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Google Rolls Out Tablets with Google Play for Education

Google Play for Education provides grade-specific search and shows a badge for apps vetted by teachers.
Google Play for Education provides grade-specific search and shows a badge for apps vetted by teachers.

Google is launching Google Play for Education, a package that combines Android-based tablets with management tools and software designed specifically for K-12 schools.

The package includes one of three Android-based tablets (one available now, two coming early next year) and an education-focused catalog of apps and digital resources, searchable by grade level, subject, and standard, with badges indicating they've been vetted by other educators.

"With Google Play for Education, educators can discover apps approved by teachers for teachers, as well as educational videos and a collection of classic books for their classroom," according to Google. "Teachers can search for approved apps by grade, subject and standard, including Common Core, pay using a purchase order, and deploy the content to students instantly. We've been working with top developers to bring the best educational apps to Google Play for Education, including ClassDojo, Socrative, Explain Everything, NearPod, and many more."

The Google Play for Education package also includes a deployment feature that lets teachers or administrators set up student devices simply by touching the student tablets to the administrator tablet. The video below explains how this works.


 

More than 50 schools have tested Google Play for Education in a beta program that has taken place over the last five months, with "thousands of students" participating, according to Google. One of those schools was Hillsborough Township Public School District in New Jersey, which went public with its tablet deployment in a video released by Google this morning.


 

There is currently one tablet option available for Google Play for Education (the seven-inch Google Nexus 7), with two more coming early next year — the 10-inch ASUS Transformer Pad and the eight-inch HP Slate⁸ Pro.

According to Google, tablet pricing starts at $229 for schools, with management running $30 per device. Additional details are available on Google's education site.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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