Microsoft has promised that Flipgrid's offerings will still work with other "partner ecosystems," so Google-centric classrooms won't suddenly lose a portion of their curriculum.

The move makes sense given Microsoft's changing role in schools. The company has lost ground to Google in education on a number of fronts, including PCs (Chromebooks are increasingly common) and cloud services. While Microsoft is directly challenging Google with new PCs and tools, Flipgrid gives it a foothold in an area where Google doesn't really compete, regardless of the devices and software the students use.