Thousands of Classic Books Added to Google Play for Education's Library
March 06, 2014
By Matt Paulson, TMCnet Contributing Writer
Google (News - Alert) for Education is an initiative aimed at facilitating educators around the world with the tools needed to provide a quality education through mobile devices and software. Different programs through Google’s Education program target students from different age groups, from kindergarten all the way up to higher education, while other tools are aimed directly at teachers and administrators. The newest addition to the program is that Google has recently made thousands of books available to K-12 classrooms as free downloads.
The free books cover a broad range of diversity, from dense textbooks to classics of literature. Everything from child-friendly textbooks like GO Math to more sophisticated texts like Journeys Common Core is available for students to download directly onto their family’s tablets or directly to a desktop computer or other device. The included classic literature spans novels such as The Giver, Lord of the Flies and even Bridge to Terabithia.
The selection of books is designed to be an easy bank from which teachers can borrow readings from for their classrooms, allowing educators to assign books to their students and have them go home to download and read at their leisure. Google Play for Education offers students the books on variable time schedules from 60, 180, or 360 days so that teachers can update their book selections by the semester or as otherwise needed.
The online store where teachers send students to download their books is also updated from previous models, offering information about the target grade levels, subjects, and which teaching standards the text supports. This helps teachers find the apps and books best suited to their classroom. Another updated feature is that teacher-approved apps can now be reassigned to different students. Under the current software limitations, schools can’t reassign student app licenses to new students when the old ones leave, which means schools are losing money on the program when students find a new school or move. Google will also include the option to uninstall apps if needed.
Edited by Cassandra Tucker