Posted by Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist, Google for Education

As giddy students in the US are beginning to enjoy their summer break, we're feeling nostalgic looking back on the school year and are equally inspired by all the teachers we've had the chance to work with.

For example, the educators at Fairfield County Schools -- a rural district in South Carolina -- are committed to helping each and every student achieve success in academics and dedicated to helping them pursue their personal passions. The IT team may be small, but their achievements are not. And while the district is using Google for Education tools, it’s really the teachers there that make the difference.

It's because of inspiring educators, like those at Fairfield, that we work closely with teachers to build new tools made just for the classroom — to enable them to spend more time teaching & less "tech-ing". And we’re now expanding the availability of these tools, giving even more teachers new ways to engage students when school starts in the Fall.

One destination to find the right content for students
To make it easier for teachers to find content that inspires their students, we announced last week that we expanded Google Play for Education — creating a single destination for US K12 schools to find and distribute educational content — whether students are using Chromebooks, tablets, or both. Schools that use Chromebooks can start using the site for flexible book rentals, to distribute a selection of free Chrome apps and to share YouTube EDU videos. Administrators for Chromebooks can enable Google Play for Education today by visiting google.com/edu/play. If you do this by July 15 you’ll get a $20 credit for your school to use for book rentals. Learn more.

New tools to enhance Google Apps for Education
Last month we announced Classroom, a new tool coming to Google Apps for Education. We designed Classroom side-by-side with teachers to help them better engage their students and make time-consuming tasks like managing assignments easier. Classroom is currently in an invite-only preview but we are working to make it available to all Google Apps for Education schools in August. In the meantime, teachers can view the demonstration video. Administrators will also gain a new tool that saves them time: Google Apps School Directory Sync. It allows a school to export data from their student information system and quickly sync it to their Google Apps for Education domain. With this tool, it’s easy to create users, organizational units, and Google Groups, and also to keep everything in sync. Learn more.

More value and flexibility from tablets
Based on feedback from schools, we’ve made a few changes to help schools gain more flexibility to meet classroom and student needs with tablets. Schools told us they want students to be able to share devices so we’ve made some changes and now our tablets can be shared with up to 5 students. We’ve also taken the first steps to make tablets compatible with standardized testing for the 2014-2015 school year, releasing a single-task-mode tool for developers so they can design apps that restrict the device for assessments only. Partners like Pearson (a PARCC assessment provider) have already started implementing this functionality with their on-line assessment delivery system, TestNav. Learn more.

Connect with other teachers
Educators at the ISTE conference can visit booth #2414 to demo Google for Education and see over 50 presentations in our teaching theater. If you are not at ISTE, follow along online by searching #googleedu. We’re asking educators to share tips each day to surface great ideas for when school starts.

Posted by Pratip Banerji, Product Manager, Google Play for Education

Whenever I visit schools and talk to teachers, I’m reminded of the innovation that happens every day in the classroom. The English teacher who knows just the book to send a curious student’s mind racing, or the Physics teacher who shows how force and acceleration factored into the goal that tied the US vs. Portugal World Cup game.

Google for Education aims to make technology easy for students to use, simple for schools to manage, and affordable. But these tools don’t make a difference without the teachers who bring them to life. That’s why, in the last year, we worked closely with teachers to build tools that save time and provide flexibility -- tools like Google Play for Education.

Google Play for Education helps teachers find and share exactly the right educational content -- giving them the freedom to adapt their approach based on students’ current needs and interests. Google Play for Education started with tablets, but teachers told us they wanted to use it to find apps, books, and videos for Chromebooks too. So today we’re expanding Google Play for Education to US K-12 Chromebook schools.

The landing page for Google Play for Education helps schools find the perfect content for their students across Android apps, Chrome apps, books and videos.

Chromebook teachers can use Google Play for Education to:

• Share Chrome apps instantly, with the whole class or with individual students -- starting with favorites like GeoGebra, TechSmith SnagIt and CK-12. Soon we’re adding brand new apps from partners like Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Discovery Education and Scholastic.
• Adapt classroom reading to students’ current interests as they choose from thousands of K-12 books, from the latest non-fiction to free classics like Huckleberry Finn and Jane Eyre.
• Create custom YouTube playlists for students using videos from educator-approved channels.

