“Hey, my students are learning about Jane Goodall and I would you like to take them to Gombe National Park...but our buses don’t get that far. Any ideas, oh wise ITSs?” asks teacher A.

“Good point! And I just read Madeline’s Christmas to my students. How can I take them to the Eiffel Tower?” wonders teacher B.

“Oh man, we’ve been focused on Darwin and his studies, and would absolutely love to take them to the Galapagos Islands...but that seems kind of impossible,” states teacher C.

And like a chorus of teachers, A, B, and C altogether exclaim, “What can we do from our classroom?!”

“That’s easy, teachers. Just take them there...with Google Treks!” says the ITS.

Google Treks is similar to Google Maps “Street View.” Except that it’s where roads don’t go.

Available Treks right now are:

• Gombe National Park

• Pyramids of Giza

• Angkor Wat

• Colorado River

• Churchill (Polar Bear Capital of the World)

• Taj Mahal

• Venice, Italy

• Galapagos Islands

• Eiffel Tower

• Mt. Fuji

• Burj Khalifa

• Iqualuit

• Everest Base Camp

• Grand Canyon

• Great Barrier Reef

• Amazon Basin

• Kennedy Space Center

Did you know that many iPad Apps are also available as Google Apps? That means that we can do many of the same things no matter what device we have. If you’re new to Google and Chrome, you need to know how to get your favorite app from the Web Store:

Your new app will appear in your Apps list any time you click the Apps button. Just click on the new app to get started. It's that simple!

Connecting with classrooms, educators, and experts around the country and around the world is easier than ever. Elementary classes throughout the district have participated in Mystery Number or Location Hangouts. A middle school class at Deerpark, connected with a Mystery Hangout and then continued collaborating by blogging about a book both classes read.

Check out these communities to get started:

Mystery Hangout for schools - https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/110369120141935358658

Connected Classrooms Workshop-

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100662407427957932931

What ways have you connected with a classroom outside of your school?