Google and the Chromebook Are Going Toe-to-Toe With Apple in Education

The e-learning industry is expected to grow into an enormous $50 billion market worldwide over the next two years. Currently, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , with its iPad, digital textbooks, and courses, appears to have the leading presence within this space. However, recent initiatives by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL  ) show that the market is not Apple's for the taking.

Technology's biggest & best mold e-learning
If the e-learning market does in fact grow to $50 billion, it would appear that Apple has a first-to-market advantage. The company began selling digital textbooks back in 2012, and according to IDC, Apple has an 85% share of the U.S. education tablet market, and sold 13 million iPads in the worldwide education market as of July.

However, one problem that's keeping Apple from penetrating all schools and universities in America is that its products are knowingly expensive. As a result, cities that have embraced digital transformation for education have resorted to issuing bonds or attempting to find grants as a way to handle the increased expense of bringing Apple into the school systems. For parents, college students, or school systems, supplying an iPad for all can be a big task, especially when textbooks are still being purchased, albeit digitally.

With that said, Google introduced Classroom back in May, and last month it became open to all classrooms. Most importantly, Google Classroom is free in its Apps for Education, and serves as a portal to allow teachers to create and assign homework, communicate with students, and offer real-time lesson planning.

Students then utilize Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to get their work done, and can easily manage classes with each subject having its own unique page.

Google's opportunity to shine
Albeit, schools already have computers, as do most households, but the real value in Google Classroom is the opportunity for Google to market Chromebooks. These are low-end laptop-like devices that come standard with Google software, like Docs, Chrome, and YouTube.

Already, Chromebooks have become very popular in the education sector, even before Google began targeting education with Classroom. Gartner estimates that 85% of the 2.9 million Chromebooks sold last year were to the education sector. For 2014, Gartner expects sales to exceed five million, and over 14 million by 2017. Therefore, given this growth, Google's launch of Classroom gives the tech giant a prime opportunity to push Chromebooks into more school systems.

Why the success?
Chromebooks are small, portable, like a laptop. However, Chromebooks are also cheap, starting at under $200 and many models actually have Internet built into the device. Another possible reason that Chromebooks have been popular in education, aside from price, is the keyboard.

In all levels of education writing papers, fill in the blank, short summaries are all prevalent, and can get quite difficult on a touch-screen iPad. While some have mastered the art of touch keyboards, traditional keyboards are a great advantage for completing such tasks.

Source:Googleblog

Furthermore, after experimenting with 8,600 students in Clarkstown Central School District, Google found that by combining Chromebooks with its new Classroom software there was a direct benefit of increased student engagement and improved organization for the classroom. A private college preparatory high school called Fontbonne Hall Academy also noted an increase in student engagement along with time savings, convenience, and organization as the noted benefits. These combined advantages all explain Google's success in the classroom, and why it might continue.

Foolish thoughts
Now that Google has software designed specifically for the classroom, it's very possible that it can give Apple a run for its money in the e-learning market. The Education Industry Association estimates that Federal and State expenditures for education exceed $750 billion annually, giving whichever technology giant can make the biggest impact the opportunity for significant long-term monetization.

With that said, Apple may have the first-to-market advantage, but it speaks volume that Google had such success with Chromebooks before ever having software aimed specifically at the classroom. Now that Classroom is live, don't be surprised if Chromebooks become even more prevalent in the education sector, and if Google ultimately wins the battle for education against Apple.

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