro. If not, what are you waiting for? Google Classroom boosts an array of features that help personalize learning, streamline administrative tasks, encourage academic integrity and  gather analytical data that helps you improve learning.  

Class Dojo 

A teacher favorite, Class Dojo enables easy communication between teachers, students and families. Educators can keep families in the loop by adding photo or video updates, and the calendar feature helps students build awareness of planning and due dates. Class Dojo also offers social-emotional learning opportunities, incentivized through a point system to support student growth. 

Pear Deck 

Pear Deck is technically an add-on that integrates with Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides and Classroom apps. Pear Deck allows teachers to design engaging, interactive presentations. With Pear Deck, educators receive instant feedback on how well their students understand a lesson, and offer them responses in real-time. The company also offers additional add-ons, including Pear Assessment (formerly known as Edulastic), which helps teachers deliver and monitor student assessments.  

Mindsets 

Most teachers have heard the timeless question, "Why do I need to learn this?" countless times. Microsoft for Education’s Mindsets delivers an answer– in the form of a Challenge. Designed for middle and high school students, offers Challenges that walk students through a relatable real-world scenario in which they use math or science skills to solve it. 

ParentSquare 

The popular Remind app, which enables teachers to send and receive messages, reminders and updates to students and families, was recently acquired by ParentSquare, a mass messaging platform for K-12 schools,students and caregivers. One of the highlights of this app is its two-way translation software, which enables educators and ELL students and families to communicate in their native language.  

SeeSaw 

Designed for elementary school educators, SeeSaw is a comprehensive app that includes curriculum, messaging, auto-graded assessments and progress monitoring while offering students engaging tools like its digital portfolio, which encourages students to take pride in their work.  

Kahoot! 

The award-winning app Kahoot! gamifies learning and makes studying easy and fun. Users can turn studying into a social event by engaging in friendly competition, creating flashcards instantly and preparing for upcoming tests, even while on the go.  

These are just a few of the top educational apps. Moving forward, we’re excited to see what new apps emerge that help streamline educator and admin workload, personalize learning for students with different needs, and optimize communication between teachers, students and families. 

Best Educational Apps for the 2023-2024 School Year

Apps can be a powerful tool for teachers and students. But with new apps emerging constantly, it can be challenging to discern which ones are most effective. Here’s a roundup of some of the best educational apps for the 2023-2024 school year. We’ve included some old standbys as well as some new favorites.

Google Classroom
You’re likely already using Google Classroom, and if you're not you should be.Teachers can use this app as a home base for storing lesson plans, assignments and tracking student progress. The messaging feature allows for easy communication between students and teachers.

Pear Deck
Pear Deck, which was designed to work as an add-on to both Google and Microsoft Education apps, is an interactive lesson and assessment platform. Tech-savvy teachers can create custom presentations or choose from Pear Deck’s library of existing templates. The app is designed to increase student engagement while also giving educators important and immediate information on how well students are taking in the lesson.

Brilliant
Brilliant delivers short, digestible lessons in math, science and engineering. The app was created for students aged 13 and older, with the goal of helping users strengthen and expand their problem-solving abilities. Brilliant’s course offerings include statistics and finance, foundational logic and high school math. Educators can enjoy free access to Brilliant’s bank of interactive lessons.

Duolingo
When it comes to language learning apps, Duolingo remains at the top of its class. The app uses research-backed methods of teaching and adds elements like gamification, personalized learning while also aiming to delight its users. A few new features to note– users can now create a fun, unique Duolingo avatar. Duolingo also just added a new subscription tier, Duolingo Max, which harnesses AI technology.

BrainPOP
BrainPOP is a popular educational app that aims to help students to better understand the world. BrainPOP Jr. supports kids in grades K-3, while BrainPOP is designed for upper elementary and middle school aged kids. BrainPOP also offers BrainPOP ELL to support those learning English. The app features a bevy of resources on topics around digital citizenship, including lessons on topics such as conflict resolution and information privacy.

