Take a second and imagine a world where Georgia’s students could wake up in their own homes, hop on the school bus by 7:15, arrive at school by 8, learn about biological species in the Amazon, examine marine life in the Great Barrier Reef, explore the American Revolution in Great Britain, tour the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., peer into the dawn of modern Europe from Athens, stand before an erupting volcano and even take a trip to the moon — all before lunchtime.
 
Today, Google, along with Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods, announced technology that will turn that imaginary possibility into a virtual reality for students across the state.
 
During a demonstration at Hope Hill Elementary, the tech giant demonstrated Google Expeditions, a brand new smartphone application offering a technological experience that allows teachers to take their students on virtual field trips.
 
The program was created to bring abstract concepts presented in textbooks to life, giving students a deeper understanding of the world — beyond pages in a book and outside classroom walls.
 
Google Expeditions includes collections of virtual reality content as well as supporting materials linked to existing curricula, a tablet for teachers and cardboard viewers for students.
 
One Hope Hill Elementary student said it best after looking through the cardboard viewer and starting his Expedition for the first time: “Was that learning,” he asked puzzlingly. “Because, it was fun.”
 
The program will launch in hundreds of schools across the U.S. later this year, but Atlanta is one of the few cities chosen to experience the technology first.