Looking to mix things up in your classroom next year? There’s an app for that! We asked TED-Ed Innovative Educators to share the apps they’d like to see every educator try in 2018. Here’s what they suggest:

Swift Playgrounds “Swift Playgrounds is an excellent app that introduces students to coding,” says Anthony Johnson.
Description: Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps. Then take on a series of challenges and step up to more advanced playgrounds designed by Apple and other leading developers.

Slack “Use Slack for grade level-wide asynchronous collaboration and to share learning and resources internally,” says Dylan Ferniany.
Description: Slack brings team communication and collaboration into one place so you can get more work done, whether you belong to a large enterprise or a small business. Check off your to-do list and move your projects forward by bringing the right people, conversations, tools, and information you need together. Slack is available on any device, so you can find and access your team and your work, whether you’re at your desk or on the go.

Do Ink “Green screen and technology app Do Ink is an excellent way to express and explore different themes from the curriculum through interactive technology; for example, traveling through outer space,” says Naoimh Riordan.
Description: Green Screen by Do Ink makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos and photos. Classroom-tested by kids and teachers, this app emphasizes ease-of-use and simplicity while still enabling fantastic results. With Green Screen by Do Ink, you can tell a story, explain an idea, and express yourself in truly creative and unique ways.

GooseChase “Have students show what they know in the form of scavenger hunt by using the GooseChase app. Students can be split into three teams and submit photos of videos to exhibit their knowledge,” says Rita Kitchen.
Description: GooseChase Adventures has combined the tried and true scavenger hunt with smartphone technology to create one of the most exciting activities out there. More than just a standalone app, the GooseChase platform lets you create and facilitate a customized scavenger hunt in minutes.

Evernote “Evernote is my go-to suggested app for people who like to take notes and organize them in a certain way,” says Nicholas Provenzano.
Description: Let Evernote change the way you organize your personal and professional projects. Dive in: take notes, create to-do lists, and save things you find online into Evernote. We’ll sync everything between your phone, tablet, and computer automatically.

Rory’s Story Cubes “The Story Cubes app is a great way to encourage students to think creatively and generate story ideas. I use Story Cubes to develop interesting story ideas for my role playing games, to jumpstart my own storytelling process, and as a resource for my Game Lab class,” says Timothy Couillard.
Description: 9 cubes, 54 images, over 10 million combinations and infinite stories. Shake to roll the cubes. Create a story using all 9 face-up images.

Feeling inspired? Check out 25 more apps recommended by teachers here. For more innovative education tips and tools, sign up for the TED-Ed weekly newsletter here >>

Tags: Apps, Education, Technology