In addition, BrainPOP for educators offers lesson planning tools and professional development.

Quizlet
Quizlet delivers tools that help students learn to study. Students can customize digital flashcards and take quizzes to boost and test memory retention and retrieval. Quizlet has also introduced a beta version of Q-Chat, which employs AI to help students learn.

Writelike
This free app helps students expand their advanced writing skills. Writelike teaches skills like deconstructing text, spotting the patterns found in good writing and then practicing using those patterns in their own prose.

Writelike’s sister product, Frankenstories, engages students in collaborative writing projects, encouraging students to work together while developing their writing skills.

Prodigy
Students learn math and English skills through game-based learning via the Prodigy app. The app uses an adaptive algorithm to track student progress. In Prodigy Math, designed for students in first through eighth grade, students act as wizards fighting math-based battles. Kids in first through sixth answer questions that help them gather materials to build their own world. Teachers have access to student progress, allowing them a deeper understanding of their student’s learning.

6 Fun Ways to Learn a New Language

Did you know December is Learn a Foreign Language Month? While it’s not realistic to master a new language in only a month, December could be a time to commit to resuscitating your rusty high school French skills or to finally start learning Portuguese.

The benefits of learning a foreign language have long been touted; research has even suggested that becoming bilingual might help protect our brains from cognitive decline associated with aging. Beyond the physical benefits, learning a new language broadens our horizons and allows us the opportunity to connect with new people.

It can be daunting, though, to figure out where to find the time to devote to taking on a foreign language. Fortunately, technology offers us more ways to learn than ever before. It’s no longer necessary to sign up for an evening language course or to devote your weekends to pouring over Spanish a textbook. Below, are a few ideas on how to incorporate learning a new language into your existing routine.

Apps

You’ve probably heard of language learning apps like Duolingo, Babbel and Pimsleur. Browse the existing language apps to find the one that most appeals to you. For instance, Duolingo gamifies the process of learning a language and delivers snack-sized lessons, while Pimsleur’s lessons are 30 minutes long, but include a mode for use while driving.

Learn through entertainment

If boosting your language skills while lounging on the couch is more your style, check out Lingopie. Lingopie streams television shows in foreign languages and incorporates interactive subtitles depending on your level of fluency.

If you already have basic foreign language skills, reading a children's book or comic book written in a foreign language is a fun way to practice your comprehension.

Finally, listening to a podcast or music in another language while you’re taking a walk or commuting is yet another way of boosting your fluency.

Take a Class– from home

Taking an online class is another way to learn a foreign language. Sites like Coursera and edX offer a variety of asynchronous language classes, some of which are free. If being in a class with other students energizes you, though, consider a class that meets in real-time.

Meetup

Sites like Meetup or local adult education classes allow us to connect with groups of people with common interests in our geographic area. The possibilities for fun, in-person gatherings are vast– examples include holding a potluck featuring German cuisine or playing Scrabble using only Russian words.

Plan a trip

Incentivize your foreign language project by planning a trip to a country that speaks that language. There’s no better– or more fun– way to learn the nuances of a language than to immerse yourself in that culture. To make your vacation more affordable and have a more authentic experience, consider using a site like HomeExchange, which allows you to temporarily swap homes with someone in a different location.

Talk to your school’s foreign language teachers

Chances are you have a hidden treasure trove of resources in your school’s foreign language teachers. Ask them for recommendations, and leave us a comment if you discover any brilliant tips!

Best Education Apps for 2022

Over the past few years, apps have become a staple of education. Apps offer fun, engaging opportunities for students to explore learning. Here are a few of our favorite apps for 2022. 

Chances are, you’re already acquainted with Google Classroom. The app provides teachers a streamlined hub to centralize lesson plans, and assignments, as well as tracking student progress. Students can access assignments and see due dates. Discussion forums and teacher-student messaging provide an opportunity for collaboration or extra help.

