1 page.title=Guidelines for Apps 2 page.metaDescription=Get your apps ready for Google Play for Education. 3 excludeFromSuggestions=true 4 @jd:body 5 6 <div style="position:absolute;margin-left: 636px; 7 margin-top:-76px;color:#777;">If you're interested<br> 8 <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/contact.html" 9 class="go-link" 10 style="display: block;text-align: right;">SIGN UP</a></div> 11 12 <div 13 style="background-color:#fffdeb;width:100%;margin-bottom:1em;padding:.5em;">You 14 can now include your apps in the Google Play for Education <a 15 href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/start.html#program">pilot program</a>, 16 getting it into the hands of participating schools and key influencers in the 17 education technology community. See <a href="start.html">Get Started</a> to 18 learn how to participate. </div> 19 20 <p>The sections below list the guidelines and requirements for apps 21 participating in Google Play for Education. 22 23 <p>Before you include your app in Google Play for Education, set up a <a 24 href="#test-environment">test environment</a> and make sure your app meets all 25 of the safety, usability, and quality guidelines given here. You can use the 26 linked resources to help 27 you develop a great app for students that offers compelling content and an 28 intuitive user experience on Android tablets.</p> 29 30 <p>In addition, ensure that your app complies with the terms of a <a 31 href="https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement-addendum. 32 html" target="_policies">Google Play for Education Addendum</a>, as well as 33 the standard <a 34 href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html" 35 target="_policies">Google Play Developer Program Policies</a> and <a 36 href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html" 37 target="_policies">Developer Distribution Agreement</a>.</p> 38 39 40 <h2 id="requirements">Safety First</h2> 41 42 <p>To participate, your apps must be designed to be appropriate for 43 the K-12 market. The basic requirements that your apps must meet are:</p> 44 45 <ol> 46 <li>Apps and the ads they contain must not collect personally identifiable 47 information other than user credentials or data required to operate and improve 48 the app.</li> 49 <li>Apps must not use student data for purposes unrelated to its educational 50 function.</li> 51 <li>Apps must have a content rating of "Everyone" or "Low Maturity" (apps with 52 a "Medium Maturity" rating are allowed, if they have that rating solely because 53 they allow communication between students).</li> 54 <li>App content, including ads displayed by the app, must be consistent with 55 the app's maturity rating. The app must not display any offensive content, as 56 described in the <a 57 href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html">Google Play 58 Developer Program Policies</a> and <a 59 href="https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/188189"> 60 content-rating guidelines</a>.</p></li> 61 <li>Apps must comply with the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act 62 and all other applicable laws and regulations.</li> 63 </ol> 64 65 66 <h2 id="inapp">Monetizing and Ads</h2> 67 68 <p>Google Play for Education provides a simple and secure environment for students 69 and teachers. To support that environment, priced or free apps that do not use in-app 70 purchases are preferred, as are apps that do not display ads. Apps that use in-app 71 payments or ads are acceptable, but you must declare those behaviors when opting-in 72 to Google Play for Education. Your app's use of in-app purchases or ads will be 73 disclosed to educators when they are browsing for content.</p> 74 75 <p>Follow the guidelines below to help your app receive the 76 highest ratings and offer the best possible user-experience.</p> 77 78 <p>If your app is priced or sells in-app products, you must:</p> 79 80 <ul> 81 <li>Sell all content and services through Google Play for Education</li> 82 <li>Allow Google Play to offer teachers limited free trials before purchase 83 (through business terms only, no development work is needed)</li> 84 <li>Disable in-app purchases if possible, or ensure that: 85 86 <ul> 87 <li>Users can access your app's core functionality for a classroom setting without 88 an in-app purchase.</li> 89 <li>In-app purchases are clearly identifiable in your UI.</li> 90 <li>You declare the use of in-app purchases at <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/start.html#opt-in">opt-in</a>.</li> 91 </ul> 92 </li> 93 </ul> 94 95 <p class="note"><strong>Note</strong>: In-app 96 purchases are blocked on Google Play for Education tablets at this time.</p> 97 98 <p>If your app displays ads, you should: 99 <ul> 100 <li>Disable the display of ads if possible, or ensure that: 101 <ul> 102 <li>Ads are not distracting for students or teachers</li> 103 <li>Ads do not occupy a significant portion of the screen</li> 104 <li>Ads content does not exceed the maturity rating of the app.</li> 105 <li>You declare the use of ads at <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/start.html#opt-in">opt-in</a>.</li> 106 </ul> 107 </li> 108 </ul> 109 110 111 <h2 id="approved">Educational Value</h2> 112 113 <p>Apps submitted to Google Play for Education will be evaluated by a 114 third-party educator network, which will review them based on alignment with <a 115 href="http://www.corestandards.org/" class="external-link" 116 target="_android">Common Core Standards</a> and other factors. This will help 117 make your content more discoverable for teachers and administrators as they 118 browse by grade level, subject, core curriculum, and other parameters. </p> 119 120 <p>Apps with highest educational value will have these characteristics:</p> 121 <ul> 122 <li>Designed for use in K-12 classrooms.</li> 123 <li>Aligned with a common core standard or support common-core learning.</li> 124 <li>Simple, easy to use, and intuitive for the grade levels the app is targeting. 125 App is relatively easy to navigate without teacher guidance. Not distracting 126 or overwhelming to students.</li> 127 <li>Enjoyable and interactive. App is engaging to students and lets them control 128 their experience.</li> 129 <li>Versatile. App has features make the it useful for more than one classroom 130 function or lesson throughout the school year.