googleplay/edu/start.jd

page.title=Get Started
page.metaDescription=Get Started with Google Play for Education
excludeFromSuggestions=true
@jd:body

<div style="position:absolute;margin-left: 636px;
            margin-top:-76px;color:#777;">If you're interested<br>
            <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/contact.html"
            class="go-link"
            style="display: block;text-align: right;">SIGN UP</a></div>

<div style="background-color:#fffdeb;width:100%;margin-bottom:1em;padding:.5em;">You
can now include your apps in the Google Play for Education <a href="#program">pilot program</a>,
getting it into the hands of participating schools and key influencers in the education technology
community. See the sections below to learn more.</div>

<p>If you've got a great app for education or just an idea for one, plan to be a
part of Google Play for Education to reach even more teachers and students. It's
easy to participate, and you'll be able to offer new or existing Android apps
using familiar tools and processes in Google Play.</p>

<p>To get started, review the sections in this document and learn how to make
your apps available through Google Play for Education. Also make sure to read <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">Guidelines for
Apps</a>  for information on the safety, usability, and quality standards that
your apps should meet. When your app is ready, you can opt-in to Google Play for
Education from the Developer Console.</p>

<p>Note that the initial launch of Google Play for Education is planned for Fall
2013 and will include schools in the United States only, with support for other
countries to follow. At this time, please include your app in Google Play for
Education only if it is targeting the <strong>US K-12 market</strong>. </p>


<h2 id="participate">How to Participate</h2>

<div style="float:right; padding-top:2em;"><img
src="{@docRoot}images/gp-edu-process.png"></div>

<p>Google Play for Education lets you put your educational apps in front of a
new audience of teachers and students. You can develop and publish using
familiar tools and processes, such as your existing Developer Console account
and your current distribution and pricing settings. It's easy to participate
&mdash; the sections below outline the process.</p>

<h3 id="basic-info">1. Understand guidelines and policies</h3>

<p>To prepare for a successful launch on Google Play for Education, start by
reviewing the guidelines for educational apps in Google Play and the policies
that apply to your apps. See <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">Guidelines for
Apps</a> for details.</p>

<p>Also, make sure that your are familiar with the policies that your app must
comply with, including
<a href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html" target="_policies">content
policies</a>, the <a
href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html"
target="_policies">developer agreement</a>,  and <a
href="https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement-addendum.html"
target="_policies">Google Play for Education Addendum</a>.</p>

<h3 id="developing">2. Design and develop a great app for education</h3>

<p>A great app for educators and students is designed for classroom use, looks
great on tablets, and delivers a compelling feature set for teachers and
students. If you are developing an app for education, make sure that it is
appropriate for K-12 classrooms, offers educational value, and is refined to
offer a polished, high-quality tablet experience.</p>

<p>Assess your app against the criteria listed in <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">Guidelines for
Apps</a> and plan on supporting them to the greatest extent possible. In some
cases you might need to modify your features or UI to support the requirements
of the classroom use-case. It's a good idea to identify those areas early in
development so that you are able address them properly. </p>

<p>With Google Play for Education, optimizing your app for tablets is a crucial
part of getting your app ready for distribution to educators. A variety of
resources are available to help you understand what you need to optimize for
tablets &mdash; a good starting point is the <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/quality/tablet.html">Tablet App Quality
Guidelines</a>. </p>

<p>Throughout design and development, it's important to have a suitable device
on which to prototype and test your user experience. It's highly recommended
that you acquire one or more tablet devices and set up your testing environment
as early as possible. The recommended hardware device that replicates the Google
Play for Education environment is the Nexus 7, which is available from <a href="https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16gb" target="_android">Google Play</a> and other stores.</p>

<p>Proper testing and quality assurance are key aspects of delivering a great
app for teachers and students. Make sure you set up a <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html#test-environment">
proper test environment</a> to ensure that your app meets guidelines under
realistic conditions.</p>

<h3 id="opt-in">3. Opt-in to Google Play for Education and publish</h3>

<div class="sidebox-wrapper">
<div class="sidebox">
<h2>Before you opt-in</h2>
<p>To participate in Google Play for Education, you must agree to a <a
href="https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement-addendum.html"
target="_policies">Google Play for Education Addendum</a>
to the standard Developer Distribution Agreement.</p>

<p>Before you opt-in, review the Addendum completely and make any necessary
modifications to your app.</p>
</div>
</div>

<p>When you've built your release-ready APK and tested to ensure that it meets
the <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">app guidelines</a>,
upload it to the Developer Console, create your store listing, and set
distribution options. If you aren't familiar with how to prepare for launch on
Google Play, see the <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/publish/preparing.html">Launch Checklist</a>. </p>

<p>When your app is ready to publish, you can <em>opt-in</em> to Google Play for
Education from the Developer Console. Opt-in means that you want your app to be
made available to educators through Google Play for Education, including review,
classification, and approval by our third-party educator network. Note that
opt-in does not affect the availability of your app in Google Play Store.</p>

<p>Opt-in also confirms that your app complies with <a
href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html"
target="_policies">Google Play Developer Program
Policies</a> and the <a
href="http://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html"
target="_policies">Developer Distribution Agreement</a>,
including a <a
href="https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement-addendum.html"
target="_policies">Google Play for Education
Addendum</a>. If you are not familiar with these policy documents or the
Addendum, make sure to read them before opting-in. </p>

