High School Students
¿Hablas español? With AccelaStudy you can learn Spanish, French, Italian, or one of 15 other languages, including those not traditionally offered in school such as Russian, Hebrew, and Korean. (You can even learn English if it's foreign to you.) Each edition has 2,100 words in topic areas like food, leisure, and body parts. Once you've mastered the basics, linguaphiles can practice past 101 with a more extensive, language-specific $9.99 app.
The Chemical Touch
Chemistry students need a periodic table to check periodically. The Chemical Touch is more than a static table however; it's a touch-sensitive companion that color codes the chart to show the ways elements relate beyond just their Atomic Mass. (Droid users: check out the free Periodic Droid.)
Free, iOS and Android
We consider Evernote to be almost perfect. It's the ultimate storage place for any and all notes you make and things you see in your travels on the Internet. All that saved data is easily accessible anywhere with this service. There are subscription options ($5/month or $45/year) to access notes offline, add PIN code security, or let others edit notes. (Android users: Check out EverStudent to track daily tasks that sync with Evernote.)
The days of giant scientific calculators the size of hardcover books are gone. All you need is an iOS device with this app to plot and trace equations—including more than one per graph. Pinch and zoom as needed.
There is one constant in high school besides hormones: formulas. From algebra to physics, math students must master linear equations, trigonometric ratios, circle functions, and a whole lot of other things they will totally use when they get out of school. This app provides the reference they'll need.
SAT Vocab Challenge
$4.99 per volume, iOS
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) remains the mostly widely used college admission exam in America, and studying for it can be a major challenge for any high schooler. These apps—there are two volumes from Modality Inc., plus a free starter—will drill imminent matriculants on vocabulary words sure to show up in the assessments.
Free, iOS and Android
The Bard wrote 41 plays, 154 sonnets, and some poems; all of them fit into one free app. Unlike the giant anthologies of yore, Shakespeare on a smartphone or tablet is searchable and includes annotations. You can even use the app as a passport to get into select Shakespeare events and exhibitions around the world.