Google New Zealand Blog

How to Find Kid-Friendly Apps in the New Zealand Play Store

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

We’ve heard from parents that it’s difficult to dig through all the content that's out there for kids. Today, we’re making it easier for parents to find the good stuff, with a new Kids tab on Google Play filled with “Teacher approved” apps that are both enriching and entertaining.

“Teacher approved” kid-friendly app content

Great content for kids can take many forms: Does it spark curiosity? Does it help your child learn? Is it just plain fun? To share the best apps for kids on the Play Store, we've teamed up with academic experts and teachers, including our lead advisors, Joe Blatt (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and Dr. Sandra Calvert (Georgetown University). Apps that have been rated by teachers and meet our quality standards receive a "Teacher approved" badge.

Apps are rated on factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight. We include information in the app listing about why the app was rated highly to help parents determine if the app is right for their child.

How to find “Teacher approved” apps in Google Play

Whenever parents search the Play Store, they can look for the “Teacher approved” badge to quickly see which apps have been reviewed and rated highly by teachers. If you want to browse content that's been "Teacher approved", simply go to the "Kids" tab. And, if you’re a Google Play Pass subscriber, a great selection of “Teacher approved” content is available within "Apps and games for kids."

Today’s announcement wouldn’t be possible without teachers who’ve been working closely with us for the last few years to curate apps that can help kids develop, grow and have fun. We trust teachers to enrich our kids while they’re in school, and we’re grateful they’ve shared their expertise to rate the apps kids use when they’re not in school as well.

The new Kids tab with “Teacher approved” apps is available today in New Zealand. We’d love to hear what you think as we continue to make the Play Store more helpful for parents. You can share your thoughts by opening the menu in the Play Store and tapping “Help and feedback.” And don’t forget—for parents who want to set digital ground rules for their kids, like setting time limits on the apps your child has on their device, check out our Family Link app.

Post content Posted by Mindy Brooks, UX Director, Google Play.

Kiwi students learn Computer Science without a computer, with CS Unplugged

Monday, August 10, 2020

When the world went into lockdown in March this year, teachers had to rapidly transition to remote learning. Sarah Ridgway was one of those teachers. Sarah is a Kiwi and has been a teacher for 14 years, working in education in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She is now back home teaching in a flexible space and utilises CS Unplugged materials to teach her Year 6-8 students Digital Technologies at her semi-rural school in Selwyn, Canterbury. As the school moved to distance learning, Sarah was aware that not all learners had access to a laptop or smartphone and some families may not have reliable internet access whilst attempting to learn from home. “I wanted the digital technology experiences to be accessible for everyone and thought the CS Unplugged resource gave me some really good lessons to start with.” Sarah said.

CS Unplugged is a set of fun, free resources that teach computer science concepts without a computer. Globally recognised as a great introduction to coding, and revolutionary in teaching computer science without a computer, Google has been a long time supporter of the programme.

Credit: csunplugged.org. Caption: In this activity each of these cards represents one bit (binary digit). All data on computers is stored using bits, and if one of them changes accidentally because of something like interference on a network or small failures on a disk drive, the computer needs to detect that this has happened, and ideally put it right again. In this trick, flipping a card simulates a bit being changed, which causes an error in the data.

Although learning opportunities during lockdown were optional at her school, Sarah found that many students chose to complete the tasks and enjoyed getting their siblings and parents involved too. “I was able to modify activities so only everyday household items were needed. Many activities were things they could learn and then teach others in their bubble. Photos and videos of successful attempts at the tasks were regularly shared with our community with comments from parents about how much they had enjoyed the activity.”

Caption: Sarah records herself doing the “Mind-reading magic” activity so that it can be shared with her students for them to attempt at home.

Being part of the pilot programme for CS Unplugged meant that Sarah had used CS Unplugged materials prior to COVID-19 impacting education, and had attended a number of professional development courses in the school holidays to upskill and build her knowledge in Computer Science. Sarah noted, “When I did the workshops I realised how much fun computer science is and how it's not just about programming and data. There is so much to it and it can be explained to children through really fun and integrated learning opportunities.”

