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.

Celebrating the Week of the Young Child®

As an educator or administrator, you’ve probably heard of Week of the Young Child®, the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) annual celebration of early childhood education.

NAEYC first launched the Week of the Young Child® in 1971 in order to increase awareness about the importance of early childhood education while recognizing the existing early childhood programs that provide support and resources to young children and their families. Still going strong after more than 50 years, this annual event continues to draw attention to existing resources while also illuminating gaps that exist, such as affordable childcare.

This year’s Week of the Young Child® will take place April 1 - 7th, 2023.

If your community doesn’t currently mark this special week, the NAEYC offers a toolkit with action steps on how to change that.

There are many ways to celebrate Week of the Young Child®; some communities have held festivals and parades, while others have used the time to advocate for quality early childcare and education. Some communities have decided a week isn’t long enough and have stretched out the celebration to cover the entire month of April! While the NAEYC invites communities to come up with their own unique ways to celebrate and advocate for early childhood education, they’ve created a themed schedule that can serve as a jumping off point when brainstorming for activities.

Music Monday

Music Monday provides an opportunity to kickoff the week using sound, music and movement. Examples of last year’s Music Monday activities include children making their own maracas, listening to music from different cultures and the simple yet delightful ritual of throwing a dance party.

Tasty Tuesday

The possibilities for incorporating food into the curriculum are endless– activities could integrate subjects like math, nutrition, foreign language and farming. You could start an indoor microgreen garden and harvest it with your students, ask kids to share favorite family recipes or embark on a baking project.

Work Together Wednesday

Work Together Wednesday is all about collaboration, teamwork and team-building. For instance, last year, one community created a yoga lesson where pre-k students and third graders partnered for Work (out) Wednesday. Other possibilities include initiating a community service project or a group art project.

Artsy Thursday

Thursday is a celebration of creativity. Successful past Artsy Thursday activities include preschoolers creating self-portraits, going for a nature walk to collect and then paint rocks, and a project where students virtually collaborated with older adults to create masterpieces made with marbles and paint.

Family Friday

The last day of activities focuses on bringing families of young children into the fun– and the learning. Parents might visit a preschool to accompany their kids on a nature walk or stop by school for a family lunch picnic.For more ideas on how to get involved and plan activities for Week of the Young Child®, visit the NAEYC website. If your school or community has a favorite way of celebrating, leave us a comment and let us know!