Google Launches ‘Teacher Approved’ Apps for Kids

Around the world, kids, parents, and teachers are struggling to adjust to long-term homeschooling. In response, Google is launching a new Kids section of Google Play, along with a “Teacher approved” badge, to help parents find the best education and game apps for their kids.

According to Fast Company, Google had already been working on the feature for a few years, but it decided to move up its launch in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The apps themselves aren’t new, but the teacher-approved designation is. 

Google worked with over 250 teachers, including lead advisors Joe Blatt of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Dr. Sandra Calvert of Georgetown University to vet apps, based “on factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight” the company wrote in a blog post.

Each app marked as teacher-approved will include information about why teachers like it and what you can expect your kids to learn from it.

According to Tech Crunch, around 1,000 teacher-approved apps will be included in the launch (with around 60 included in Google Play Pass), and Google is working to increase this number over time. The teacher-approved badge and Kids section are scheduled to roll out in the U.S. in the next few days and internationally in a few months.