As a result, districts like Council Bluffs in Iowa are trying new things. David Fringer, the Director of IT for the district, has seen a change in the way teachers are approaching classroom reading:

"With Google Play for Education, we're no longer limited by the number of hard copies of books available. It's easy for teachers to find appropriate reading, then assign it to individual students or the whole class. As a result, we’re saving time and money as we make the transition to digital."

Two students in Fresno, CA, work together on a Chromebook. When they head back to school next year, their teachers will be able to send them apps through Google Play for Education.

If you’re a domain administrator managing Chromebooks, visit play.google.com/edu to turn on Google Play for Education. Enable by July 15 and we’ll send you a $20 credit for your school to use on paid books and other content purchases. If you’re an education developer for Chrome or Android interested in participating in Google Play for Education, learn how to get your app included.

If you’re coming to the ISTE conference this weekend, check out the sessions in our teaching theater at booth 2414, which include more information on the expansion of Google Play for Education. Stay tuned for more information next week on this blog, at ISTE, and by following #googleedu.

Posted by Emily Bernier, Software Engineer, Google Play for Education

While most schools eventually want to get to 1:1, it’s not always practical to start with a dedicated tablet for every student. Asking students to share a single account isn’t advisable either -- too often the result is one-size-fits-all technology with more than a few management headaches.

That’s why we’re adding support for multiple accounts to tablets with Google Play for Education, making it possible for schools to provide personalized learning for up to five students on the same shared device.
With multiple accounts, schools can test out tablets at a meaningful scale before buying hardware for every student. Here’s how it works:

• “Bump” tablets together as usual to get them set up -- you now have the option to specify the number of students who’ll be sharing each tablet (up to 5).
• Students complete setup by signing into one of the the tablets you’ve configured, then setting a pin code for individual access.
• From then on, each student can pick up their assigned tablet, select their account, and enter their pin to get back to all their stuff.

When each student has their own account it’s easy for them to collaborate on class projects using Docs, Drive, and other Google Apps. And teachers can use Google Play for Education to instantly send students the apps, books, and videos that match their academic needs and speak to their unique interests.

It's easy for your school to scale to 1:1 when you're ready -- just set up any new tablets with the student accounts you’ve already been using. The apps teachers have already assigned to each student will download automatically.

You can read more about multiple accounts in the Google Play for Education Help Center or contact our sales team to learn about a starting trial at your school.

Posted by Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist, Google

This week the Google for Education team will be at SXSWEdu. This event brings together educators, innovators, startups, content providers, large companies and hackers, all focused on the same mission: providing the best learning experiences for students.

As our team talks to educators and developers alike, we keep hearing the same thing — people want better ways to connect with each other and discover the best tools. Developers need feedback to make great apps, manufacturers want to understand what Administrators need from devices, and teachers need easy ways to find the right content.

Today, in collaboration with many partners, the Google for Education team is announcing new tools that will help bring the best of edtech to schools.

Providing even more affordable device choices to schools
When it comes to technology deployments in education, affordability and manageability can make the difference between leveling the playing field or widening the gap. We’re pleased to see that Oakland Unified School District has chosen the Dell Chromebook 11 to bring 8,000 laptops to its 3rd through 12th grade classrooms, helping provide equitable access to information to all of their students.

Today we’re also adding more choice for schools looking at Chromebooks. Samsung announced the new Samsung Chromebook 2 Series, with more than 8 hours of battery life, more memory, a faster processor and a more durable design. There are two models that will be available for both schools and consumers in April:

• 11” Samsung Chromebook 2 in Classic White or Jet Black, for $319.99.
• 13” Chromebook with a full HD resolution screen with 250-nit brightness and high-quality audio for a superb Google+ Hangouts experience. This device will come in Luminous Titan Gray for $399.99.

The Samsung Chromebook 2 series adds to the already deep line up of Chromebooks for Education, including new Lenovo Yoga and Thinkpad Chromebooks, Toshiba Chromebook and Dell Chromebook 11.

