Popular Apps, Websites for Children to Help Learn – Even Enjoy– While Under Coronavirus Lockdown

The coronavirus outbreak has confined most of the world inside their homes, with schools, colleges, and offices shut in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19. As social distancing and lockdowns are being enforced everywhere, kids are finding it hard things to spend their time. While most office-going adults have the option of working from home, universities and schools have also taken steps like classes via video conference, or online learning. Apart from that, there are a lot of interactive games and apps that help school-going kids learn and grow during the coronavirus lockdowns.

We have compiled a list of applications and websites to help children learn as well as have some fun games while they are stuck at home during lockdown.

Learning apps for kids

1. UMANG App

Government of India's UMANG app offers school going kids a variety of more than 1 crore e-books, audio files, and videos on all subjects for primary and secondary school students. The UMANG app also allows students to access NCERT's E-Pathshala straight from the app, in order to catch up with their syllabus in school.

The app is available for free on Android, iOS, and Windows.

2. BYJU's

BYJU's, the popular online learning application, used by many students across the country, is also offering free access to all of its programs to students till the end of April in order to help kids catch up with studies during the lockdowns. The BYJU's app provides study material for students from first grade till 12th standard.

Students can download the BYJU's Learning App and Disney-BYJU's Early Learn both on the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store for free. Those who already have access to the free app can update the existing application to get the free access.

3. Ted Ed@Home

Ted Ed, from famous public speaking platform Ted, is a learning website that connects the learners to teachers. Now, in the light of COVID-19 outbreak, the website has launched Ted Ed@Home that provides study material to students at different levels like elementary/primary, middle school/lower secondary, high school/senior secondary, and college/university.

Ted Ed@Home can be accessed only on the Web.

4. LEAD School@Home

Mumbai-based integrated academic startup LEAD school has also launched a programme called LEAD School@Home in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The LEAD School@Home initiative allows schools to conduct live sessions to complete the syllabus.

The Lead School app is available to download on Android and iOS for free.

5. Vedantu Learn Live Online

Vedantu Learn Live Online is one of India's leading online tutoring website that covers the whole syllabus ranging from CBSE, ISCE, NTSE, Olympiads, and even IIT JEE. Vedantu is offering free online classes on its website and through its app in order to keep students safe inside their homes. The website also offers free study material, apart from the online classes. The website has given a free access to all live classes and content of Vedantu for Grades 1 to 12, JEE & NEET.

The online classes can be accessed via their website and on their app that is available for free on Android and iOS.

6. TeachNext@Home

Digital classroom solutions company TexhNext has also come up with TeachNext@Home that teaches students through audiovisual content, helping them learn about their respective subjects within the comfort of their homes amid the coronavirus lockdowns.

TechNext@Home can be accessed on laptops and even mobiles/tablets via the TeachNext@Home app available for free for Android users on Google Play Store.

Edutainment apps for kids

1. Amar Chitra Katha

ACK Media has recently given out free subscription to all the Amar Chitra Katha books and Tinkle comics to everyone in order to make quarantine a bit more fun. The company is offering its whole catalogue, consisting of hundreds of legendary titles. The free subscription can be availed by just signing up to the ACK media website.

2. National Geographic Kids

Apart from the TV Channel, the National Geographic Kids website is a great way for kids to spend time during social distancing and lockdowns. The website provides many fun and interactive games, videos and information about a kid's favourite animal, place, and even provides fun facts which will improve a kid's trivial knowledge.

3. Crash Course Kids (YouTube channel)

Crash Course Kids is an intuitive YouTube channel that posts videos about topics of science twice every week. The YouTube channel is aimed at making learning fun for kids, as the videos use fun animations to explain simple topics like gravity, food chains, engineering, etc.

3. Funbrain.com

Funbrain.com is a website that has fun brain training activities for kids of every grade-level. The brain tests include games, books, videos and more for kids ranging from pre-school till the 5th grade. The website can be accessed on a laptop or a tablet. Funbrain.com does not have an app for mobile yet.

4. Pictoword

Pictoword is a famous game that gives pictures to the player for them to make a word out of it. The game works in a more fill-in-the-blanks where the user has to select from a choice of letters to come up with a word.

Pictoword is available for both Android and iOS and is free to download.

5. Math Games - Brain Training

Math Games - Brain Training is a mathematics-related game where a player is supposed to make basic calculations. There are different kinds of game modes - a time challenge, math-based puzzles, memory games, and more. Math Games is great for kids to practice maths, while its part of a game.

The app is only available on Android and can be downloaded for free.

6. Endless Alphabet

Endless Alphabet is a smartphone game designed to help kids learn reading and alphabets. Each word features an interactive puzzle with talking letters and a short animation illustrating the definition.

The game is free to download on both Android and iOS.