</li> 131 <li>Supports the "4Cs": 132 <ul> 133 <li><em>Creativity</em> — Allows students to create in order to express 134 understanding of the learning objectives, and try new approaches, innovation 135 and invention to get things done.</li> 136 <li><em>Critical thinking</em> — Allows students to look at problems in 137 a new way, linking learning across subjects and disciplines.</li> 138 <li><em>Collaboration</em> — Allows students and (if appropriate) educators 139 to work together to reach a goal.</li> 140 <li><em>Communication</em> — Allows students to comprehend, critique and 141 share thoughts, questions, ideas and solutions.</li> 142 </ul> 143 </li> 144 </ul> 145 146 <p>As you design and develop your app, make sure it offers high educational value 147 by addressing as many of those characteristics as possible.</p> 148 149 150 <h2 id="quality">App Quality</h2> 151 152 <p>Google Play for Education brings educational content to students and teachers 153 on Android tablets. Your apps should be designed to perform well and look great 154 on Android tablets, and they should offer the best user experience possible. 155 </p> 156 157 <p>High quality apps are engaging, intuitive, and offer compelling content. 158 Google Play for Education will highlight high-quality apps for easy discovery in 159 the store. Here are some recommendations for making your app easy for students 160 and teachers to enjoy.</p> 161 162 <ul> 163 <li>Meet Core app quality guidelines 164 <ul> 165 <li>Follow <a 166 href="{@docRoot}design/index.html">Android Design Guidelines</a>. Pay special 167 attention to the sections on <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/actionbar.html">Action 168 Bar</a>, <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/navigation.html">Navigation</a> and <a 169 href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/pure-android.html">Pure Android</a>.</li> 170 <li>Test your apps against the <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/quality/core.html">Core 171 App Quality Guidelines</a>.</li> 172 </ul> 173 </li> 174 <li>Meet tablet app quality guidelines 175 <ul> 176 <li>Follow our best practices for tablet app development</li> 177 <li>Review the <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/quality/tablet.html">Tablet App 178 Quality Checklist</a> and <a 179 href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2012/11/designing-for-tablets-were-here-to-help.html" 180 target="_android">blog post on designing for tablets</a></li> 181 <li>Check your Optimization Tips in the Google Play Developer Console (if you've 182 already uploaded your app)</li> 183 </ul> 184 <li>Strive for simplicity and highest usability for students 185 <ul> 186 <li>Design your app so that teachers and students can use all capabilities of 187 your app without having to sign-in to multiple accounts and remember 188 multiple passwords.</li> 189 <li>Every student or teacher using a Google Play for Education tablet will already be 190 signed in with a Google account on the device. You can take advantage of that to provide a 191 simple, seamless sign-in experience in your app. A recommended approach is to use 192 <a href="{@docRoot}google/play-services/auth.html">Google OAuth 2 authorization</a> 193 through Google Play Services.</li> 194 </ul> 195 </li> 196 </ul> 197 198 199 <h2 id="test-environment">Test Environment</h2> 200 201 <p>To test your app and assess it against the guidelines in this document, it's 202 recommended that you set up a test environment that replicates the actual 203 environment in which students and teachers will run your app.</p> 204 205 <p>In general, you should use the test environment described in <a 206 href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/quality/tablet.html#test-environment"> 207 Setting Up a Test Environment for Tablets</a>, including a small number of 208 actual hardware devices that replicate the tablet form factors used in the 209 Google Play for Education.</p> 210 211 <h3 id="devices">Android tablets</h3> 212 213 <p>Google Play for Education uses primarily Nexus 7 devices, so 214 your testing can focus on that specific hardware device. You can purchase the 215 device from <a href="https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16gb" 216 target="_android">Google Play</a> and other stores. Although testing on Nexus 217 devices is preferred, you can test on other 7-inch (or 10-inch) tablets or virtual 218 devices if you don't have access to Nexus devices.</p> 219 220 <h3 id="conditions">Test conditions</h3> 221 222 <p>Once you've set up a suitable hardware environment, make sure to test your 223 apps under conditions that simulate those of schools. For example, Google Play 224 for Education lets administrators control or disable certain capabilities for 225 students, so it's good to test your app with those capabilities disabled. Below 226 are some conditions to test your app in, to ensure best results in the Google 227 Play for Education environment:</p> 228 229 <ul> 230 <li><em>Android version</em> — Test the app on devices running Android 231 4.2. Google Play for Education devices will be running Android 4.2 or higher 232 (API level 17).</li> 233 <li><em>Proxy server</em> — Test the app in network environment that uses 234 proxies. Many schools use proxies.</li> 235 <li><em>Secondary user account</em> — Test the app using a secondary user 236 account. Most Google Play for Education users will not be using the primary <a 237 href="{@docRoot}about/versions/jelly-bean.html#42-multiuser">multiuser</a> 238 account on their devices. For testing, create a secondary multiuser account on 239 your tablet.</li> 240 <li><em>No location services</em> — Test the app to make sure it works 241 properly with location services disabled. Many schools will disable location 242 services for student devices.</li> 243 <li><em>No In-app Billing</em> — Test the app to make sure it works 244 properly without access to In-app Billing. In-app purchases are blocked on 245 Google Play for Education devices at this time.</li> 246 <li><em>No Bluetooth</em> — Test the app to make sure it works properly 247 when Bluetooth is disabled. Many schools will disable Bluetooth on student 248 devices.</li> 249 <li><em>No access to network</em> — Test the app to make sure it works 250 properly when the device cannot connect to the internet. </li> 251 </ul> 252 253