Microsoft’s Minecraft: Education Edition harnesses the magic of Minecraft while teaching students about working collaboratively, coding and creative problem-solving. Microsoft offers free online training for educators to become Minecraft-certified teachers, game-based lesson plans, and an online community where educators can connect and share how they’re using Minecraft.

Making math approachable and fun is a breeze with DragonBox’s collection of math apps. Learners ages 4-8 can learn the basics with Numbers before graduating to Big Numbers and Algebra 5+, while Learn Chess uses puzzles and strategic tasks to explore the rules of chess. Kids ages 8 and up can try Multiplication, which uses mini-games to help teach the times tables, or Algebra 12+, which builds on Algebra 5+. The award-winning Elements teach geometric proofs as students race to save Greek mathematician Euclid from an evil dragon. A wealth of printable resources extends the lessons beyond the screen. 

The Epic! app gives students instant access to thousands of age-appropriate books. Teachers and students can track how many books they’ve read, while tools like Read-To-Me and Dictionary Look-up offer extra support and learning opportunities. 

While BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. both deliver solid lessons on the standard educational topics, their social and emotional programming are what really set them apart. BrainPOP teaches kids about topics like digital safety and citizenship, mindfulness and sustainability in an engaging, age-appropriate manner.  

Kids learn the basics of coding through codeSpark’s puzzles, challenges and mini-games. Designed to expose young kids to coding, and reduce the gender-equity gap in STEM, once kids master the basics, they can design and create their own games. 

Designed to promote learning in kids ages 2-8, ABCMouse offers a full curriculum of lessons in math, science, reading and art. With over 800 lessons across ten levels of play and tons of extra content ranging from digital jigsaw puzzles to printable activities, kids and educators will love tracking students’ progress as they move through the levels.  

Quizlet helps students study more effectively. The app offers a digital alternative to flashcards and guides students on breaking down complex problems into step-by-step solutions. Choose from an existing library of Quizlets, or design your own to perfectly fit the content. Kids can play as individuals or in team mode to boost collaboration.

Khan Academy is a robust, personalized learning resource for students ranging from K-12 and even early college. The engaging instructional videos and practice exercises allow students to study at their own pace. In addition to test preparation (such as SAT, Praxis, and even the LSAT), traditional subjects include math, science, computing, history, and art history. Khan Academy also offers courses and valuable life skills, including social and emotional learning, personal finance and internet safety. 

Duolingo is a popular language app. With its friendly vibe and elements of gamification, kids (and adults!) can enjoy exploring a new language or take their existing knowledge to the next level. Lessons are bite-sized, and Duolingo now offers podcasts to enhance the learning experience.

Top Chrome Extensions For The Google Classroom

Google Classroom has been instrumental in changing the way education looks today. It streamlines assignments, boosts collaboration and fosters seamless communication to help make teaching more productive. There’s also the advantage of being able to integrate hundreds of Chromebook apps and extensions that save teachers and students time and make it seamless to share information. Extensions enhance the browsing experience by tailoring Chrome’s functionality towards individual needs and preferences. 

Here are some of our favorites.

Grammarly

Grammarly is an online editor that gives all of your text the once-over before you send it to colleagues, parents or students. It’s a free extension that revises the text you type in Chrome, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Linkedin and anywhere else on the web. It suggests corrections based on both spelling and grammar, and it explains alternative options because we call all still learn.

Screencastify

Screencastify is a great tool to use when you need to create a quick demonstration or instructional video. It is a screen recorder that allows you to capture, edit and share videos in seconds. It can tell a story in just a couple of clicks.

CheckMark by EdTechTeam

This extension is designed to give teachers the ability to provide students with feedback quickly and easily. When a teacher highlights text in Google Docs, an overlay pops up with quick shortcuts to frequently-added comments such as “Spelling” or “Check Punctuation,” or “Evidence needed.” CheckMark has both comments related to grammar as well as concepts, citations and more.