<p>Here's how to opt-in to Google Play for Education for a specific app:</p>

<ol>
  <li>In the Developer Console All Applications page, click the app you want to
opt-in. </li>
  <li>Under Pricing and Distribution, scroll down to find "Google Play for
Education" and the opt-in checkbox. </li>
  <li>Click the checkbox next to "Include my app in Google Play for
Education..."</li>
  <li>After you've opted-in, find the "Ads" and "In-app purchases" checkboxes below.
Check each checkbox that applies. Your app's use of ads or in-app purchases will
be shown to educators when they are browsing your app. </li>
  <li>Click "Save" to save your Pricing and Distribution changes.</li>
</ol>

<div style="clear:both;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1.5em;width:660px;">
<img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-edu-optin.png" style="border:2px solid #ddd;width:660px;">
<p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Opt-in for apps</span>:
Include your app in Google Play for Education by opting-in from the Developer Console.</p>
</div>

<p>Once you save changes and publish your app, the app will be submitted to our
third-party educator network for review and approval. If the app is already
published, it will be submitted for review as soon as you opt-in and save your
changes. </p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note</strong>: Google Play for Education is part of
Google Play. When you publish an app that's opted-in to Google Play for
Education, the app becomes available to users in Google Play right away. After
the app is reviewed and approved, it then becomes available to educators in
Google Play for Education.</p>

<h3 id="review">4. Track your review and approval</h3>

<p>Google Play for Education provides content to educators in a way that's
properly organized by subject, grade level, and common core standards (where
applicable). To ensure high educational value and proper classification, we work
with a third-party educator network to review and approve apps before making
them discoverable through the Google Play for Education browsing tools. </p>

<p>Our third-party educator network will evaluate apps according to educational
value and alignment with K-12 core standards, then assign the metadata for
subject, grade level, and core curriculum that makes them easily browseable for
educators. To understand how your apps will be evaluated, please see the <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">Guidelines for
Apps</a> document.</p>

<p>As soon as you opt-in to Google Play for Education and publish, your app is
queued for review by our third-party educator network. The review and approval
process can take <strong>3-4 weeks or more</strong>. You'll receive notification
by email (to your developer account address) when the review is complete, with a
summary of the review results. </p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note</strong>: Until the full product launch in Fall
2013, please expect the initial review of your app to take longer than usual.
</p>

<p>At any time, you can check the review and approval status of your app in the
Developer Console, under "Google Play for Education" in the app's Pricing and
Distribution page. There are three approval states:</p>

<ul>
<li><em>Pending</em> &mdash; Your app was sent for review and the review
is not yet complete.</li>
<li><em>Approved</em> &mdash; Your app was reviewed and approved. The app
will be made available directly to educators through Google Play for Education.
Until the full product launch later this year, your app will be available to a
limited number of educators through the <a
href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/start.html#program">pilot program</a>.
Once your app is approved, you can update it at your convenience without needing
another full review. </li>
<li><em>Not approved</em> &mdash; Your app was reviewed and not approved.
Check the notification email for information about why the app was not approved.
You can address any issues and opt-in again for another review. </li>
</ul>

<p>If you have questions about the review status of your app, follow the process
discussed in the next section. </p>

<h3 id="appeal">5. Get support or appeal your review results</h3>

<p>After your app is reviewed you'll receive an email giving you the review
results, including whether the app was approved, how the app was classified, and
what issues may need to be addressed. You'll receive the email at the address
you specified for your developer account. </p>

<p>If you believe your app was reviewed or classified incorrectly, you will be
able to appeal and request reconsideration. Watch for more information on the
appeal process and links in the weeks to come.</p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note</strong>: Support and appeal forms are not yet
available, but will be available soon.</p>


<h2 id="program">Including Your Apps in the Pilot Program</h2>

<p>Leading up to the Fall 2013 launch, the Google Play for Education team is
conducting an extensive series of pilots that include schools and students across
the United States. Educators in participating schools can browse for apps and
purchase them in bulk, then deploy them instantly to teacher and student
devices. </p>

<h3 id="pilot">Early opt-in and publishing</h3>
<p>As an app developer, you can take part in the pilot program, getting your app
into the hands of schools and key influencers in the education technology
community. It's a great way to get early feedback on your educational app. </p>

<p>To offer your app in the pilot program, prepare the app and ensure that it meets
the <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/guidelines.html">Guidelines
for Apps</a>. Then opt-in to Google Play for Education and publish as soon
as you are ready. Once your app is approved during review by our third-party
educator network, it will be made available to educators in the pilot program
right away. Note that during the pilot program, the review and approval process
may take longer than usual.</p>

<h3 id="launch">Full launch to US schools</h3>
<p>The initial launch of Google Play for Education is planned for Fall 2013. The
pilot program and full launch will include schools in the United States only,
with support for schools in other countries to follow. </p>

<p>At this time, you should include your app in Google Play for Education only
if it is targeting the US K-12 market. </p>

<h3 id="more">More information</h3>

<p>If you'd like to be notified by email of the latest information about Google Play
for Education, visit the <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/contact.html">
Sign Up</a> page and fill out the form. </p>