Starting to feel the irresistible laziness of summer creeping onto you? Get up from your couch and learn something new with these five free apps!

1. Khan Academy: Lessons for All

From Pre-K to AP courses and beyond, Khan Academy has you covered with more than 8,000 video lessons. Using a combination of videos, visuals, texts, and practice questions, it provides core subjects like math, science, etc as well as standardized test prep like SAT. Most importantly, everything on Khan Academy is 100% free!

2. Learning a New Language? Do it with Duolingo

Have you ever wanted to learn a new language or improve on one, but didn’t know where to start? Duolingo is a fun and almost addictive language learning app, providing bite-sized lessons that include reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Ranging from Spanish to Hawaiian, you get to explore 22 different languages taught in English. Though there is a Duolingo Plus subscription plan, the free version allows you to access almost all the functions too!

“Duolingo is the perfect way for me to study Chinese everyday. I love competing against my friends. I’m currently on a 338 day streak and it feels amazing to know that I’ve stuck with something for so long.” says Mrs. Jaime Weiler (English Teacher at Keystone Academy)

3. edX and Coursera: College Courses at Home

Who wouldn’t want a taste from a top university class? edX and Coursera are similar software that provides courses from top institutions across the world, with topics ranging from “The Science of Happiness” to “Introduction to Biology – The Secret of Life” and even to “Hollywood: History, Industry, Art”. Payment is required if you would like to receive a certificate after taking the final exam, but you can still access each course without any payment by auditing

“The psychology course that is taught by a Yale professor gave me new insights into the topic!” says Cathy Kang (15 years-old student at Keystone Academy)

4. Make Math Magical with AoPS

Math can actually be fun! Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is an interactive STEM learning software, where the Alcumus game, For The Win! challenge, video library, and community forums are completely free. Alcumus is a progressively harder math problem-solving game with detailed step-by-step solutions and recommended explanation videos!

“The alcumus program is a great choice for any self motivated students to find practices suited for their own skill level.” says Eva Jiang (14 years-old student at Keystone Academy)

5. Can-do Coding with code.org

Imagine being able to create your own app or website! This can be easily achieved by joining code.org and exploring its catalog full of coding challenges. You will learn to build your own app, use JavaScript to design the visuals, and program animations! There are also many recommended third-party courses like web-page programming etc. Again, code.org is fully free!

Images: Sissi Ma, Pexels

This week’s app is based on the Kratts brothers, Chris and Martin’s television show series, Wild Kratts about wildlife on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States of America. The TV show combines adventure, science and mystery in a simple fun stories to teach kids loads about wild animals. The app keeps the same format as the TV show and is appropriate for kids from preschool to early elementary.

Features
This app is science-focused that features three different animal species; Orangutan, Pileated woodpecker and bottle-nose dolphin. The caricatures of the Kratt brothers dress up as each of the animals and compete in the challenges within the animal’s habitat.

The higher the levels unlocked in the challenges make available new stickers the stickers books and new animal facts. The app has over 30 levels to unlock so be prepared for your child to learn new things after each level. The app allows children to take photos of themselves in each animal costume.

Each category has the read aloud option that is useful for beginning readers. The overall graphics are detailed and colorful which will hold the child’s interest.

Drawback
Some of the challenges with require parents to help out with setting up of games for the kids to play.

Ages: 4-8
Category: Education
Content: Games
Platform: iPad, iPod and iPhone only
Language: English
Price: USD 2.99

Photos courtesy of appannie.com

A new year might mean new beginnings but it is also time to take a look back at what made last year so special. The launch of the kids app store made is easier to track what apps made the Editors Choice 2013 in the iTunes store. The only drawback is that this applies to the iOS system but some of the apps can be found in the Andriod stores and Amazon. Despite the top 10 stressing one constant factor of fun activities, there are educational and learning apps on this list that are not game focused. Here is your list:

