Google’s education initiatives to bring Google Play for teachers and students [VIDEO]
Perhaps one of the more unappreciated parts of the Google IO press conference was Google’s education initiative. El Goog is building a Play Store specially for teachers and students, giving those in the education field an avenue to find apps, games and content that will help in the ever-important process of educating the world’s youth. There were some interesting things presented here.
For starters, the Play Store will be just like the Play Store we know and love, except content will be split up by age/grade level and subject. You can find all the best apps for math or science, for instance, depending on what your curriculum requires. All of the apps were specially suggested by other teachers, so educators know they’re choosing from a quality list of tools that will help aide them in teaching children.
Another great feature includes the ability for teachers to remotely send apps and games to students’ devices. This is a key feature that would be ideal for those moments when you assign a student homework that requires an app or if you just want them to have a helpful resource they can refer to. And if it’s a paid app or resource, teachers can purchase them using a school-controlled account of funds.
Education is always a big topic of discussion when it comes to budding technology. How early do we get kids interested in technology? And how can we use said technology to improve their learning experiences? Knowing first hand how important having access to contemporary technology was throughout my early years I fully support this initiative and can’t wait to see how big devices can be come in classroom settings.
The service won’t be launching until August, but Google will start accepting applications from schools and educators this June. They’re already inviting developers to create great education apps. Be sure to bring this up at your next PTA meeting and let your administration know that technology belongs in your children’s hands right now!