Top 8 Must-Have Educational Apps - Learn Like Never Before

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It’s never too late to broaden your knowledge; in the digital age, information has never been more accessible. Here are eight of the best mobile and web learning apps to help you pursue your quest for understanding, wherever that may take you.

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Best Personal Tutor-Style Learning App: Khan Academy

What We Like

• Tutor style and drawn visual aids offer unique twist.
• Founding philosophy keeps service largely free.

What We Don’t Like

• Topics geared toward math and science.
• Can’t access all resources in the app.

Khan Academy is another app offering courses on a range of subjects. It does so in a personal one-on-one style rather than a recorded lecture.

The app places a strong emphasis on diagrams and visual aids, relying on a digital drawing board to accommodate other learning styles. While it favors math and science topics, it also features humanities courses such as history and art.

Whether on its mobile iOS or Android apps, online through YouTube, or its dedicated web app, Khan Academy is completely free, a core tenet of founder Salman Khan’s philosophy.

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iOS

Android

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Best Tool for Learning Another Language on the Go: Duolingo

What We Like

• Multiple choice, writing, and listening questions.
• Social media element to learn with friends.

What We Don’t Like

• Focus on rote phrases than concepts like grammar.
• Not enough to develop true fluency by itself.

Duolingo stands out among language learning apps and among education apps overall. Duolingo includes dozens of languages, including a couple of fictional ones just for fun.

Each language offers a mostly linear path divided into topics of conversation. And each topic presents you with short exercises to familiarize you with the material through spoken and written formats.

The in-app social network encourages you to invite your friends to the app and compare scores to see who studies the hardest. And the app encourages you to make a habit of practicing with a reward system; you’ll receive between one and five lingots of app currency daily, which you can spend in the store on power-ups and fun accessories.

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iOS

Android

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Best for In-Depth Programming Learning: Codeacademy

What We Like

• Paths bundle courses to remove guesswork.
• Lessons have interactive console for trying out code.

What We Don’t Like

• Paid tier pushed heavily.
• Limited course set for the free tier.

If you’re interested in any aspect of computers, Codeacademy is the place to satisfy your curiosity. Targeted lessons let you pick up skills one concept at a time. Code editors and interactive consoles are built into the app, so you never need to leave it or download any software.

Courses are curated based on the kind of projects you want to tackle, and you don’t need to know anything about programming languages going in. Choose the direction you find most interesting, and Codeacademy presents groups of courses for you to take.

Whether in a series of courses or a standalone course, each lesson features a handful of steps. Each step has a short explanation of the concept to learn and a coding exercise. At the end of the lesson is a short quiz on all the steps from the lesson, then it’s on to the next.

You can take Codeacademy courses on its web app. However, its iOS and Android apps are primarily study aids.

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iOS

Android

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Best App for Taking Top U.S. University Courses Online: edX

What We Like

• Free courses from top U.S. universities.
• Tech courses offer tools like code consoles for labs.

What We Don’t Like

• Course credit often isn’t free and costs a lot.
• Lacks same lecturers or forums access if you don’t start live.

When it comes to the old adage that you get what you pay for, edX is the exception to the rule. edX provides free access to university courses, taught by professors, at some of the most prestigious schools in the U.S. via video.

Courses are free, and the app extends the option to pay for certification, which can count as college credit.

Available subjects run the gamut, with extensive offerings in science and technology subject areas. Classes feature video lectures followed by short quizzes and, for some subjects such as programming, interactive online labs.

Download For :

iOS

Android

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Best Astronomy Learning and Stargazing Guide Hybrid App: NASA

What We Like

• Learn about space directly from people exploring it.
• Learn from articles, videos, or stargazing.

What We Don’t Like

• Not the cleanest interface; navigation tricky.
• Focus on new discoveries; requires basic knowledge.

Space is so vast that leading-edge astronomers are continually learning more about it. So, why should you settle for yesterday’s astronomy lessons? The NASA app is one of the few educational apps that teaches you what’s going on in one of the most fascinating fields of scientific study.

The NASA app serves up articles and videos that teach the basics of astronomy. Where it really shines like a white dwarf is its focus on giving you a look at the latest developments from NASA’s work.

You’ll learn about NASA’s latest missions, and the app directs you where to look to catch upcoming celestial events like eclipses and planetary sightings.

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iOS

Android

The Best Stargazing Apps: Learn More

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Best for Watching Short Talks About Innovative New Ideas: TED

What We Like

• Talks are short and span a variety of topics.
• Download talks or listen from a locked screen.

What We Don’t Like

• Topics aren’t treated in-depth.
• No subscription system for specific topic categories.

Unlike most educational apps that strive to teach the fundamentals of existing knowledge, TED exposes its audience to a spectrum of innovative ideas that seek to reassess the world we live in.

Each TED talk is a spoken presentation from leaders in hundreds of fields. You’ll find everything from hard science to art and philosophy. Each talk, no matter the subject matter, is given at an accessible comprehension level.

While you can find talks on its website or YouTube channel, TED rewards you for making its app your go-to with some convenient features, including downloading videos for offline viewing and locking your device without interrupting playback.

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iOS

Android

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Best App for Learning Languages Through Memory Devices: Memrise

What We Like

• Mnemonic devices help with tricky languages.
• Share your own and use others’ memory devices.

What We Don’t Like

• Emphasizes words and phrases over grammar.
• Can’t rely on tool alone to gain fluency.

If you thought memes couldn’t teach you anything, think again. With Memrise, you can harness the collective power of the app’s users by making use of meme-like mnemonic devices designed to stick with you.

When learning new words or phrases, you’re encouraged to write a short association to use as a memory device. If you can’t think of one, you can choose from those submitted by other users.

By thinking about mnemonics, you’ll build confidence and vocabulary in new languages with associations that are natural to you. Aside from this, the app’s regimen yields a gradual increase in vocabulary and concepts.

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iOS

Android

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Best Logic Puzzle Solving App: Brilliant

What We Like

• Puzzle-solving focus and other learning options.
• Learning options at setup help set pace and style.

What We Don’t Like

• Not a lot of instruction before exercises.
• Heavy on math and science, light on everything else.

If you’re the kind of student that learns best through firsthand practice, Brilliant is exactly what you’re looking for. Brilliant teaches an array of science and math subjects through hands-on problem-solving.

The app favors short descriptions of concepts to learn paired with a problem to solve, which incorporates those concepts. Unlike other learning apps, Brilliant doesn’t wait until the end of dense reading to test you and instead proceeds incrementally to build your toolset.

Another helpful feature is the option to see the answer if you’re stumped. This feature spares you from blindly guessing and clues you into the factors that may have caused you to hesitate.

Brilliant also allows you to tailor your learning experience based on what you want to get out of it. The app prompts you to choose a study style or purpose during the setup, whether it’s for boosting your career or pure curiosity. This way, it can push you the right amount for your goals.

Download For :

iOS

Android

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