Duolingo by Duolingo
Apple app store says Learn a new language on the go through engaging mini-games that test your reading, writing, and speaking skills. With Duolingo, you can challenge yourself to achieve new high scores or compete against friends to earn badges that keep you motivated. Easily track your progress across devices and share your accomplishments as you master up to nine languages and 50 games—all available for free.

iTunes, Google Play, Amazon (free)

Endless Alphabet by Originator Inc
Amazon says: Kids will have a blast learning their ABC’s and building vocabulary with the adorable monsters in Endless Alphabet. Each word features an interactive puzzle with talking letters and a short animation illustrating the definition. Before you know it, your child will be using words like gargantuan and cooperate!

iTunes: USD 5.99 and Google Play: Free

Friendstrips Kids Pro by PhotoinPress
The iMums.com says: Friendstrip Kids Pro is a universal app that allows your child to star in their own comic strips. The app includes sixteen different themes, each with a selection of comic strips, they are all included in the app. There is also a free version of the app available with an IAP to unlock all the themes. The app includes an option to share photos or comic strip via Facebook or email, this is child locked with password protection.

iTunes: USD 1.99 (all collections) and Google Play: USD 1.99

Toca Hair Salon-Me by Toca Boda AB
This app has various version available but the one talked about is the Toca Hair Salon Me. iTunes says Become the star of the famous Toca Hair Salon in this endearing outing from the kid-friendly developers at Toca Boca. Just take a picture of yourself, and you can become a character with the ability to add and style new hairdos. As you grow, color, trim, and accessorize your new look, you can let your imagination and creativity take over. It’s a captivating experience for all ages.

iTunes: USD 2.99

The Human Body by TinyBop
Apple app store says: Learning anatomy has never been easier thanks to this fun, kid-friendly alternative to classrooms and textbooks. By tapping on interactive layers of the human body, users young and old can see various parts and systems in action: lungs breathe, muscles bend, ears listen, and nerves respond to a pinprick. Plus, simple one-touch recording lets children leave questions for an adult to answer later, encouraging discussion of the many processes they’ve observed in this amazing, informative app.

iTunes: USD 2.99

Dora Appisode: Perrito’s Big Surprise by Nickelodeon Group
App description: Now your child can play along with Dora and friends in one of their favorite Dora episodes, Perrito’s Big Surprise! This new interactive appisode allows your child to lead Dora, Boots and Dora’s puppy Perrito through their adventure. Find stars along the way for added fun and rewards. Dora and Boots have a big surprise for Perrito on Surprise Hill and it’s up to your child to get them there before Swiper! Your child will help choose which way to go, pet and feed Perrito, and flap Yoyo’s wings.

iTunes: USD 3.99

Sago Mini Doodlecast by Sago Sago
App description: Sago Mini Doodlecast is a unique drawing app that records your voice as you draw. Capture every stroke, word and giggle. Perfect for children ages 2-6. Play back your drawings and share them with friends and family. Sago Mini Doodlecast comes with more than 30 drawing prompts – simple questions designed to inspire your child’s imagination.

iTunes: free

Color Zen Kids by Large Animals Games
Amazon says: Color Zen is a new kind of puzzle game for phones and tablets. One that invites you to put on your headphones, relax, and find your way through an abstract world of colors and shapes. There is no score. No penalties for failure. Just a simple set of rules, intuitive controls, and satisfying puzzles.

iTunes: USD 2.99, Amazon (free) and Google Play (free)

Disney Animated by Disney and Touch (Apple’s iPad App of the Year 2013)
iTunes app store says: We’re absolutely spellbound by this all-star collaboration between Disney and acclaimed app developer Touch Press. From 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to today’s animated hits, this unique retrospective presents the studio’s 90-year history with interactive character models and storyboards, insights into animation techniques, and a mind-blowing spectrogram that visualizes every cel of all 53 feature films.

iTunes: USD 9.99 and iPad only

Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow
iTunes says: Nosy Crow’s spin on the beloved fairy tale is sure to win the hearts of yet another generation with delightfully fresh characters and marvelous, detailed illustrations. Because the storyline itself changes with the decisions and paths you choose, rediscovering this classic tale in a new way with your kids (or on your own) is a great pleasure. It is one of the best apps of 2013.

iTunes app store: USD 5.99

Photos courtesy of appannie.com

We’ve done our fair share of covering iPads and apps for kids on this site, and for good reason – there are now literally tens of thousands of titles aimed at young children and their insatiable appetites for playing games on smart devices.

