5 of the Best Educational Apps for Teens

A well-chosen app can boost your teen's learning or help her with a specific challenge. Here are eight new and recently updated apps for tweens and teens with learning and attention issues. Keep in mind that new apps are often released for iOS first, but they may become available for Android at a later date. You can use Tech Finder to find more age-specific apps.

1) Squeebles by KeyStageFun: A Spelling and Math App for Kids of All Ages

Squeebles is a fun, interactive way for your children to learn and practice their multiplication tables and improve their basic math skills.

The app features seven different game modes and a training area that teaches as well as tests, along with a reward system that appeals to children where they rescue Squeebles characters from the nasty Math Monster and earn turns on a fun mini game. A parent / teacher area lets you stay in touch with your children's progress and customize their learning experience.

2) SpellingCity and VocabularySpellingCity by Vkids

SpellingCity and VocabularySpellingCity are research-proven tools that helps teachers and parents meet the challenge of providing meaningful, intentional, and extended vocabulary practice for students while improving fluency and retention.

These apps are worthy of mention in this list because they can really be customized to provide an entire spelling and vocabulary curriculum for your teen. You can also download lists in many different categories based upon subjects and student’s grade level.

3) A Suite of Geography Apps for Kids: Presidents vs. Aliens, Stack the States, and Stack the Countries by Freecloud Design

This is by far the best educational suite of apps for teaching geography and facts about the U.S. Presidents.

Presidents vs. Aliens makes learning about the presidents fun! As you learn presidential facts, quotes, nicknames and historical events, you can use your knowledge to help the presidents defeat the aliens. Fling the presidents at the aliens to knock them all down. Use the many special objects and "Executive Powers" to increase the fun!

Stack the States teaches the shape of states, bordering states, capitals, nicknames, landmarks, cities, and flags. Stack the Countries teaches capital cities, continents, languages, border countries, notable cities, landmarks, flags, and country shapes.

4) An Interactive Encyclopedia for Children: BrainPOP

Make BrainPOP part of your day in the classroom, at home, or on the go! The free BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week app delivers a different animated movie every week - plus related quizzes and educational activities - right to your mobile device! If you’ve already got a BrainPOP Jr. username and password, you can log in and access all BrainPOP Jr. content directly from the app at no additional cost.

5) Khan Academy: You Can Learn Anything by Khan Academy

For teens who want to learn about almost any academic subject via a lecture format, students use Khan Academy at home to reinforce what they’re learning in school. It is most appropriate for high school students and adults, and some subjects may be inappropriate for children.

Khan Academy seems to have just the right amount of both “treats” (in the form of badges and other little incentives for learning), and social connectivity (it doesn’t overly encourage this via Facebook, but there is a community there to help when you need it).