Apps for High School

ipad apps for high school

The following is a list of iPod and iPad apps that can be used in high school learning environments. I’ll keep this updated as I find new apps that could be useful!

All Subjects/General/Productivity

Note Taking

  • Note Taker HD – An app for writing handwritten notes, diagrams, etc.
  • Sundry Notes Pro – Sundry Notes is the first social note taking application. Write, draw, record and research right within the app – and then share your notes with others.Take notes right within your application, including: Write text (and change font color, size, etc.), draw anywhere in your notes, search Wikipedia, Google, and Google Books – and grab images from them for your notes using two fingers, Import PDFs from the internet, Import images from your photo library, record sound/voice, Change page background to graph paper, lined paper, legal paper, etc.
  • CourseNotes – Take notes in class and keep them organized by subject area.
  • MindNode – Mind mapping, brainstorming, organization.
  • iThoughtsHD – A mind map tool for the iPad
  • Inspiration Maps – This App is ideal for brainstorming, analyzing, and organizing information. If you are familiar with the desktop version of Inspiration, this is a great port to the iPad
  • Evernote – Evernote turns the iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life.
  • Stick It – Sticky Notes with Bump™ – Sticky notes you can share with other iPad Users
  • WritePad for iPad – WritePad lets you take notes in your own handwriting with an iPad stylus, pen, or even your finger

Flash Cards

  • Cramberry – Create flash cards to study from
  • gFlash+ Flashcards & Tests – Create flashcard decks from Google Docs with this handy app!
  • Brainscape – Make your own flashcard decks with this easy to use app!
  • Evernote Peek – An innovative and interactive twist on traditional flash cards
  • A+ FlashCards Pro – Flashcard app with a beautiful interface and the content of Quizlet!

Art

  • Adobe Ideas – a digital sketchbook
  • SketchBook Pro – A professional-grade paint and drawing application.
  • Brushes – Brushes is a painting application designed from scratch for the iPad. Featuring an advanced color picker, several realistic brushes, multiple layers, extreme zooming, and a simple yet deep interface, it is a powerful tool for creating original artwork on your mobile device. The June 1, 2009 cover of The New Yorker was created in Brushes.
  • Van Gogh HD – A virtual gallery of Vincent Van Gogh’s work featuring hundreds of high definition paintings of his greatest works.
  • Klimt HD – A virtual gallery of Austrian Painter Gustav Klimt work featuring hundreds of high definition paintings of his greatest works.
  • Da Vinci HD – A virtual gallery of Leonardo da Vinci’s work featuring hundreds of high definition paintings of his greatest works.
  • Smudge – Finger painting app
  • Skrambler X – Assemble famous masterpieces like a jigsaw puzzle. Learn interesting facts about the artists and their artwork while putting each piece in place.
  • Gravilux – an app that lets you draw with stars
  • The Hot Rod Art Book: Masters of Chicken Scratch – Over 100 pages of hot rod artwork. Over one and a half hours of instructional videos that show the complete process from sketch to rendering.
  • ArtStudio – Similar to Sketchbook Pro – a professional drawing / painting application
  • ArtRage – Similar to Sketchbook Pro – painting and drawing tools that work just like the real thing!

Astronomy

  • HD Solar System – Highly graphic encyclopedia that has detailed and comprehensive information about the solar system.
  • GoSkyWatch Planetarium – Easily and quickly identify and locate stars, planets, constellations and more with a touch or by simply pointing to the sky. Have fun with family and friends discovering the images in the night sky. Go outside and explore the night sky.
  • Star Walk – An interactive astronomy guide.
  • Solar Walk – A 3D Solar System Model.
  • Distant Suns – A database of over 130,000 stars, nebula, and galaxies.
  • DrakeEQ HD – 3D simulation of the Milky Way Galaxy

Calculators

  • MathStudio – MathStudio is the most comprehensive math app available for iPhone and iPad. Whether you need a simple calculator to do your finances or a replacement for your TI graphing calculator, MathStudio is the most powerful and versatile calculator available.
  • PocketCAS pro – Advanced Graphic and Symbolic Scientific Calculator. Handles every mathematical problem you might encounter in school or university.
  • PocketCAS lite – Free Graphic calculator. Not as many features as the pro version above.
  • Quick Graph – Free 2D and 3D graphing calculator.