Making it easier to find the best content for students

Tablets with Google Play for Education help K-12 schools put the right apps, books, and educational videos in the hands of students. Today we're introducing multiple improvements that make it easier than ever to incorporate the right digital content into the classroom:

• Access thousands of K-12 books - Starting today, K-12 books are available to all schools using Google Play for Education. With a broad catalog ranging from classic literature to recent textbooks, it’s easy for teachers to get the right reading to each student. James Eichmiller, Director of Instructional Technology at Forest Park School District 91 in Illinois, helped test the program and appreciated the flexibility:

"The books in Google Play for Education have been an outstanding classroom resource for us. Instead of buying a set of books and being locked into using them for years to come, our teachers enjoy having the freedom to select books that fit the needs of their current students and share them immediately. This differentiated approach is essential as schools adopt the Common Core and work to improve student reading abilities."

• Find the best app for the job - It’s easier than ever for teachers to find the right content for their lessons. Reviews from Google Play give a quick view into pros and cons, and new app details show the grades, subjects, and common core standards an app supports.
• Reassign apps as needed - When students transfer or change grades, schools shouldn’t lose the investments they’ve made in great apps. That’s why we’re adding the ability to reassign licenses for the educator-approved apps in Google Play for Education, starting on April 2. We're also making it easier for schools to keep tablets clutter-free by uninstalling apps remotely, right from Google Play for Education.

Students read on Nexus 7 tablets at Edison Elementary in Council Bluffs, IA

Learn more
If you are about SXSWEdu stop by the Google Lounge in room 602 on the 6th floor of the Hilton Austin. If you aren’t here in person follow the action with hashtags #googleedu and #sxswedu.

Posted by Jaime Casap, Senior Education Evangelist, Google

In 2013 there was a tremendous amount of innovation in education — from new tools to increased access to more content. Throughout the year we had the opportunity to get to know more and more schools that decided to Go Google. To look back on the year, we compiled a few stories that people shared with us. You can find more stories in our refreshed website for schools.

One thing we’ve heard loud and clear from educators and students across the globe was that they want more choices. They want a wider selection of devices, content and resources so they can choose the right tools for their particular needs. So to kick off this new year, we’ve worked with our partners to give schools more options for devices, classroom content and training resources.

K-12 Books in Google Play for Education
Google Play for Education makes it easy for educators to find and distribute apps and videos that unlock student potential, and schools have told us that access to a wide selection of books is just as important. That’s why soon we’ll add thousands of K-12 books to Google Play for Education, from digital textbooks like “GO Math!” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and “Journeys Common Core” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) to classic literature like “Bridge to Terabithia” (Harper Collins), "Lord of the Flies” (Penguin), and “Things Fall Apart” (Random House). Once a book is assigned, students can read it from their Android tablets, Chromebooks, or any other device through the Play Books reader. Affordable access periods of 60 days, 180 days, and 360 days help schools ensure that materials stay fresh (and classes stay interested) — it’s easy to change curriculums from year to year, or even customize reading materials for individual students. We're rolling out to a few schools today, and will make K-12 books fully available to all schools in the coming weeks.
Greater choice of devices
Technology is one tool to help teachers create innovative learning models. With devices that are affordable and manageable, the technology can get out of the way so that teachers can do what they do best — help students accomplish their goals. We’re hearing great success stories from schools using both tablets with Google Play for Education and Chromebooks. And analysts such as Futuresource report Chromebooks continue to grow, accounting for 1 in 4 devices shipped to U.S. K-12 schools according to preliminary data for the final quarter of 2013.

Today at FETC, our partners announced they’re making even more options available to schools:

• New Chromebooks: Toshiba announced that their new Chromebook will be available for education customers. This 13-inch device has a battery that lasts up to 9 hours and is built for productivity, and is available today starting at $299. Lenovo announced the new ThinkPad 11e Chromebook series, available as a 360-degree touchscreen Yoga or traditional laptop this spring starting at $349. Educators at FETC will see demos of all the latest Chromebooks in the Google booth, including the new Dell Chromebook and LG Chromebase (available in April).
• New tablets: Samsung announced their Galaxy Tab as part of tablets with Google Play for Education. It’s a 10.1-inch tablet designed exclusively for education, available in April 2014. At FETC, we’re also demoing the previously announced HP Slate 8 Pro tablet for the first time.