Shareaholic

Shareaholic gives you the ability to share and bookmark great content, without stopping what you’re doing on Chrome. It works with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more than 200 other services. It makes all your shared links searchable in one place and won’t slow down your Google Chrome.

Alice Keeler – Teacher Tech

This extension gives you quick access to Alice Keeler’s Teacher Tech blog – which covers all things classroom and Google Classroom. A quick click on the extension pulls up a list of her most recent posts. Topics include: 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom, A Tour Of Google Classroom and Google Slides, Create a Drop Shadow on Text.

LastPass: Free Password Manager

This handy extension saves all your usernames and passwords in one spot. It gives you secure access and will autologin to your websites and sync passwords. Plus, anything you save on one device is instantly available on all your other devices. Slick.

We'd love to know your favorites on Chromebooks, too.

7 Microsoft PowerPoint Tricks For Every Day This Week

As a staple of the Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint often gets a bad rap, mostly because it’s associated with speeches, presentations, and seminars--and they aren’t always the most exciting events (to put it mildly). Since it’s estimated that PowerPoint is a key software on over one billion computers worldwide, it’s safe to say slide-based presentations aren’t going anywhere.

The question, however, isn’t where PowerPoint can go; it’s what PowerPoint can do to make those presentations even better.

Here are our favorite Microsoft PowerPoint tips to make sure your presentation goes smoothly.

1. Launch your PowerPoint presentation with one click. To start your presentation off quickly and cleanly, all you need to do is save the file with a .PPS or .PPSX file extension and save it to your desktop. Instead of nervously launching from editing mode or from your email (for all the world to see), all you’ll do is double-click and get on with the show. (Keep your desktop free of embarrassing distractions for full professional effect).

2. State your case in black and white. PowerPoint presentations are meant to be an aid to your presentation--not necessarily be a word-for-word account of it. To keep them from being a distraction, press “B” or “W” on your keyboard to make the screen black or white. This will help your audience focus on you and what you are saying.

3. Doing a demo? Get a screenshot. If you need to replicate the feel of your computer screen while giving a presentation, use the PowerPoint Screenshot tool on the Insert tab. It will give you a thumbnail of each window you currently have open. Simply select, resize, and click--and it will automatically be inserted on your current slide.

4. Animate charts. Turn charts and graphs from boring to mindblowing with animation. Once you’ve set up the chart or graph as you need to, head to the Animations tab to turn on the Animations Pane. Pick an animated effect, add sound, adjust timing and, most importantly, change the “Group Chart” options from “As One Object” to “By Category.”

5. Employ Kiosk mode. For presentations that don’t require an active speaker, you can set the presentation to play in Kiosk mode, which will play it on a loop, no human required. You can also output the entire slide deck to a video format.

6. Duplicate without the CTRL C + V. Instead of quick keys to copy and paste reused elements, go one step lazier--hold the CTRL key while you click and drag on the element you want to multiply. Great for elements as well as entire slides.

7. Be zen with Venn. Venn diagrams are a useful visual aid, but they can be a pain to make--unless you know how to Merge Shapes. Simply layer your pre-created shapes as you want, head to the Drawing Tools, and select “Merge Shapes” from the menu. This feature also makes light work of inserting pictures and text into shapes and vice versa. 

There are so many ways to do more in Microsoft PowerPoint in less time. We can help you figure them out.

16 Hashtags Worth Following (and Tagging!)

We do a lot of Twitter outreach at Arey Jones because we love to be in on the educational technology conversation, and there is always something to new going on in our industry. Whether you want to contribute to the discussion or learn something new every day, these hashtags will put you--and your followers--in the know.