Electives/Other

  • Magic Piano – Play timeless pieces on spiral and circular keyboards, or follow beams of light – mastery requires only imagination. Play alone, or travel through a warp hole and play Piano Roulette with other performers across the world.
  • Fashion Sketchbook: The Stylish Dress Up Game – A fashion design application that allows the users to design outfits.

ESE Modifications/Accommodations

Foreign Language

Human Biology

Language Arts/Reading

  • iBooks – a ereader book store
  • Book Creator – Create your own iBooks right on the iPad. (Allows everything except video)
  • Free Books – 23,469 Classics to Go
  • Reading Trainer – This app teaches you how to train your eyes and brain to read and comprehend text faster. Think of it as exercise for your reading skills
  • Dictionary.com – Dictionary & Thesaurus – A dictionary and a Thesaurus
  • Literary Analysis Guide – Elements of literature are arranged graphically around three wheels (poetry, prose, and rhetoric)
  • Kindle – Kindle is an eReader from Amazon.com
  • Shakespeare Pro – Complete works of Shakespeare. 41 plays, 154 sonnets, and 6 poems. All works can be cross searched for anything
  • Jules Verne Collection – Sixteen of Jules Verne’s books
  • MaxJournal – A simple and elegant journal
  • Essay Grader – Provide feedback on essays with this easy to use app
  • LitCharts – Link to LitCharts website. Each of the LitCharts are available on the iPad

Math

  • Alge-Bingo – Develop your algebraic equation solving skills through playing a Bingo game. This game takes you step by step through the process of learning how to solve the most basic equation up through multiple-step equations
  • Algebra Touch – An amazingly easy App that allows you to refresh your knowledge of Algebra with an interface designed for iOS devices
  • The Ruler – measure things in inches or centimeters
  • KineMath – Students can manipulate twelve different functions, interact with graphs and plots, copy and export their work, and view examples for deeper understanding
  • MATHsKOOL 6 – MATHsKOOL 6 contains twelve activities designed to develop skill working with advanced solving techniques
  • Math Quizzer – (iPhone app) Math Quizzer is an interactive and fun way to, not only learn, but also to boost your skills in; Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division. It offers an easy to understand chalkboard visual, which keeps track of your “score” as you progress
  • Math Formulas – Reference Guide – This app contains over 100 math forumlas at a high school level. Most formulas have examples for ease of understanding. A great app for higher level math
  • Bloomberg – Bring the power of the most trusted source for financial information to your iPad, along with tools to help you analyze the world’s markets.
  • Fractals – Move and pinch fractals in real time
  • Geometry Stash – Access the most commonly used theorems, postulates, and corollaries

Music

Science

  • 3D Cell Simulation and Stain Tool – Learn about the cell and its structures in a 3D tool
  • EMD PTE – A highly interactive periodic table of elements
  • AP Biology Vocabulary Review – All of the vocabulary included in the College Board AP Biology Course
  • VideoScience – Science experiments with video
  • Chem 11 Prep – Grade 11 Chemistry exam prep
  • The Elements: A Visual Exploration – If you think you’ve seen the periodic table, think again. The Elements: A Visual Exploration lets you experience the beauty and fascination of the building blocks of our universe in a way you’ve never seen before. And as the first really new ebook developed from the ground up for iPad, The Elements beautifully shows off the capabilities of this lovely device
  • HowToSolve – Molar Mass – A great chemistry tutorial app on the topic of how to calculate molar mass
  • A Life Among Whales – Video documentary featuring the exploration into the life and work of whale biologist Roger Payne
  • Newtons Laws – Explains Newton’s first two laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation
  • Periodic Table of the Elements – Standard periodic table of elements. Free as of May 16, 2010
  • Molecules – View and manipulate 3D renderings of molecules
  • 3D Brain – Rotate and zoom around 29 interactive structures in the brain
  • Science Glossary – an extensive glossary of scientific terms and biographies
  • Physics – Mechanics – An app that contains a series of exercises based on physics
  • Vernier Video Physics – 2012 CODiE Awards Finalist – Best Educational Use of a Mobile Device — Video Physics brings physics video analysis to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Take a video of an object in motion, mark its position frame by frame, and set up the scale using a known distance. Video Physics then draws trajectory, position, and velocity graphs for the object. Share video, graphs and data via the Camera Roll, email, and iTunes. Open in Vernier Graphical Analysis for iPad or with your computer running Vernier’s Logger Pro software. Open with Dropbox or Google Drive to store your data file in the cloud
  • HD Birds Encyclopedia – Highly graphic encyclopedia that has detailed and comprehensive information about a variety of birds
  • Learn Muscles : Anatomy Quiz & Reference – A great reference, testing and education tool. Includes 141 beautiful muscle images with name, action, origin, insertion and comments, plus audio pronunciation guide, a quiz maker, an action viewer and 6 short videos to create a rich learning experience
  • Read: Personalized Medical & Scientific Journal – ‘Read by QxMD’ provides a single place to keep up with new medical & scientific research, read outstanding topic reviews and search PubMed
  • HD Marine Life – An encyclopedia of marine life
  • Frog Dissection – A virtual frog dissection app

