Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, has launched a safe search engine for schools. The program was announced last week and was named Bing for schools. It will be available in the U.S first, offering schools a tailor made search engine.
The program, which is open to K-12 and upwards, will do the following:
- Filter out adult content
- Offer additional content to enhance digital literacy skills
- Use safe search by default
- Remove all advertising from search result pages
Microsoft has been heavily involved within the learning network through their partners. The service will not require any additional cost or software. We believe the team at Bing are still to determine the details of how the service will work.
Bing will be offered voluntarily to schools, which will just need to sign up for the service which is completely free.
Matt Wallaert, Bing Behavioral Scientist, released a statement saying that more information will be made available once the new school year draws closer. He said “We see the program as something we can build alongside teachers, parents, and visionaries to create the best possible search experience for our children, and will continue to update you with new information as we work towards our launch later this year,” he wrote.
The value proposition is certainly there. Putting the product front-and-center in schools where students are forced to use them every day is certainly a strategy that ultimately worked for Apple. But with the details not yet finalised, the question of whether schools will sign up is yet to be answered.
