Amazon is entering the education technology market with an online marketplace of digital educational resources. Called Amazon Inspire, the platform will let educators upload or access free digital teaching resources, says the company. The marketplace is expected to have thousands of free lesson plans, worksheets, and instructional materials for teachers of K-12 education to use.

Where is the content coming from? The U.S. Department of Education is providing resources to Amazon Inspire from College Scorecard (a collection of information for making choices about which college to attend). Other contributing publishers include EdLeader21 Buck Institute for Education, Newseum, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Amazon is also reaching out to teachers, schools, districts and states, calling them to contribute by uploading, sharing, and reviewing resources.

Early adopter states of Amazon Inspire are Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont, early adopter school districts, including Avonworth School District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cajon Valley Union School District, El Cajon, California; Liberty Public Schools, Missouri; Metro Nashville Public Schools; Tullahoma City Schools, Tennessee; and Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

[Image courtesy: Amazon]