The Chairman's Bao

I honestly believe that, beyond second year, possibly even beyond first year (depending on the program), one could use this app as the central curriculum. The Chairman's Bao is a collection of real news stories gleaned from Chinese sources and then edited to match specific HSK levels from 1 to 6+ (In case you don't know, 'HSK' stands for Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, literally 'Chinese Level Test,' and is China's equivalent to the TESOL. How wonderful is that? Talk about doing culture and language simultaneously. From the serious to the unbelievably wild and wacky, a zillion aspects of life and society in modern China are revealed through these articles, tailored specifically to the student's levels. On mobile, touching any word brings up its definition with audio, and each article features a list of keywords and usage points. The paid subscription version allows you to assemble your own word lists from articles you've read and will test you on them using an 'intelligent flashcard system.'

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The basic app is free. Download it and try it out. You won't have access to all the articles without a subscription, but you can still sample. For serious educational purposes, the very reasonable subscription price is well worth it. They also have available site licenses for schools.