schools

Six 'schools' stories May 2013 - December 2015

Chromebooks win education as Google takes over from Apple & Microsoft in classrooms

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2015 - 6:12 am PT

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Chromebooks have emerged as the clear leader in the classroom, reports CNBC, leaving former market leader Apple for dust.

Chromebooks now make up more than half of all devices in U.S. classrooms, up from less than 1 percent in 2012, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting […]

Google’s rapid gains come at the expense of its biggest rivals. Over the past three years, Apple’s market share been slashed by more than half, from 52 to 24 percent and Microsoft’s market share has slipped from 43 to 24 percent.

Chromebooks now make up 4.4M of the 8.9M devices sold to schools and school districts, with Google noting that it is seeing the dual benefit of both increased market share and overall growth in demand for computing devices in schools …
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Privacy group files FTC complaint that Google “deceptively tracks students’ Internet browsing”

Ben Lovejoy Dec 2 2015 - 4:48 am PT

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Privacy campaigners the Electronic Frontier Foundation have filed a formal complaint with the FTC, claiming that Google “deceptively tracks students’ Internet browsing.” They say that Google is in breach of the Student Privacy Pledge the search giant signed back in January. Once Google signed, the terms became legally binding on the company.

The EFF says that one issue is with Chrome Sync, a feature designed to enable users to work with the same bookmarks, logins and other data across devices. Chrome Sync is currently switched on by default on Chromebooks sold to schools, and the EFF says that Google collects this data and uses it for other purposes …
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Google releases guide to help schools integrate its technology into classrooms

Zac Hall Jan 8 2015 - 10:15 am PT

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Google today released what it calls “a guide to activating technology in schools” as part of its education efforts. Intended to assist teachers and IT administrators, Google says the new guide based on what other schools processes provides schools with the following frameworks to bring the web into the classroom.
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Google’s getting good at these inspirational ads

Ben Lovejoy May 12 2014 - 7:13 am PT

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCH9T5Nnaw]

After watching a mother’s day video shot entirely on Google Glass and designed to bring a lump to the throat of even the most hardened viewer, we noticed it followed a video posted a week or so ago celebrating the work of teachers, with some not too in-your-face plugs for Google products …
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UK teen launches Thinkspace, seeks to bring software development to high schools around the world

Mike Beasley Sep 7 2013 - 9:30 am PT

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Thinkspace, an organization created by sixteen-year-old James Anderson, seeks to “inspire the next generation of app developers” through dedicated coding zones in high schools across the globe. Anderson formally launched Thinkspace this month with campuses in Plymouth and Northern Ireland.

Anderson first came up with the idea for Thinkspace when he became disappointed with the UK educational system’s approach to computer information and related topics. Rather than attempt to change the curriculum, Anderson sought to work around it by creating “Thinkspaces” within schools.

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Google announces Google Play for Education launching this fall

Jordan Kahn May 15 2013 - 10:31 am PT

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Google today announced a new service called Google Play for Education that allows schools to easier find and distribute Google Play content to Android devices in schools.

The Google Play Education store will allow schools to search for content by subject matter and grade level and provide content that has been recommended by other educators. Google is teaming up with partners such as NASA and PBS for content but it will also begin accepting app submissions from developers this summer before the education store launches this fall.

Rather than using credit cards in an education environment, teachers will be able to purchase bulk quantities of apps and charge licenses against a balance from the school’s purchase order. The Google Play for Education service will also allow school’s that use Google Apps to instantly distribute an app to multiple devices in a school by setting up a Google Group

Google Play for Education will be launching this fall. You can learn more at https://developers.google.com/edu/.