Google gives away Glass to Bay Area non-profit

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Google Glass just got more affordable for a few non-profits handpicked to try it out. Glass is still a $1,500 device, but free for the winners of the Giving Through Glass contest.

Kelley Coyne just tried on Google Glass for the first time but not the last. She's one of the instructors for Women's Audio Mission, a San Francisco non-profit that teaches the art of sound production.

"We're training women and girls to be a part of that because there's less than five percent women in that industry right now," Executive Director Terri Winston said.

Winston's been faced with a good problem -- so much interest, including from school groups, that they can't fit everybody into the tiny control room.

"There's like 15 girls and I'm like, 'So you actually have to all crowd around and I don't know if you can see what I'm doing,' so the Google Glass is gonna be really great so they can actually see what I'm seeing," Coyne said.

Projected on a big screen, Glass gives the whole class an up-close view without tying up the teacher's hands. Just as important -- it's unobtrusive.

"As you know, bringing a camera into the classroom, especially with young girls, is a big distraction," Winston said.

Women's Audio Mission serves more than 800 students a year, but Winston dreams of serving thousands more. She just learned that she will. "I jumped out of my seat and did a little scream off the phone and then got back on the phone. I was extremely excited. That infusion of cash for us is big," she said.

Google is donating $25,000 to the program, enough money to start broadcasting live classes online. Coyne will be able to see questions from students halfway around the world.

"It's been such an important part of my life and I really think that more women should know about it," Coyne said.