With most children transitioning from attending school to homeschooling due to the coronavirus, many parents are working to find more educational content to help keep their kids busy and learning. Google is doing its part to help out with a new kids-focused section in the Play Store.
A new "Kids" tab is now rolling out to the Play Store. It'll include teacher-approved apps that come with a special badge and an explanation about why they've been given that stamp of approval. For example, an app might be "Fun & engaging", it could include "Positive messages", or it could help spark "Creativity & imagination".
To help it find the best apps for kids, Google says that it worked with academic experts and teachers across the country. Those include Joe Blatt form the Harvard Graduate School of Education as well as Dr. Sandra Calvert from Georgetown University.
In addition to this new "Kids" tab in the Play Store, Google is also making it easy for Play Pass subscribers to find teacher-approved apps inside an "Apps and games for kids" section.
It can be difficult to really determine what's inside of an app and how appropriate it is for your kid without diving into the app and spending quality time with it. That can be difficult for parents even during normal times, and so it's likely not doable for many parents with everyone going on surrounding the coronavirus.
This new "Kids" section of the Play Store is a welcome addition that we're sure many parents will appreciate, and the explanations about why an app has been teacher-approved and what features it includes are a nice touch.
Google says that this new "Kids" tab will roll out in Google Play in the US over the next few days. It'll expand internationally in the coming months.