As any parent with an iPad can attest the explosive growth of the this industry should come as no surprise – after all, what more justifiable way to keep your restless kids absorbed and entertained than with a touchscreen tablet filled with "educational" games? (And yes, I’m using the term "educational" loosely here).

So now that kids and apps have become as integral a part of modern childhood as TV was for generations past (and present, in many families), it’s also not surprising to see an article like Hanna Rosin’s piece in latest issue of The Atlantic ("The Touch Screen Generation," April 2013). It’s a long one, but very much worth reading. Among the insights:

"… Technological competence and sophistication have not, for parents, translated into comfort and ease. They have merely created yet another sphere that parents feel they have to navigate in exactly the right way. On the one hand, parents want their children to swim expertly in the digital stream that they will have to navigate all their lives; on the other hand, they fear that too much digital media, too early, will sink them. Parents end up treating tablets like precision surgical instruments, gadgets that might perform miracles for their child’s IQ and help him win some nifty robotics competition—but only if they are used just so. Otherwise, their child could end up one of those sad, pale creatures who can’t make eye contact and has an avatar for a girlfriend."

To date, no body of research has definitively proved that the iPad will make your preschooler smarter or teach her to speak Chinese, or alternatively that it will rust her neural circuitry—the device has been out for only three years, not much more than the time it takes some academics to find funding and gather research subjects. So what’s a parent to do?

Despite these common misgivings, Rosin goes on to explain how in spite of the perceived intellectual passivity of electronic media consumption, the "cognitive interactivity" of many educational apps and even certain TV shows (i.e. " Blue’s Clues") can still be construed as "educational" for children – in other words, there’s more to that zombie-like expression your kids get when they’re absorbed in an app (or watching an educational TVshow, for that matter) than meets the eye. Research indicates that in many instances, kids are, in fact, learning from these programs and apps. But questions still remain as to how and why such learning is taking place.

I’ll be the first to admit that, for better or worse, I am as hooked on smart devices as they come – and no parent would wish a full-blown addiction on their children. But, as Rosin points out, I, too, want my children to "swim expertly in the digital stream that they will navigate for the rest of their lives" and if anything, I wish my daughter could actually use and learn from our iPad more.

To explain: Following doctor’s orders we strictly restricted my daughter’s iPad use after she was prescribed corrective lenses for her congenital far-sightedness. It seems that high resolution screens, especially ones with Apple’s much-touted Retina Display, is very bad for young eyes and we were warned against letting her watch TV or use iPads (Rosin’s article interestingly does not even touch on this issue).

This makes perfect sense and we have followed suit, but I can’t help but feel like she’s missing out on some fantastic learning experiences from truly well designed educational apps. Experience tells me that there are indeed a lot of great apps for kids out there and we have used some with our daughter in the past. Of course books and paper shouldn’t be discounted and we continue reading stories and drawing pictures with our daughter the old fashioned way, but the technogeek in me makes me yearn for the opportunity to have my daughter experience and learn from more apps and yes, even some TV shows (the quality ones like Leap Frog and Blues Clues, that is).

Hopefully my daughter’s eyesight will improve over time and we won’t need to be so cautious about her screen time (even now, we do allow her a few minutes here and there) – I’m sure there will be a day when she will be able to swipe away as much as all the other kids. In these regards I fully agree with Rosin’s conclusion: We do indeed live in a screen age and iPads and tablets are here to stay, it’s really up to us adults to determine our own comfort zones when it comes to managing our kids and smart devices – how our kids work it into their own lives is ultimately best left up to them.