The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown many parents in uncharted territory whereby we have had to home school our kids. This is wrought with many challenges not including the short attention spans of younger children. However, the most pressing issue has been where to get relevant content for kids which can keep them engaged throughout the day.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as Google has announced that they are in the process of launching a Teacher Approved section to the Play Store. All the apps that will be found here will have been vetted and approved by a panel of reviewers which includes 200 teachers. The panel rates apps on various aspects like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment and whether kids enjoy using the app.
The apps also need to meet Google’s requirements for its “Designed for Families” program. The program requires apps to meet government regulations around data collection and ad targeting, and also limits the types of ads that can be displayed to children, if apps are ad-supported.
To access the new section, you can either visit the “Kids” tab on Google Play or you can look for the “Teacher Approved” badge on any given app to see if it met with teachers’ approval. In addition, Google Play Pass will offer subscribers a selection of “Teacher Approved” content under the “Apps and games for kids” section. The apps will be grouped by age: 5 & under, ages 6-8 and ages 9-12. Google will also include information in the app’s listing about why it was rated highly.
This section will however, be launched initially in the U.S in the next few days and will roll out internationally in the next few months.