Social Studies

  • America’s Economy for the iPad – The America’s Economy app provides real-time updates for 16 key economic indicators released from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis
  • U.S. Geography by Discovery Education – Become an expert in U.S. Geography with this app. Dozens of videos and interactive gameplay
  • Civil War America’s Epic Struggle-Civil War: America’s Epic Struggle Features over 1,000 high-res photos, more than an hour of multimedia presentations, in excess of 100 authentic maps, dozens of first hand accounts, and numerous text articles and biographies, it provides instantaneous access to information on every aspect of the war
  • Beautiful Planet HD – Beautiful Planet is a groundbreaking app that captures the breathtaking beauty of our world and its cultures. Featuring a collection of galleries three decades in the making by travel photographer, author and explorer, Peter Guttman, Beautiful Planet spans seven continents and 160 countries
  • World Atlas HD – The best maps available from National Geographic
  • History:Maps of World – Collection of High-Resolution historical Maps
  • USA Thematic Atlas & Facts – High quality maps filled with facts and information!
  • USA Puzzle – A USA puzzle that needs to be put together. Double tap on the state for information about that state
  • Motionx GPS HD – Maps and navigation instruments. Maps from all over the world. Can include waypoints. Can be good for Geocaching
  • The History Clock – An app that converts the current time to a year and gives a fast fact about that year
  • The World Factbook for iPad – Extensive information of over 250 countries around the world
  • WORLD BOOK – This Day in History – Interactive multimedia calendar that features historical events for the day
  • The Presidency – Historical information on every President of the United States
  • Presidents HD– Historical information on every President of the United States!
  • Declaration for iPad – A copy of the Declaration of Independence
  • Constitution for iPad – A copy of the Constitution of the United States
  • MyCongress – A portal to detailed information about elected congress officials. Please note: This is not an official government resource
  • GeogXPert – A reference app – containing maps which allow you to look up countries and find country information – as well as a quiz app

Many of the applications described here come from the wiki being published by the Palm Beach Schools.

48 thoughts on “Apps for High School

  1. Hi Mr. Kaufman,

    I think our app would be a good contender for your High School Math Section. Since 2009, our company, GetYa Learn On (GYLO), has been testing “Statistics 1” for the iPhone and iPad at Abilene Christian University’s award winning mobile learning program. The app consistently receives positive reviews from students and teachers. Pilot testing showed that the app saves students time because they can study anytime and anywhere. Also, the app increased motivation and grades for many students. Our white papers have more details: http://getyalearnon.com/

    “Statistics 1″ is an e-textbook app that includes 11 lessons, quizzes and flashcards for each lesson, calculators, glossaries, and other tools a student learning Intro Stats needs. Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o8WPXxsXEE&feature=player_profilepage

    You can find our apps in the iTunes Store:
    iPad version of “Statistics 1” http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/statistics-i/id339661480?mt=8

    Thanks!