Tim Bell and his team who develop the CS Unplugged resources, at the University of Canterbury, instantly saw the need for remote learning resources that could be used by anyone, anywhere. They worked quickly to produce materials that adapted the classroom version of CS Unplugged to allow parents and caregivers to be involved in their children’s learning in the home environment. There are currently five new Unplugged At Home resources available with more to come. As a long time supporter of the programme, Google wants to ensure students and teachers everywhere should have the resources they need to succeed in a digital future.

Posted by Marie Esftathiou, Program Manager, Computer Science Outreach and University Relations, Google Australia & New Zealand

‘After School’ with YouTube Kids

Monday, July 27, 2020

YouTube KidsYouTube Kids

Tayo the Little BusBaby Shark and PinkfongThe WigglesMasha And The BearOggy & the CockroachesPaddingtonHair LoveElmo’s World NewsHey DuggeeSpookizShookSimon's CatYouTube Originals for Kids & Family ChannelYouTube KidsSherwoodKings of AtlantisFruit Ninja Frenzy ForceLockdownfavourite flavoured popcornmovie night kitstheir own movie reviewthis great videoOprah WinfreyRami MalekMichelle YeohCamp YouTubeLearn@HomeBrave WildernessArtistYearGoldiebloxthe optionhand pickPosted by Don Anderson, Head of Family & Learning Partnerships, YouTube APAC

Google Play Pass: Your ticket to hundreds of apps and games, all without ads or in-app purchases

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Apps and games you already love, plus more to discover

Share with the whole familyGoogle Play Family LibraryGet startedherePosted by Zoe Hayes, Head of Apps & Platforms Marketing, Google Australia & New Zealand

Introducing a transparency report for New Zealand’s political ads

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Political Advertising on Googletransparencyset out our support ofPolitical Advertising on Google and Political Ad Library

Google Cloud’s BigQueryProtect Your Electionintroduced new toolsPosted by Ross Young, Government Relations and Public Policy Google New Zealand

Google Nest Mini is here, New Zealand

Thursday, June 11, 2020

A Speaker with Powerful SoundWhole home audiostream transfer
Your Assistant will keep getting betterSustainably designed for your homeall Nest productsprivacy commitmentsMy ActivityPosted by Caroline Rainsford, Country Director Google New Zealand

Supporting the 2020 New Zealand General Election

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

products and programsGetting voters the information they need CommissionHelping voters better understand the political advertising they seePolitical Ads Transparency ReportGoogle's ads policiesProtecting election information onlineAdvanced Protection ProgramProject ShieldGoogle News LabPosted by Ross Young, Government Relations and Public Policy for Google New Zealand

YouTube Music is Making it Simple to Transfer Over Your Google Play Music Library

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Easy Transfer and Transition

Download the YouTube Music app (iOS/Android).

Click on the transfer button in YouTube Music, and your uploads, purchases, added songs and albums, personal and subscribed playlists, likes and dislikes, curated stations and personal taste preferences will move right over.

Your updated recommendations will appear immediately on the YouTube Music home screen, and we’ll notify you via email and notifications when your music library transfer is complete and your music is in the “Library” tab.

this web pageYour New Home For Music: YouTube MusicYouTube Music

Catalog: YouTube Music offers over 50 million official tracks, albums and high quality audio, as well as deep cuts, B-sides, live performances, and remixes you can’t find anywhere else.

Listen everywhere: Explore YouTube Music’s audio-first music app, desktop and smart speaker experience.

Recommendations: Discover new music through YouTube Music’s home screen recommendations and personalised mixes - My Mix, Discovery Mix, and New Release Mix - based on taste, location, time of day and Play Music preferences after transferring.

Official Playlists: Listen to thousands of official playlists from both YouTube Music and Google Play Music.

Playlist Creation: We’ve increased playlist length from 1,000 to 5,000 songs to make room for even more of your favorites songs.

Uploads: You can listen to your uploaded and purchased music from Google Play Music after your transfer, or add up to 100,000 personal tracks to your library in YouTube Music (an increase of more than 50,000 compared to Google Play Music).

Offline listening: Paying members can download any song, playlist, music video or let smart downloads (Android only for now) do it for you so you always have something to listen to, even when you don’t have service.

Lyrics: Lyrics offer highly visible access to follow along to tracks.

Explore Tab: An all-new Explore tab offering one go-to place to discover new music and YouTube Music’s vast catalog of playlists through New Releases and Moods & Genres sections.