Google adds books, devices, and professional development to its Play offerings

Google Play for Education announced last Wednesday, January 29th a new aspect of their content distribution strategy—digital books. Following the teacher friendly “pick-your-own” app and video announcements last fall, the company has partnered with several publishers, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Harper Collins, Penguin, and Random House, to offer a virtual library service. Students are lent access to digital books for a set period of days during the course of the semester through a reader app—you can play with it here. When the course is over, the books evaporate. According to Google, a few beta schools will begin using it immediately with others starting over the next few weeks.