Friday, 22 November 2013
NOW EDUCATION ON ANDROID
Google Play for Education has officially launched. It’s an extension of Google Play that’s designed for schools, simplifying discovery of educational apps and enabling developers and content providers to reach K-12 educators in the U.S. It offers bulk purchasing with purchase orders and instant distribution of educational apps, videos and other educational content to students' Android tablets via the cloud. Google Play for Education helps your apps gain visibility with the right audiences, without having to knock on school doors.
If you've built an Android app that would be awesome for schools—or even have an idea for one—now's the time to jump in. We'll put you one click away from getting purchased and installed by entire school districts. Class Dojo, Explain Everything,Nearpod, and Socrative are already getting discovered in Google Play for Education.
How to join Google Play for Education
If you already have an educational Android app you can use the Google Play Developer Console to mark your apps for inclusion in Google Play for Education. Marking your app identifies it as suitable for the US K-12 educational market and queues it for educator approval. These educators perform a first-pass qualification of apps, assigning the appropriate subject, grade, and common core standards metadata, while evaluating if the app meets the Google Play for Education criteria for classroom use.
Designing great apps for classrooms
High quality apps are top priority for teachers. Whether you already have an existing K-12 educational app or are looking to build one, take a look at our detailed requirements and guidelines—which we have compiled for you based on educator feedback—to ensure your app is appropriate for a K-12 environment. Also ensure that your app is optimized for both 7” and 10” Android tablets. Then, upload your new or updated app through the Developer Console, opt in to Google Play for Education, and publish. We will email you when your app has been evaluated.
For more information, please visit the Google Play for Education pages on the Android developer site. We are excited to be supporting schools to bring the best content and tools to their students. We look forward to seeing your app on Google Play for Education.
GOOGLE MODIFIES GOOGLE PLAY FOR TABLET
In conjunction with the change noted, if an app has not met the “Designed for tablets” criteria that Google has established, the app will be marked as “Designed for phones” if a user is browsing the store from their tablet device.
Google is encouraging developers to take advantage of their tablet optimization tips in the Developer Console. If any issues are listed, they have to be addressed before a developer can get the “Desigend for tablets” designation.
As is usual, it appears the change is rolling out in phases, so it may take a couple days before it shows up on your device.
Chromecast app gets a redesign
There's not much reason to open the Chromecast app once everything's set up, but that doesn't mean Google's still not paying attention to it. the Chromecast app got itself a bit of a redesign tonight, adding the pull-out drawer that all good apps should have.
A link to Chromecast-compatible apps is tucked away in that drawer, and the settings menu has been moved there as well.
You get a couple new things when looking at individual Chromecasts, too. The time-zone selector now shows the time relative to GMT, and you can now see the Chromecast MAC address, should you need to do some network troubleshooting.
All in all, a nice little answer to those who have worried that Google had forgotten about the high-def dongle.
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