Bing in the Classroom

Microsoft has introduced “Bing in the Classroom,” a platform that lets administrators enable an ad-free, adult content-free version of the browser for students. The program, initially launched as “Bing for Schools,” was accessed by 4.5 million students. Now, Bing in the Classroom is available to any K-12 institution throughout the nation. 

“We created Bing in the Classroom because we believe students deserve a search environment tailored for learning,” said Bing in the Classroom creator Matt Wallaert, according to PCMag. “Classrooms should be ad-free, and that should be as true online as it is offline.”

Microsoft is still allowing schools to earn points via Bing Rewards and win free Surface tablets by using the search engine, says GeekWire. Communities and parents can also donate their rewards points to schools, reports TechCrunch. So far, two million Bing Rewards credits have been donated to 8,000 different schools. It takes 30,000 credits to get a free Surface.

“The Bing in the Classroom program is no doubt a way for Microsoft to move students away from using Google and instead search the Web with Bing,” says GeekWire’s Taylor Soper. “The focus on privacy and advertising is no surprise, as Microsoft certainly hasn’t been shy about calling out Google for its privacy practices.”

Bing in the Classroom requires registration by the school and is not available for home use. Since Bing will not be able to earn revenue from advertisements, the company hopes that children who are using Bing in school will start to use Bing from home, where they will see advertisements, reports Search Engine Watch.

The company says it is the only major search engine that provides a safe, ad-free search for students.

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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