By Platform

• #OneNoteEDU

• #MinecraftEDU

• #Skype2Learn

By Software

• #GoogleSheets

• #GoogleSlides

• #GSuiteEDU

By Company

• #MicrosoftEDU

• #GoogleEDU

• #AcerEDU

By Broad Reach

• #edtech

• #education

• #digcit 

By Teams

• #GTT

• #MIEE

• #GoogleEI

• #edtechteam

Obviously, this isn’t an extensive list, but it is a great start to learning just how connected educational technology is to how we work, learn, and share advancements. The next time you share a cool teaching-with-technology moment, add these hashtags to your post. You could inspire others with your ideas, and you also may learn a thing or two in the process.

Ready to learn more? Follow us @AreyJones, or feel free to contact us traditionally.

18 Excel Formulas and Functions for 2018

You already geek out over Excel’s amazing functionality and its features in Windows. Maybe you’ve already used it to create a calendar template. Maybe you color code your personal budget targets. Maybe you already use it to track student progress, grades, test scores, attendance, and days until your next school holiday. We’re not here to judge. We’re here to help you make the most of what this powerful spreadsheet application has to offer.

Basic Conditional Formatting

When you’re dealing with a mountain of data, conditional formatting can help you find specific information quickly and visibly by color-coding cells that match specific criteria. For instance, you can highlight any student who has missed more than three days of class or any test scores that fall below passing. Learn more here.

Formula-based Conditional Formatting

And sometimes, just a basic highlight isn’t enough. Sometimes you want your spreadsheet to help you identify the next step in your process, like setting up a conference with parents or an email to the student. Formula-based conditional formatting can help with that. Here’s how.

=SUM(): The first function you learn really adds up.

You already know how to add up cells in Excel, but did you know you can hit CTRL + [Cells you want to add] to instantly add them to an equation? This is a fast way to add across random columns or rows.

=SUMIF(): For more selective sums

Sometimes you want to add and gather data in a different way. The =SUMIF equation will look for certain data in a table and add similar items together. This could be helpful if you track attendance by day of the week and want to learn which days most kids come to class.  Learn more here.

=COUNTIF(): Add up occurrences of a value.

=COUNTIFS(): Add up occurrences of multiple values.

The COUNTIF() function allows you to count how many times a certain criterion occurs in your specified range. For example, if you add a letter value grade to each assignment, you can use the COUNTIF() equation to count how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs a particular class or a particular student has. Use =COUNTIF(Where do you want to look?, What do you want to look for?).

More information on COUNTIFs here.

=AVG(): The average formula for above-average teachers

The average function works similarly to =SUM in that it allows you to grab the data within a column or throughout a sheet. If you use average test or homework scores to finalize grades, the =AVG function adds up (and divides evenly).

=MIN(): Find the lowest number in a range

=MAX(): Find the highest number in a range
This is a great way to find the range of cells quickly and accurately, especially if you are grading on a curve, or want to quickly obtain the range of test scores for a given exam.

=LEN(): Count characters in a single cell.
Never misjudge your Twitter character count again. This function will count the number of characters in a specific cell. Great for writing assignments with text limits.

=RANDBETWEEN: Generate a Random Number

Need help picking which student goes first with a presentation? Enter the RANDBETWEEN equation. Simply type =RANDBETWEEN(1,100) and it will return a completely unbiased whole number between 1 and 100  just like that.

=ROMAN: Convert to Roman Numerals

Perhaps not the most useful of formulas, but when C, V, L, and I are Greek to you, it can be a useful tool. Use =ROMAN(Destination cell with number you want to convert).

=ROUND(): Do a one-handed round-off

The =ROUND function allows you to round off numbers to a specific digit. Use =ROUND(number, digit) as the equation, keeping in mind that “0” digit will return a whole number, “1” returns to the tenths, and so on. =ROUNDUP() and =ROUNDDOWN() are equally fun, and further explained here.

=YEARFRAC(): Compare a date range to the entire year.

=DAYS(): Count the number of days in between two dates.

