Android 20: Google Play for Education

1. Android 20: Google Play for Education Kirk Scott

4. Introduction • There are several sections of the Android developer’s Web site • One of these sections is, “Distribute” • In this section there is a heading, “Google Play for Education” • This heading and its subheadings are listed on the following overhead, given with numbers corresponding to this set of overheads

5. 20.1 Google Play for Education • 20.2 About • 20.3 Get Started • 20.4 Guidelines • 20.5 FAQ • 20.6 Signup

6. In general, Google Play for Education is based on familiarity with publishing an app through Google Play • That topic won’t be addressed here • It is a separate heading under, “Distribute” • This set of overheads will just include the material in the 5 subheadings listed above

7. 20.1 Google Play for Education

8. Google Play for Education • Google Play for Education is a destination where schools can find great, teacher-approved, educational apps and videos on Play Store. • Teachers can filter content by subject matter, grade and other criteria. • Bulk purchase and instant distribution let educators bring your apps directly to classrooms and schools. • If you have an educational app, join Google Play for Education.

10. 20.2 About

12. About Google Play for Education • Introducing Google Play for Education, the online destination where schools can find the right tablet content and tools for their students and teachers. • With easy bulk ordering for groups, schools can purchase and instantly distribute your apps, and videos right to their students’ devices. • Google Play for Education can help your innovative educational apps gain visibility with the right audiences, without having to knock on school doors.

13. 20.2.1 For Developers • Get discovered • With Google Play for Education, teachers and administrators can browse content by curriculum, grade, and standard — discovering the right content for their students. • If your app offers an exciting new way to learn sixth grade algebra, math educators will be able to find, purchase, and distribute your app to their classes in a few clicks.

14. Reach more schools and students • Over 30 million students, faculty, and staff are already using Google Apps for Education and other Google services. • Many of these schools are excited to take advantage of tablets with Google Play for Education and they look to bringing your apps into their classrooms, especially apps using Google sign-on.

15. Monetize effectively • With Google Play for Education, educators are able to make high-volume purchases using standard institutional payment mechanisms and distribute them to the students they want — whether it is a class of 20 or a district of 20,000.

16. 20.2.2 For Educators • Android tablets in the classroom • Google Play for Education brings the innovation of Android technology into classrooms. • School districts can set up and deploy large numbers of devices in just minutes or hours rather than days.

17. Curriculum-based discovery • Powerful browsing tools let educators quickly discover apps, videos, and other content—with many recommended by teachers and categorized according to familiar Core Curriculum standards.

18. Bulk purchase with institutional payment • Convenient purchasing and delivery tools let educators buy apps in bulk using purchase orders and other payment methods that are easy for schools to manage.

19. Over-the-air delivery to student devices • After finding apps they want to use, educators can push them instantly to student devices over the air. • They can send the apps to individuals or groups of any size, across classrooms, schools, or even districts.

20. 20.3 Get Started

21. Get Started • You can now include your educational apps in the Google Play for Education program, getting it into the hands of participating schools and key influencers in the education technology community. • See the sections below to learn more.

22. If you've got a great app for education, be part of Google Play for Education to reach even more teachers and students. • It's easy to participate, and you'll be able to offer new or existing Android apps using familiar tools and processes in Google Play.

23. To get started, review the sections in this document and learn how to make your apps available through Google Play for Education. • Also make sure to read Guidelines for Apps for information on the safety, usability, and quality standards that your apps should meet. • When your app is ready, you can opt-in to Google Play for Education from the Developer Console.

24. Note that Google Play for Education is currently available to schools in the United States only, with support for schools in other countries to follow. • At this time, please include your app in Google Play for Education only if it is targeting the US K-12 market.

25. How to Participate • Google Play for Education is a great way to put your educational apps in front of a new audience of teachers and students. • You can develop and publish using familiar tools and processes, such as your existing Developer Console account and your current distribution and pricing settings. • It's easy to participate — the sections below outline the process.

27. 1. Understand guidelines and policies • To prepare for a successful launch on Google Play for Education, start by reviewing the guidelines for educational apps in Google Play and the policies that apply to your apps. • See Guidelines for Apps for details. • Also, make sure that your are familiar with the policies that your app must comply with, including content policies, the developer agreement, and Google Play for Education Addendum.

28. 2. Design and develop a great app for education • A great app for educators and students is designed for classroom use, looks great on tablets, and delivers a compelling feature set for teachers and students. • If you are developing an app for education, make sure that it is appropriate for K-12 classrooms, offers educational value, and is refined to offer a polished, high-quality tablet experience.

29. Assess your app against the criteria listed in Guidelines for Apps and plan on supporting them to the greatest extent possible. • In some cases you might need to modify your features or UI to support the requirements of the classroom use-case. • It's a good idea to identify those areas early in development so that you are able address them properly.