Helping educators share with one another
Teachers around the world are using Google tools in the classroom, and we aim to help educators learn from and share ideas with their peers. This week we launched the new Google for Education Learning Center, created in close partnership with educators who successfully use Google Apps and devices in schools. On this new site educators can learn about Google tools and how to use them for teaching and learning. It’s a one-stop-shop for new online courses, best practice videos, guides, and updated exams and certifications. Educators can demonstrate proficiency with Google tools by taking a Basics Exam or they can show advanced knowledge by taking exams to earn the Google Educator official qualification.

Learn more
If you’re attending FETC this week, visit us at booth 701. Educators will share ideas in our teaching theater throughout the conference. If you can’t make it to Orlando, you can learn more about how to Go Google by visiting our site: google.com/edu/gogoogle.

Posted by Michael de la Cruz, International Head of Education

January is a time for fresh starts and resolutions, and for the last 30 years it has also been the time for BETT, the world’s largest education technology conference. This year’s event will be attended by 35,000 headteachers, educators and learning professionals from across the world. BETT brings everyone together at ExCeL London to discuss and debate the future of education and how technology can help raise standards and tear down barriers in the classroom.

Google has been participating at BETT for the last four years and we are back again, representing the growing and healthy adoption of Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks in classrooms all over the world. More than 30 million students, teachers and staff use Google Apps for Education and 5,000 schools use Chromebooks globally. Whole universities such as Keio University in Japan, cities such as Chicago, States such as São Paulo in Brazil, and even countries such as Malaysia have gone Google in the classroom and lecture hall.

Closer to the home of BETT, we recently deployed 810 Chromebooks in the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy (IPACA), a non-selective, co-educational state school for students aged 3-16, located across four campuses in Dorset.

“By using Chromebooks and Google Apps, we’ve been able to transform the learning experience for all of our students,” says Alison Appleyard, the school’s Principal. “This open access to online resources is key to students becoming successful independent learners, empowering them to use resources as they see best and giving them the skills they’ll need to be successful in the future.”

IPACA students collaborate on a project together using Chromebooks

IPACA students learning on the web using a Chromebook

For anyone keen to hear how Google is working with schools, we invite you to visit our BETT Google zone at E240. The zone will showcase the full range of Chrome devices, including the recently announced Dell Chromebook 11, Toshiba Chromebook and the LG Chromebase, all for visitors to experience firsthand. Every 30 minutes there will be lightning talks at our on-site teaching theatre (schedule here) where educators from the field will share their experiences of using Google tools for teaching and learning.

For those not at BETT, school leaders can learn more about Chromebooks for Education by visiting our website.

Posted by Rick Borovoy, Product Manager for Google Play for Education

Today we’re launching tablets with Google Play for Education for K-12 schools in the U.S. For the past five months, thousands of students and more than 50 schools have used Google Play for Education and shared their experiences as part of our beta program. What’s been clear from their feedback is that teachers and IT administrators need time-saving solutions to help their students learn in the classroom and smooth the transition to new curriculum standards. They’ve asked for something easy to set up and manage, that helps them find educational content they can trust, and that doesn’t break the bank.

Google Play for Education is an extension of Google Play designed for schools. Here educators can discover apps approved by teachers for teachers, as well as educational videos and a collection of classic books for their classroom. Teachers can search for approved apps by grade, subject and standard, including Common Core, pay using a purchase order, and deploy the content to students instantly. We’ve been working with top developers to bring the best educational apps to Google Play for Education, including ClassDojo, Socrative, Explain Everything, NearPod, and many more.

Schools can choose from three classroom ready tablet options: Nexus 7 (a 7” tablet) available today, and the ASUS Transformer Pad (a 10” tablet) or the HP Slate 8 Pro (an 8” tablet), both available early next year. Schools can set up a classroom of tablets in minutes with a few simple taps. Just hold the administrator tablet together with the student tablet to set up each device quickly. Tablets with Google Play for Education are built on Google Apps for Education so students use their Google accounts to log in seamlessly. Tablet pricing starts at $229 and management is $30 per tablet.