    Dr. Michael Mayrath

  2. Worth Ave Group is one of the largest insurers of personal electronic devices in the United States and has been in business since 1971. We insure many different devices including laptops, tablets, iPads, iPhones, iPods, TV’s and other electronic devices. Our policies insure against accidental damage due to spills, drops, fire, theft, flood, and other natural disasters. We work with over 2,000 schools and hundreds of private organizations and companies.
    You can find us on the web at http://www.worthavegroup.com.
    We also offer an affiliate program which allows companies to flourish together. The program is easy to set up and we are able to create links and partner pages, specific to you and your client’s needs. The end result…you have the opportunity to increase your monthly earnings by a
    The underwriter for Worth Ave. Group is Hanover Insurance Company based out of Worcester, MA. The company’s AM Best Rating is A for business size $1.25 billion to $1.5 billion.
    Thanks for your time and have a nice day.
    Cathy Pierce

  3. I just purchased a class set of IPADs for next year. I am looking for trainings/professional development for implementing them successfully in my high school ELD classroom…any thoughts/suggestions?
    Thanks!
    M

    • Hello Megan,
      I think we could help you. We have significant experience working on technology and education. I invite you to visit our website to learn more about us.
      Please let me know how can i reach you to explore your project.
      Thank you,
      David
      P. 305-677-5030 ext 2214

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  12. The high school math apps that are listed here are a joke. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division are for grades 1 through 4 and are then practiced for a couple of years while doing fractions, decimals, and percents. Also, as if the I-Pads don’t already cost enough, many of those apps are not free. Furthermore, although many textbooks can now be stored on an I-Pad there is almost no cost savings. The book publishers aren’t going to start giving discounts because some high school administrator wants to further his career by providing I-Pads to all of the students (and probably getting a handsome kickback from Apple). A high school textbook that costs $80 in a printed version will probably be around $70 in an e-version, and at the end of the book cycle instead of having a pile of used but still usable books, with e-books you will have absolutely nothing. Way to think it all through.

    • Hey there Richard, thanks for you comment. I appreciate you weighing in on this important topic. I respectfully disagree about the cost of text books. As with just about every industry you can name, digitization is causing significant upheaval and transformation. As you can see by the success of a company like Amazon, the digitization of books is just at the beginning of that transformation. You might be right that publishers of textbooks will want to charge the same – or similar prices – for the digital version as they do with their physical version – but that will only last so long. Have you ever published anything online? There are significant cost savings to the digital distribution of books. Significant! There is also the opportunity to update digital books at just about any time – without ‘reprinting them.’ And a digital textbook can combine various types of media – audio, video, animation, text, etc. The advantages of combining these things will make the user experience significantly different. And that’s really just the beginning of the story. Turn a ‘book’ into an ‘app’ and it can have ‘logic’ and ultimately artificial intelligence embedded in it – which will ultimately allow the ‘book’ to support the way the ‘readers’ brain actually works – and not force them into a linear, one size fits all, mode of receiving the information and value the author(s) want to convey.

  13. Do you know of any business education apps? I would like to get our school some iPads, do you know of any grants and if so, what do you recommend to put in the grant to have success? Thank you.

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  15. Hello! I am an aspiring High School English/Special Education teacher and I am curious how you would suggest using an iPad in both classrooms. Thanks! Zoe

    • Hi Zoe,
      You can read about my implementation of a class set of iPads here: http://tinyurl.com/ipadlit I specifically discuss apps and their impact on reading, writing, etc, as well as students’ self perception of literacy. Feel free to drop me a line if you have a question. Same goes for everyone else!
      Best,
      Jim…

  16. Hello Mr.Kaufman,

    This website is excellent- just for the record. Really brings everything worth checking out app wise to one place.

    Kind of an off topic question, but still iPad relevant…

    When considering an iPad implementation for High School students, do you- or anyone here- know of a solid approach to restricting user access? A great concern is giving students these iPad devices on a loaner basis (so off campus) but not having any means of restricting the user in terms of what content they are actually able to store on the device, or if we want them to store anything on it at all, and have it used soley as a platform.

    Concerns of explicit content arise, and being school devices, accountability would fall on the administrators. Have you heard of a concrete way to address this?

