35 of the Best Educational Apps for Teachers (Updated 2026)

The classroom has changed.

In 2026, students use iPads for much more than e-textbooks and notes. They use them to make things and to build real-world skills. The right educational apps can turn a lesson into an interactive, student-led experience that builds curiosity and confidence.

If you teach coding, art, design, or science, here’s our updated list of the 35 best educational apps for teachers in 2026. It includes the one app that turns an iPad into a game and app studio for your students: hyperPad.

1. hyperPad: Create Games and Apps on iPad (No Coding Required)

With hyperPad, students make their own games and apps on iPad.

Teachers, students, and complete beginners build interactive apps and games without writing a single line of code. Students learn to code through game design: they connect actions and events into Behaviors, a flowchart of their app’s logic.

hyperPad is available in 35 languages, so classrooms around the world can use it.

Why Educators Choose hyperPad:

• Built for Apple schools: hyperPad runs natively on iPad. Schools get 50% off through Apple School Manager, with Private Login for student accounts.

• All-in-one development studio: Students design, build with Behaviors, test instantly, and publish their creations, all from the same app.

• Budget-friendly: hyperPad Starter is free with one project. hyperPad is a one-time purchase, with no subscriptions, renewals, or recurring costs.

• Supports global classrooms: Available in 35 languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, Arabic, and more.

• Builds student creators: Students learn logic, design, and storytelling while building portfolio-ready projects.

With hyperPad, students build the kind of apps they use every day.

hyperPad fits STEM, STEAM, and digital media programs. Students turn their ideas into interactive projects on their own iPads, which makes project-based learning concrete.

2. Seesaw: The Student-Driven Digital Portfolio

Seesaw helps students document their learning through photos, videos, drawings, and notes. Teachers can give feedback easily, and parents stay connected to classroom progress.

It’s especially effective in K–8 classrooms, where reflection and creativity are central. Seesaw works well with iPad tools, so digital journaling is easy for young learners.

Best For: Digital portfolios, early education, and teacher-family communication.

3. Nearpod: Interactive Lessons That Engage Every Student

Nearpod turns lessons into interactive experiences. Teachers can embed quizzes, polls, videos, and VR explorations directly into slides. Real-time feedback shows you how well students understand, as it happens.

On iPad, Nearpod makes presentations hands-on, which suits hybrid or flipped classrooms.

Best For: Interactive lectures, remote learning, and formative assessment.

4. Edsby: The Social Network for Learning

Think of Edsby as a classroom-focused social network. Teachers can post assignments, share resources, and run discussions safely. It encourages digital citizenship and gives students a shared space to work with classmates and teachers.

Best For: Online discussions, blended learning, and digital classroom management.

5. Speechify: Read Out Loud

Speechify helps students learn by listening to the content they study.

It’s a good way for students to practice listening and comprehension, and it improves accessibility.

Best For: Communication skills, language learning, and digital storytelling.

6. Padlet: Collaborative Boards for the Modern Classroom

Padlet acts like a digital bulletin board where students can post notes, links, videos, and images in real time.

Teachers use it for brainstorming sessions, group research, or project planning. The visual layout works well on iPad, so collaboration feels natural and fun.

Best For: Group projects, brainstorming, and sharing resources.

7. Quizlet: Smarter Study Tools for Every Subject

Quizlet makes studying interactive with flashcards, quizzes, and games that adapt to each learner’s progress.

Teachers can create sets tailored to their curriculum or let students build their own.

It’s especially useful for memorization-heavy subjects like science, language, and history.

Best For: Vocabulary building, test prep, and self-paced review.

8. Kahoot!: Learning Through Play

Kahoot! turns quizzes into competitive, game-based learning. Students answer questions in real time on their iPads, which brings energy to a lesson.

Use it for review days, classroom competitions, or interactive assessments.

Best For: Game-based learning, class participation, and review sessions.

9. ClassDojo: Building Positive Classroom Culture

ClassDojo helps teachers encourage good behavior, track participation, and share progress with parents.

Students earn points for teamwork, creativity, and effort. That reinforces positive classroom habits.

Its simple interface makes classroom management on iPad quick and visual.

Best For: Behavior tracking, parent communication, and classroom motivation.