30. With Google Play for Education, optimizing your app for tablets is a crucial part of getting your app ready for distribution to educators. • A variety of resources are available to help you understand what you need to optimize for tablets — a good starting point is the Tablet App Quality Guidelines.

31. Throughout design and development, it's important to have a suitable device on which to prototype and test your user experience. • It's highly recommended that you acquire one or more tablet devices and set up your testing environment as early as possible. • The recommended hardware device that replicates the Google Play for Education environment is the Nexus 7, which is available from Google Play and other stores.

32. Proper testing and quality assurance are key aspects of delivering a great app for teachers and students. • Make sure you set up a proper test environment to ensure that your app meets guidelines under realistic conditions.

33. 3. Opt-in to Google Play for Education and publish • Before you opt-in • To participate in Google Play for Education, you must agree to a Google Play for Education Addendum to the standard Developer Distribution Agreement. • Before you opt-in, review the Addendum completely and make any necessary modifications to your app.

34. Once you've built your release-ready APK and tested to ensure that it meets the app guidelines, upload it to the Developer Console, create your store listing, and set distribution options. • If you aren't familiar with how to prepare for launch on Google Play, see the Launch Checklist.

35. When your app is ready to publish, you can opt-in to Google Play for Education directly from the Developer Console. • Opt-in means that you want your app to be made available to educators through Google Play for Education, including review, classification, and approval by our third-party educator network. • Note that opt-in does not affect the availability of your app in Google Play Store.

36. Opt-in also confirms that your app complies with Google Play Developer Program Policies and the Developer Distribution Agreement, including a Google Play for Education Addendum. • If you are not familiar with these policy documents or the Addendum, make sure to read them before opting-in.

37. Here's how to opt-in to Google Play for Education for a specific app: • 1. In the Developer Console All Applications page, click the app you want to opt-in. • 2. Under Pricing and Distribution, scroll down to find "Google Play for Education" and the opt-in checkbox.

38. 3. Click the checkbox next to "Include this application in Google Play for Education." • 4. In the first dialog that appears, review the content policies and guidelines and click "Continue" if your app meets the the policies and guidelines.

39. 5. In next dialog that appears, shown below, find the "Ads" and "In-app purchases" radio buttons. Check each option that applies. • Your app's use of ads or in-app purchases will be shown to educators when they are browsing your app. • 6. Click "Save" to save your Pricing and Distribution changes.

41. Ads and in-app purchase: When you opt-in to Google Play for Education, make sure to declare your app's use of ads and in-app purchases. • Once you save changes and publish your app, the app will be submitted to our third-party educator network for review and approval. • If the app is already published, it will be submitted for review as soon as you opt-in and save your changes.

42. Note: Google Play for Education is part of Google Play. • When you publish an app that's opted-in to Google Play for Education, the app becomes available to users in Google Play right away. • After the app is reviewed and approved, it then becomes available to educators in Google Play for Education.

43. 4. Track your review and approval • Google Play for Education provides content to educators in a way that's properly organized by subject, grade level, and common core standards (where applicable). • To ensure high educational value and proper classification, we work with a third-party educator network to review and approve apps before making them discoverable through the Google Play for Education browsing tools.

44. Our third-party educator network will evaluate apps according to educational value and alignment with K-12 core standards, then assign the metadata for subject, grade level, and core curriculum that makes them easily browsable for educators. • To understand how your apps will be evaluated, please see the Guidelines for Apps document.

45. As soon as you opt-in to Google Play for Education and publish, your app is queued for review by our third-party educator network. • The review and approval process can take four weeks or more. • You'll receive notification by email (to your developer account address) when the review is complete, with a summary of the review results.

46. At any time, you can check the review and approval status of your app in the Developer Console, under "Google Play for Education" in the app's Pricing and Distribution page. • There are three approval states:

47. Pending — Your app was sent for review and the review is not yet complete. • Approved — Your app was reviewed and approved. • The app will be made available directly to educators through Google Play for Education. • Once your app is approved, you can update it at your convenience without needing another full review.

48. Not approved — Your app was reviewed and not approved. Check the notification email for information about why the app was not approved. • You can address any issues and opt-in again for another review. • If you have questions about the review status of your app, follow the process discussed in the next section.

49. 5. Get support or appeal your review results • After your app is reviewed you'll receive an email giving you the results, including information on whether the app was approved and what issues may need to be addressed. • You'll receive the email at the address you specified for your developer account.

50. If your app has issues that need to be addressed, make the necessary adjustments, upload your app, and then resubmit the app to Google Play for Education through the Developer Console using process described above. • Your app will be queued for review and you'll receive the review results by email just as before.