=NETWORKDAYS()

Still counting down to the end of the year? Excel can take the work out of that, too. Use =YEARFRAC(start_date, end_date, [basis]). For example, =YEARFRAC(1/1/2018,5/31/2018, 1).  Learn more about the calendar basis here. For the number of days or actual work days, use =DAYS(start date,end date) or =NETWORKDAYS(start,end) respectively. Place your date values in cells for increased flexibility and celebrate further with conditional formatting. 

These are our favorite Excel equations so far in 2018. Which ones did we miss of yours? We'd love to know and talk more about education tech, especially when it comes to Microsoft.

How To Plug Into The Best School Year Ever With Apps

Make no mistake, the best way to have the most productive and confident school year ever is to pretend the previous one never ended. “Every teacher—and every parent—dreads the summer backslide,” says Erica Eichmann at Arey Jones Educational Solutions. “The good news is, there are several apps available to help kids retain the skills they learned in the previous year and help set them up for success for the ones that are coming around the bend.” 

Here are five of our favorite summertime—and all-time—favorite apps.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy does for math and science what summer reading does for everything else; it pushes people in the direction of growth. With lectures, videos, quizzes, and more, the Khan Academy app helps people improve their comprehension, round out their understanding, and give more meat to distance learning programs. 

DuoLingo

If you’ve never heard of DuoLingo, it’s probably because you’re not currently studying a foreign language; otherwise, most people learning second and third languages are already familiar with the way this amazing app turns language lessons into games. Listen, speak, and translate through the DuoLingo interface, and you’ll find yourself nearing native-speaker status. Several languages are available, and the database is growing all the time.

Brainscape

From language to geography to math skills, Brainscape makes flashcards in a flash. A free app with in-app purchases to customize your experience, Brainscape offers several ways for a student to recognize, name, and memorize math facts, locations, and vocabulary so that larger concepts are easier to understand and manipulate. Great for road trips, long commutes, and rainy afternoons.

Match Motion: Cupcake!

For those elementary students who are sweet on everything else but math, Math Motion: Cupcake! gives math facts the spoonful of sugar kids need to make the multiplication medicine go down.

The Periodic Table

The Royal Society of Chemistry has somehow managed to create an elegant app packed with information, videos, atom models, and more for budding and passionate chemists. Users rave about its accessibility and approachability of information; by simply clicking on an element, you can learn about its natural state and real-life applications, watch podcasts and videos, and watch it interact with temperature and other elements.

And educational apps aren’t just for kids. Several of the apps and articles we listed above work just as well for adult learners as they do elementary, middle school, and high school students. It goes to show that when you pair technology with a lifelong love of learning, it doesn’t matter when school starts and stops; it only matters that you have the passion and the tools to keep growing.

5 Ways Educational Apps Improve Classroom Performance

With the introduction of technology into the classroom becoming more prevalent, it begs the question: What makes using education apps worthwhile?

The answer?

First, apps used for education come in a variety of subject genre. Companies like Google provide students with numerous apps they, and their teachers, can use in the classroom. Google sheets, Google Play for Education, and Google Art Project are just a few of Google’s many education platforms. In addition to google there are many apps for each classroom subject such as Choreo Graph which teaches students STEM information through interactive lessons and activities.

Second, the process of downloading an app is a quick and easy process. Compared to the old way of ordering books and lessons, an app download is one click away. All the knowledge teachers and students require is at the touch of a button in moments.

Third, apps can be mobilized. Most apps in the Google G Suite are transferrable and work on multiple devices. Students and teachers can take the day’s lesson right out of the classroom without missing a beat or falling behind. 

Fourth, this mobility of apps also means an increase in sociability between teachers, parents, and students. Parents can acquire status reports from these apps to monitor how their child is performing. They can also actively participate in their child’s lesson via apps’ sharing capabilities.

Finally, apps cut down the cost for the institution. Textbooks and workbooks for every student are no longer necessary and one app download can be shared with the entire class without paying per student. The expansive quality of an app is worth its weight in gold.

Interested in learning how apps can improve your classroom? Arey Jones is here to help.