10. Google Classroom: Simplify Assignments and Feedback

Google Classroom remains one of the most widely used educational management tools.

It simplifies handing out assignments, grading work, and sharing materials. The iPad app supports annotation, comments, and integration with Google Docs, Sheets, and Drive.

Best For: Assignment management, digital workflows, and paperless classrooms.

11. Microsoft OneNote: A Flexible Digital Notebook

OneNote gives teachers and students a flexible workspace to organize notes, sketches, lesson plans, and collaborative projects.

Its Class Notebook feature allows real-time sharing and teacher feedback, which makes it a good fit for schools using Microsoft 365.

Best For: Lesson organization, collaborative projects, and cloud-based note management.

12. GoodNotes: Handwritten Notes, Organized Digitally

GoodNotes turns the iPad into a digital binder for teachers and students. Write lesson plans by hand, sketch diagrams, or annotate PDFs with precision using Apple Pencil.

Its organization tools make it easy to manage notebooks by subject or class. Cloud sync keeps your notes available wherever you are.

Best For: Lesson planning, annotation, and digital journaling.

13. Notability: Notes That Combine Handwriting, Audio, and Media

Notability lets teachers and students record lectures, write notes, and insert photos in one interactive workspace. The app’s audio-sync feature works well for capturing lessons or giving verbal feedback.

iCloud integration makes it useful for both in-person and remote learning.

Best For: Lecture recording, study notes, and hybrid classrooms.

14. Explain Everything: Interactive Whiteboard and Lesson Recorder

Explain Everything is a whiteboard app for teaching concepts visually. Teachers can draw, animate, narrate, and record entire lessons to share with students.

Use it to explain processes, model problem-solving, or create reusable instructional videos.

Best For: Video lessons, flipped classrooms, and visual instruction.

15. Book Creator: Turn Students into Authors

Book Creator helps students publish their own eBooks with text, photos, audio, and video. Teachers use it for projects, digital storytelling, and student portfolios.

It encourages literacy, creativity, and multimedia expression, all directly on iPad.

Best For: Storytelling, literacy, and student publishing.

16. Canva for Education: Design Made Simple

Canva for Education brings graphic design into the classroom with templates for posters, infographics, presentations, and videos. Teachers can collaborate with students in real time.

It brings visual communication into any subject area and gets students designing.

Best For: Visual projects, classroom branding, and creative collaboration.

17. Khan Academy Kids: Free, Engaging Early Learning

Khan Academy Kids offers a fun, gamified learning experience for young learners ages 2–8. It covers early math, reading, and social-emotional development through interactive activities and characters.

Teachers can track progress and assign custom lessons easily.

Best For: Early education, literacy, and foundational math.

18. GarageBand: Music Creation for Everyone

Apple’s GarageBand lets students compose music, create soundtracks, and explore digital audio production.

Teachers use it for sound design, podcasting, and even custom sound effects for hyperPad projects or multimedia assignments.

Best For: Music education, podcasting, and audio production.

19. Babbel: Learn Languages

Babbel is a language-learning app created by experts. Students use it to practice.

It’s a stepping stone toward stronger language skills.

Best For: Language fundamentals and programs.

20. Medly: Music for Everyone

Medly gives students a fun, simplified way to mix their own tunes and beats.

It’s beginner-friendly, so it pairs well with music classes that want to make good-quality music.

Best For: Music design, creating songs, and STEM education.

21. Wolfram Alpha: A Computational Knowledge Engine

Wolfram Alpha is a knowledge engine for advanced problem-solving. Students can enter equations, data, or concepts and get detailed explanations, visualizations, and step-by-step answers.

Teachers use it to enrich STEM lessons and encourage exploration.

Best For: Math, science, and higher-level research.

22. Procreate: Professional Art and Illustration

Procreate turns the iPad into a digital art studio for sketching, painting, and animation.

Art students can design assets for projects, create concept art, or illustrate characters for hyperPad games.

Best For: Art education, digital design, and illustration.

23. iMovie: Simple Video Editing

iMovie lets students edit videos, create trailers, and present stories visually.

It works well for multimedia projects, digital storytelling, and promotional videos for games or apps students make in hyperPad.

Best For: Media projects, storytelling, and visual communication.

