18 educational apps that put the ‘smart’ into smartphone

Let’s face it, we all want to be seen as smart and intelligent people but sometimes we knowledge we learnt at school or university tends to be lost as we move away from education into working lives. For those wanting to brush up on old knowledge or learning something new, we’ve created a list of educational apps designed to help everyone improve their knowledge on a wide number of topics. Whether you’re in school, university, working professionally or happily retired, you’ll definitely find something here to benefit from.

TED mobile (iPhone and Android)

Cost: Free
The influential and inspiring video site gets its own app so you can now see inspirational talks and discussions from around the world while you’re on the go.

Evernote (iPhone, Android and Blackberry)

Cost: Free
The virtual note taker and archival tool is also available for smartphone. Take notes, images, screenshots and recordings and Evernote will save and index it for quick retrieval later on. This allows you to take notes or document your ideas away from your computer so you can access them later on.

Flashcards Deluxe (iPhone) & Flash Card Maker Pro (Android)

Cost $3.99 (Flashcards Deluxe) & $4.95 (Flash Card Maker Pro)

There are many apps that allow you to use flashcards on your phone but these are two of the most diverse examples you’ll find. Among the many features each app has, you can download over four million flashcard sets as well as text to speech capability, making learning multisensory instead of just words on a screen.

WolframAlpha (iPhone and Android)

Cost: Free
Another web to app transition, for those not aware of it, WolframAlpha is a search engine with a difference. Allowing you to search for answers to questions, the app gives you access to straightforward answers, charts graphs for a number of topics which include mathematics, history, sociology, finance and geography among many others.

Graphing calculator (iPhone) and Algeo Graphing Calculator (Android)

Cost: $1.99 (iPhone) and Free (Android)
Most graphing calculators can range in the €80 price demographic but if you’re a iPhone user, then all you need to spend is €1.99. This app has all the features you would normally associate with a graphing calculator except it allows you to take screenshots and email graphs, zoom and scroll through your graphs and display them on a TV or projector. Android users can use Algeo Graphing calculator, while not as slick as its iPhone counterpart, can be gotten for free.

Grammar up (iPhone and iPad)

Cost: €4.99
An interactive iPad app which provides over 1,800 questions; it covers over 20 different grammar categories such as adjectives, prepositions and conjunctions among others. How vigorously you test yourself is up to you but each test gives you a summary of your results and progress is noted as soon as you start.

Human anatomy (iPhone)

Cost:€1.59
For those who like to learn the names of various body parts, organs and other terminologies related to the human body. There are full and detailed descriptions of each part and gives you the option of completing tests to see how far your knowledge has progressed.

Math Ref (iPhone)

Cost: Free or $1 for full version
Giving you access to over 1,400 (600 in the free version) formulas figures, tips and examples in areas such as Algebra, Trigonometry, Physics and Algorithms among many others.

Blackboard Mobile Learn (all smartphones)

Cost: Free
Blackboard has become the online portal of choice for the majority of universities and their courses. Downloading this app will gain you access to all the features you would normally find through the site such as course information, lecture notes and assignments. This app only works for Blackboard versions that are 8.0 or later.

Sixty Four (Android)

Cost: Free
Learn grade 1 & 2 Braille cells used by the blind to read and write. You can study the cells in a list or construct them yourself in tests.

Nook (Android)

Cost: Free
Basically a kindle for Andriod, users can purchase any book available from the Barnes & Noble bookshop which amount to over two million. The app allows you to sample any book available for the app for free or try any magazine subscription for the National Geographic and the Economist for free for fourteen days.

Google Sky map (Android)

Cost: Free (in beta)
Point your phone at the sky and Google Sky Map will show you all the stars, constellations and planets that are in its view. You can also browse the skies in manual mode and search to find a specific planet or star.

QBox (iPhone and iPad)

Cost: Free
This quiz tests you on over 1,500 different quotes of wisdom spanning over three different eras such as the Middle ages and Modern times.

Vocabology (iPhone)

Cost: Free
A simple app that helps you improve your vocabulary by giving you a word of the day every day. The words can be in six different languages and can test you on them to help the learning process.

The Elements: A visual exploration (iPhone and iPad)

Cost: €10.99
The app version of the best-selling hard cover edition of the same name, this app allows you to look up every element known to man, and view facts and figures including its current market price and density. With over 500 different objects to look at, all 3D and rotatable, it is an incredibly detailed piece of software that will occupy you for hours. if the price puts you off you can download iElements for free, which gives a simple periodic table of the elements.

Stanza (iPhone and iPad)

Cost: Free
Similar to Nook except there are over 50,000 contemporary titles to purchase and a additional 50,000 classics available from Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks and other sources for free. You can also transfer documents from your Mac or PC onto Stanza if you wish.

Dictionary.com (all smartphone devices)

Cost: Free
And last but certainly not least, the most popular online dictionary also has a free downloadable app with nearly a million words and definitions and 90,000 synonyms and antonyms to search for. Explainng any more about this app would only come across as patronising.
Are there any other apps that should be in this list?