10 TOOLS

10 Great Free Apps for High School

In the educational app market, high school students are all too often forgotten. While there's no shortage of apps for learning the alphabet or boosting basic math skills, there are far fewer options for the more in-depth work and complex concepts high school students encounter. With this list, we've narrowed down the best free high school apps on the market, featuring organizational and productivity tools to help students manage their work, subject-area tools to help with core classes, and critical thinking and mindfulness tools to build important habits. With these awesome free apps that leverage what's great about mobile devices, high school students will be inspired to learn and build new skills.

Insight Timer

Popular mindfulness app offers daily, guru-guided meditation practice

Bottom Line: This expert-guided SEL tool can help students -- and teachers -- build lifelong habits for relaxation, reflection, and focus.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Learning Ally Audiobooks

Digital library offers handy supports for readers

Bottom Line: A great option for students needing support, and, while the library is smaller, the narration is a serious upgrade.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free

Paper by WeTransfer

Beautifully designed digital sketchbook for any age

Bottom Line: The simplicity and effectiveness of the app make this a powerful sketch and note-taking tool for the iPad.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Canva for Education

Create, collaborate and share with versatile design tool

Bottom Line: From interactive presentations to group collaboration to parent communication, Canva is a one-stop shop for a variety of classroom tasks.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free

Arduino Science Journal

Turn your phone into a lab sensor to collect and analyze data

Bottom Line: Science Journal does a good job recording real-time motion, sound, and light data using phones.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Top-notch photo editor helps perfect pics for creative projects

Bottom Line: This is a powerful, free creation tool from the industry leader in photo editing.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Microsoft OneNote

Note-taking giant built for flexible, collaborative work

Bottom Line: A powerful (and free) tool for thinking and organization that's making smart strides in the education space.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Sway

Create dynamic visual presentations on flexible storytelling platform

Bottom Line: A seamless transition from design to presentation makes Sway a great fit for presenting carefully curated content.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Todoist

Calendar meets to-do list in versatile multi-platform organization app

Bottom Line: Mastering all of the features will take some time, but it's a dynamic app that promotes both individual and team productivity.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free, Free to try, Paid

NPR News

Top-notch digital content takes students beyond the airwaves

Bottom Line: Provides an easy, fun, and effective way to engage students with radio.

Grades: 9–12
Price:
Free

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