24. Adobe Express: Quick and Creative Design Tools

Adobe Express makes graphic design accessible with easy templates for posters, flyers, videos, and animations.

It’s a solid alternative to Canva and works smoothly with school Google or Microsoft accounts.

Best For: Visual presentations, content creation, and marketing design.

25. LumaFusion: Professional Video Editing for iPad

LumaFusion is the go-to app for teachers and students ready for professional-level video editing.

Journalists and creators use it, and it suits multimedia courses or creative arts programs that want to push their video projects further.

Best For: Advanced media production and digital filmmaking.

26. GeoGebra: Interactive Math and Geometry

GeoGebra makes abstract math concepts tangible through interactive graphs and simulations.

Students can visualize equations and geometry in real time. That makes it a useful support tool for teachers of STEM or physics.

Best For: Geometry, algebra, and visual math instruction.

27. Desmos: Graphing and Math Exploration

Desmos is a graphing calculator app that makes math visual.

Teachers can demonstrate equations live while students experiment with variables and patterns on their iPads.

Best For: Algebra, trigonometry, and advanced math exploration.

28. Photomath: Scan, Solve, and Learn

Photomath lets students scan handwritten or printed math problems and view step-by-step solutions.

It’s ideal for independent learning and self-paced review. It works best when teachers ask students to analyze each step of the solution as well as the answer.

Best For: Homework support and independent math learning.

29. Duolingo: Fun Language Learning

Duolingo turns language learning into a game, helping students practice reading, writing, and speaking in over 40 languages.

With bite-sized lessons and progress tracking, it’s an engaging supplement for foreign language classes.

Best For: Language learning and ESL support.

30. Notion: All-in-One Workspace for Students and Teachers

Notion is a flexible tool for managing notes, tasks, projects, and databases.

Teachers use it for lesson organization, student tracking, and collaborative planning. Students use it to manage assignments and build personal productivity systems.

Best For: Organization, project management, and collaborative planning.

31. Trello: Visual Project Management

Trello uses cards and boards to organize tasks and projects.

It works well for group work, creative planning, and long-term projects like building a hyperPad app or planning classroom events.

Best For: Group collaboration and workflow organization.

32. Minecraft Education Edition: Creative Problem-Solving Through Play

Minecraft Education Edition lets students explore coding, teamwork, and creativity through immersive world-building.

Teachers use it to teach everything from architecture and history to chemistry and computer science.

Best For: Game-based learning and collaborative problem-solving.

33. Epic: Kids' Books & Reading

Epic calls itself the world’s largest digital library for kids, with 40,000+ books, audiobooks, learning videos, and more.

Kids get safe, interactive reading in multiple languages.

Best For: Reading.

34. Stop Motion Studio: Animate Stories Frame by Frame

Stop Motion Studio lets students create animated films with iPad cameras and simple editing tools.

It’s a creative way to teach storytelling, planning, and attention to detail, and it suits art or media projects.

Best For: Animation, storytelling, and media production.

35. Evernote: Capture, Organize, and Share Ideas

Evernote helps teachers and students keep everything in one place: notes, links, lesson plans, and to-do lists.

Its search and syncing features make it a useful productivity companion on iPad.

Best For: Research organization and lesson planning.

Why hyperPad Leads in 2026

Most educational apps help students consume knowledge. hyperPad helps them create with it.

hyperPad turns students who use apps into students who make them.

Students who build in hyperPad practice the work of developers, designers, and storytellers. It combines creativity and logic, so you can run project-based learning that prepares students for real opportunities in tech and design.

In 2026, hyperPad stands out because it’s:

• Multilingual (35 languages supported)

• Built for iPad classrooms

• A one-time purchase, with no subscriptions or renewals (and 50% off for schools through Apple School Manager)

• Used from grade 4 through post-secondary

• An all-in-one development environment for education

Bring hyperPad to your classroom today.

Your students can build real games and apps on the iPads you already have, and learn to code along the way.

Continue with a classroom-sized build

The game development learning path shows how to move from one mechanic to a small finished Project. Use the Behavior Interface Overview when students begin connecting events and actions. The CSTA K–12 standards can help connect the activity to computing concepts.

Download hyperPad and see what your students make.