Why freemium software has no place in our classrooms

Freemium software in education exacerbates the digital divide for students who may be economically disadvantaged compared to their peers. (Shutterstock)

Digital teaching and communication tools are increasingly present in kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms. By April 2020, not long after the onset of the pandemic, Google Classroom had doubled its users to more than 100 million.

For educational technology companies, the pandemic accelerated opportunities to grow markets and profits.