Google To Shut Down Play For Education

For those unfamiliar, back in 2013 Google launched Play for Education. Basically this could be thought of as a curated store in which educators could purchase educational materials like apps and books, and distribute them to students’ Android tablets. While it did sound like a good idea, unfortunately it did not stick.

So much so that Google has decided to shut it down. This has been confirmed by CRN and TechCrunch who reports that the program will end on the 14th of March, after which Google will no longer sell Play for Education licenses. Content and access and support will be maintained for the time-being, but only for those who currently hold licenses, but once that’s expired, you can say goodbye to the program for good.

In a statement provided by a Google spokesperson, “As of March 14 or later, Google will no longer sell Google Play for Education licenses. We’re committed to providing schools with the best-in-class tools for the classroom, including Chromebooks, which are the #1 selling device in US K-12 education, and a strong and growing ecosystem of educational apps. We’ll continue to support our Google Play for Education customers and the devices that they have purchased.”

It has been suggested that the decline of the tablet market was what led to Google making this decision.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Tablets
Tags: Apps, Education, Google