Educational Implications of Google Acquiring Motorola

By Tech Powered Dad | August 16, 2011

Google grabbed headlines yesterday with the announcement that they would be paying a whopping $12.5 billion for Motorola. Here’s the story from the Associated Press.

This acquisition will potentially have a big impact on educators down the road as tablets continue to make inroads in schools. It sets the stage for Google and Apple to move into an all out brawl between Android and iOS as they struggle for control of the mobile space of phones and tablets. Google will now have the capability to manufacture their own phones and tablets, something they’ve already dabbled in via partnerships with phone makers with the Nexus line of phones.

Earlier this summer, I wrote about a potential device I dubbed the SchoolTab, a vision for a tablet the College Board would allow on the SAT and AP exams. At the end of that article, I looked at a wide field of potential players in the competition to create such a device. Both Google and Motorola made the list. Between the time I’ve had to think further and this latest news, let me narrow the list to three.

  • Google
  • Apple
  • Amazon
All three of these tech giants have some connection to education, all are known for products that users love, and when Google’s purchase of Motorola becomes final, all three will currently be manufacturing tablets. Unless a current calculator manufacturer beats them to the punch, I think an education friendly tablet is most likely to come from this group. One more thing I like about these companies, is that each of them has significant clout, possibly enough to begin a campaign with the College Board to update their testing policies.
STEM careers are the future. Will you be ready?

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