Google provides Google Apps for Education free of charge, including unlimited hard-drive space for storage. Frizzell thinks the payoff for the company will come in the future.

A Google spokeswoman confirmed to Education Week recently that the company did scan and index emails in the Apps for Education suite to use for various purposes, including advertising.

The pandemic has accelerated the spread of laptops and learning apps in schools, they say, normalizing digital education tools for millions of teachers, students and their families.