The passionate educators and talented students at New Jersey’s Hillsborough Township Public Schools were amongst the first to roll out tablets with Google Play for Education. Watch their story.

To learn more visit google.com/edu/tablets. Interested schools can click “Contact Us” to speak with a member of our team. We’re working with resellers like CDW-G to get these tablets into schools, with more resellers coming soon.

With more than 30 million people using Google Apps for Education already, tablets with Google Play for Education easily plug into many schools’ existing technology. This is an affordable, 1:1 solution that puts greater power in the hands of teachers to find the best tools and content for their classrooms. We’re continuing to evolve the Google in Education offering and are happy to bring even more choice in devices and content.

Posted by Amit Singh, President, Google Enterprise

Yesterday, we kicked off the 6th annual Google I/O developer conference, with over 6,000 people attending live in San Francisco and millions more around the world tuning in to the livestream. The conference this year focused on a growing trend that affects our lives at home, at work and at school: the move towards a multi-screen world. In this world, tablets and mobile phones are quickly becoming as commonplace—and as useful—as desktop and laptop computers.

As you shift between devices, your experience should be seamless. And the same tools you use in your personal life should be available in the workplace, so you can work the way you live. To that end, here are some highlights from this week that are particularly relevant to our business, government and education customers—including tools for developers, features to simplify your life, and new ways to connect and collaborate with others.

Tools for developers:

• Google Cloud Platform: We announced that Google Compute Engine—which provides a fast, consistently high-performance environment for running virtual machines—is now available to anyone by visiting cloud.google.com. We also introduced Google Cloud Datastore, added the PHP runtime to Google App Engine, and added sub-hour billing charges so you don’t pay for compute minutes that you don’t use. 
• Admin SDK: The new Admin SDK lets developers build customized administrative tools for organizations that use Google Apps. The SDK consolidates many of the existing domain APIs into a new uniform structure and introduces new functionality with the Directory API and Reports API. 
• Google+ API for businesses: The new Google+ API for businesses is now available as a pilot for developers who want to build apps that handle tasks like auto-provisioning Circles and reading or writing posts.

Simplify your life:

• Gmail: New quick action buttons in Gmail are designed to help you get things done faster and take action on an email without ever having to open it -- like opening a Google document that’s been shared with you or responding to a calendar invitation. And we’re beginning to roll out a new integration between Google Wallet and Gmail, so you can quickly and securely send money to friends and colleagues directly within Gmail—even if they don’t have a Gmail address. 
• Unified storage: Google Apps customers will now have 30 GB of unified storage to use between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ photos. Just as before, files created in Docs, Sheets and Slides don't count against your storage quota. As a result of this change, Gmail inboxes for Google Apps customers are no longer limited to 25 GB -- any additional storage you purchase can be shared and used by Gmail. 
• Nexus tablets and Google Play for Education: There are now 25 million students, faculty and staff around the world using Google Apps for Education. Later this year, Google will expand its education offering beyond Chromebooks and Apps to include Nexus tablets and Google Play for Education. Schools will be able to efficiently manage tablets and discover, purchase and distribute content and applications with ease. Schools who want to receive information about the program when it launches later this year should complete the interest form available at google.com/edu/android.

Connect and collaborate with others:

• Google+: The new look and feel for Google+ brings a modern design to the stream and makes it easier than ever for you to connect with colleagues and quickly learn more about topics or posts that interest you. The new Google+ also looks and feels the same across all your devices.
• Hangouts: Apps customers now have the option to replace chat in Gmail and Talk on Android with a new version of Hangouts that combines text, photos and live video calls across desktops, laptops, as well as Android and iOS phones and tablets. The new Hangouts is designed to help bring all of your real-life conversations online, across any device or platform. Just as before, Apps customers can invite up to 15 colleagues to a video call.

Work doesn’t always need to feel like work. Technology should make your life easier, so you can get work done more efficiently and focus on what really matters: building your business, teaching your students, or serving your constituents.

Google I/O continues through the end of tomorrow. Tune in to live sessions at google.com/io.