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Schools now can purchase Android tablets outfitted with a special version of Google Play designed for teachers and students.
Starting Wednesday, Google Play for Education will be included on the Nexus 7 through the Google in Education program. Google Play for Education offers teacher-approved apps for students, educational videos, and books for those in grades K-12. Teachers can search for approved apps based on grade level and other criteria, buy them via a purchase order, and then deploy them to their students.
Each Nexus 7 tablet costs $229, plus an additional $30 for management and the Google Play for Education store. The 10-inch Asus Transformer Pad and the HP Slate 8 Pro tablet will also be available through the program sometime early next year.
Google Play for Education has been in beta testing across 50 schools for the past five months. Schools and teachers can find out more about the program by filling out a form at the Google in Education Web site. The apps that teachers deploy to their classrooms are downloaded through Google Play for Education.
Further information is available through a Google blog post.
Google also has been pushing Chromebooks for the educational market. But given the popularity of tablets, it’s a wise move for the company to expand the program to the Nexus 7 and other Android devices.
