In March 2019, Google announced to develop a Chromebook App Hub to help teachers and administrators to use educational tools and apps in the classroom. On Wednesday ahead of ISTE 2019, Google officially launched the App Hub. In addition to App Hub, upgraded version of Gradebook, Early Access Program, and Quizzes in Google Forms, Classroom, and Course Kit are among the new features added to Chromebook.
Teachers often search on the internet for new tricks and techniques to teach or to create lesson plans. Teachers also have to make sure that those teachings techniques meet the required policies. The Chromebook App Hub is the ideal place for educators to get a solution for these problems, to get new ideas and resources and also to learn the implementation strategies.
Google has teamed up with Epic! to create a community in the App Hub to showcase the best tools and apps for the classroom. Epic! is one of the vast children’s digital library which offers unlimited access to thousands of high-quality kid’s books, videos, quizzes and more. Adobe Spark will help Google in creating visual storytelling for the students of all levels. Educators can take help of Epic! and Adobe Spark to decide which tools fit into their classrooms and curriculum.
It is a free library which covers various topics such as math, grammar, science, history, standardized test and more. According to the marketing leader for Khan Academy, Eirene Chen, “The App Hub is a great resource for teachers, making it fast and easy to find apps and classroom activities that work well on Chromebooks”. EdTechTeam is helping Google in gathering the ideas of using apps in the classrooms.
For security and transparency to developer’s data and accessibility policies, Google has partnered with Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) which will assist developers in considering the student privacy implications of their products. Dr. Larry L. Fruth II, CEO of A4L/SDPC says, “The SDPC is proud to work with [the Chromebook App Hub] to provide transparency and openness around the critical aspects of schools, states, and vendors securing learner information”. In order to create healthy digital citizenship habits Google is working with the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and ConnectSafely.
For teachers, Google has launched a beta program that allows them to create a rubric to attach it to an assignment and let students understand the grading system for their work. In addition to this, an updated version of Gradebook will also be launched which will let teachers view student’s progress. Along with it, the Early Access Program will help teachers to sync grades from the Classroom to the School Information System.
Technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple are targeting schools and classrooms by investing in this sector to expand their business. Earlier this month in WWDC 2019 Apple featured its ClassKit and its free app for schools and teachers. Microsoft also has various tools for students and educators such as Learning Suite, Flashcards, Microsoft Mathematics, Project Tuva, and more. Despite such competition, the U.S. K-12 market is dominated by the Google Chromebook, the reason being its price and various tools for IT departments.
Educators can now find the apps and ideas on the Chromebook App Hub. Google has provided an Interest form for educators and developers where educators can submit their ideas by filling up the form and developers can join the Chromebook App Hub. Google said it will keep updating the App Hub so that teachers and students can find new ways of teaching and learning respectively.