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  18. Geometry Pad for iPad and Android tablets would make a great addition to the Math section. It is an interactive application that allows students to create geometric shapes, calculate measurements, experiment with axioms and theorems. Can be also used by teachers for demonstration purposes.

    • but is this more than novelty value. I use computers every day in school but look for applications that add to the experience rather than copy a paper and pencil exercise…..stickk to laptops I think..mac or pc

  19. I am researching the use of ipads for film/photo/animation editing in schools. I cannot see what advantage the ipad gives as opposed to a laptop or desktop. I own a macbook and imac as well as an ipad so I am not talking from a position of ignorance. Any serious work I do on on the lap/desktop. One criticism is that only video/photos taken with the ipad can be used and then nothing too serious, of course if you use iphone you can use icloud but otherwise you are immediately tied in to the ipad. Other lessons I have sourced are not added to or specifically enhanced by the ipad. Be truthful apple…..your lap/desktops are great for creativity the ipad is not, which is not a criticism of the product just ‘tools for the job’.

  20. New App for iPad – SplitNote

    G’day from Australia!
    Please check out this new Utilities App for iPads – SplitNote. Written/coded by 1st year Australian Secondary School student who found using the iPad clunky to take notes. He found while he was switching from the web browser to notes that by the time he had done it, he had forgotten what he was to write. The App combines on one screen web browsing and note taking. It also has six customisable books which you can store information related to a particular subject. Some of the features include being able to email your notes, auto clear, easy copy paste function and a bibliography. Hope you also find this app useful as school students here are just starting to catch on.

  21. Here are some great middle school and High School Apps

    iPad Apps
    Bio Regents Buddy- Appstore Link Video of App
    Chem Regents Buddy- Appstore Link Video of App
    Physics Regents Buddy- Appstore Link – Video of App
    Earth Science Regents Buddy- Appstore Link – Video of App
    Environmental Science Buddy- Appstore Link – Video of App
    Human Body Buddy- Appstore Link –
    Global History Regents Buddy Appstore Link – Video of App
    US History Regents Buddy Appstore Link – Video coming soon
    Astronomy Buddy- Appstore Link Video coming soon
    Geometry Regents Buddy Appstore Link Video coming soon
    Integrated Algebra Regents Buddy Appstore Link- Video of App
    MS Life Science Buddy-Appstore Link Video of App
    MS Physical Science Buddy-Appstore Link Video of App
    Geography Buddy- Appstore Link
    HS Biology Buddy – Appstore Link
    MS Earth Science Buddy Appstore Link

    Android Apps
    Environmental Science Buddy- google play link
    Bio Regents Buddy – google play link-
    Chem Regents Buddy- google play link
    Earth Science Regents Buddy- google play link
    HS Physics Buddy- google play store link
    MS Life Science Buddy- google play store link
    MS Earth Science Buddy – google play store link
    Astronomy Buddy- google play store link

  22. I would like to introduce a newly released math game for iPad/iPhone. DynaMult is an engaging math game designed for upper elementary and middle school students who need to practice multiplication. It also incorporates multiplication of signed numbers. This is not the typical quiz show format, instead, the multiplications are an integral part of the game and are used to control a space ship.

    Please check it out at:
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dynamult/id561485938?mt=8

    Thank you

  23. YourTeacher has made their iBook textbooks for Algebra 1 and Geometry free for the rest of 2012, and Pre-Algebra is coming out later in October. This is a great opportunity to pilot textbooks on the iPad that allow you to flip the math classroom, because every example problem has a video explanation and students can try practice problems that give immediate feedback. You can download Algebra 1 at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/algebra-1/id523327390?mt=13, Geometry at: http://www.yourteacher.com/math-ibooks-textbooks.php.

  24. I teach engineering to high school students. We are getting iPads for all of our students. I already have mine. Questions: 1. Can I get Autodesk Inventor to load to the student laptops? 2. Can they use a mouse with Inventor? Finger dragging doesn’t work with Inventor. If these can’t occur, the iPads will be worthless to me and my students.

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  31. Please check out the iPad app ‘Gods of Money.’ Aimed at high school students, Gods of Money teaches how the U.S. economy works including the roles of the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the White House.

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