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Google will lay Play for Education to rest in March
Google is shutting down its Education initiative's curated app portal. The company launched Play for Education in 2013 to give educators in the US an easy way to buy apps and books en masse and push them to their students' Android tablets. It made its way to Chromebooks a year layer and headed to the UK and Canada in 2015. Now, Google has confirmed to both CRN and TechCrunch that it will stop selling Play for Education licenses by March 14th.
Samsung's tablet for schools carries a tougher shell and extra smarts
We don't envy schools that have to go tablet shopping; many slates can't survive roughhousing by playful kids, let alone impart some wisdom. Teachers will be glad to hear, then, that Samsung has fulfilled its promise of a classroom-ready tablet by releasing the Galaxy Tab 4 Education in the US. Hardware-wise, it boils down to a Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 with a rugged case -- nothing truly special, but enough to survive a fall from a desk. The real highlight may be the software, which includes educational apps, books and videos alongside easy access to Google Play for Education. Samsung's smarter Galaxy Tab carries just a slight premium at $370, although schools will want to tack on another $30 if they want Google Play's help with their lessons.
Google's setup app makes bulk Play for Education tablet activations a breeze
Google is looking to make the task for schools looking to cash in on Google Play for Education a bit easier with a bit of mobile software. The Google Edu Device Setup app (for Android, natch) allows administrators with a proper account to activate tablets purchased through school-themed store in bulk. Once the app is downloaded from the regular Play Store and the slates are activated, age appropriate settings -- like disabling location sharing -- can be configured and when complete, only the Education Store can be accessed. As you might expect, this tool only works with Nexus tablets procured through the proper scholastic portion of Google's online shop.
