"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." — Mark Twain
About Google Lit Trips
The Google Lit Trips project is the flagship project of GLT Global ED, a 501c)(3) educational nonprofit not affiliated or sponsored by Google.
The essence of the Google Lit Trips project is the use of Google Earth to create immersive 3D literary field trips where students virtually become traveling companions with characters in stories commonly taught in grades kindergarten through high school.
Google Lit Trips is an internationally-acclaimed educational technology project, recognized by such prestigious organizations as: The Tech Museum of Innovation Laureate Awards; The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education; The CUE LeRoy Finkel Fellowship; Public Radio International; American Library Association; School Library Journal; International Society for Technology and Education; National Council of Teachers of English; Teacher Librarian, the Journal for School Library Professionals and many others.
We have been featured in more than 100 scholarly publications. Publications citing the Google Lit Trips project can be found here.
Meet the Founder & President
After fighting the good fight on the front lines of a California high school English classroom for 38 years, Jerome Burg has extended his lifelong devotion to education by creating tools to enhance students' learning and appreciation for the wisdom derived from classic literature, and in promoting pedagogical currency for educators.
He currently juggles his time in support of the Google Lit Trips project, global speaking engagements, professional conferences, curriculum compliance standards, and trends in educational technology. In his capacity as a Google Earth Education Expert, he served as a trusted tester during the development of the Google Earth Content Creation Tool.
GLT Global ED Board of Directors
Kevin Amboe, M.A., Integration Support Teacher, Surrey, BC V3V 0B7Kevin has been a teacher in Surrey, British Columbia since 1995. He is passionate about meaningfully integrating technology and teaching pedagogy in the classroom. He has taught Elementary, Secondary, and served as District Consultant supporting 126 sites, and Provincial Learning Coordinator for BC Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium.
For the last two years, he has been working as an Integration Support Teacher sharing 31 students with Special Needs including Autism, Downs Syndrome, and physical challenges.
In 2007, Kevin was selected one of only 50 Canadian Apple Distinguished Educators. He holds an M.A. in Educational Leadership, and works towards building understanding and capacity of Information and Media Literacy. He has served as the President and Conference Chair for Computer Using Educators of British Columbia, is a frequent conference presenter, and serves as a founding member of the GLT Global ED Board of Directors.
http://iamliterate.blogspot.com
Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology Service, Berryessa Union School District, San Jose, CA
Kyle currently serves as the Director of Technology Services, for the Berryessa Union School District. In this role, Kyle manages the technology infrastructure and works to implement new technologies which enhance teaching and learning. Kyle spent more than 20 years as a classroom teacher, developing a variety of programs and courses which use technology tools to enhance the learning experience for teachers and students. Kyle also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Foothill College, teaching courses in educational technology and multimedia. Through his work at Foothill College, Kyle wrote and was awarded a statewide grant to build a MakerSpace designed to teach teachers how to implement Maker activities in their classroom.
Kyle co-authored Creating a Google Apps Classroom published by Shell Educationin 2014. In recent years, he has worked to make technological tools available and accessible to schools and students through a variety of presentations at local, state, and national conferences, including: CUE, ISTE, Google Teacher/Innovator Academy, and others. He has also worked with schools and districts to design and implement a variety of professional learning and instructional programs.
Elizabeth Calhoon-Brumbaugh, M.S.Ed., Director of Learning, Innovation, and Design - Preschool-Grade 12, The Harker School, San Jose, CAElizabeth has extensive experience in public and private schools, across grade levels from early childhood education through higher education. She co-authored Creating a Google Apps Classroom published by Shell Education.
Elizabeth taught all levels of High School English, from remedial to Advanced Placement courses, was Newspaper Advisor, Mock Trial Coach and English-Language Arts Curriculum Leader. Additionally, she led the Educational Technology Services Team in the Santa Clara County, supporting over 30 districts. She holds an M.S.Ed. as well as a B.A. in English and a minor in Psychology, along with her clear teaching and administrative credentials.
Elizabeth garners the following distinguished honors: 2015 ACSA (Association of California School Administrators) Technology Administrator of the Year, Google Certified Teacher, Common Sense Media & CUE Lead Learner, Sony Education Ambassador, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Innovative Learning Technologies' PLN Member at Large, Past Lead 3.0 Conference Planning Committee Member, FableVision Ambassador, Leading Edge Certification Professional Developer.
Teresa Pombo Pereira, M.A., Education & Educational Technology, Portuguese Language Teacher, Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science (Carlos Gargaté School Cluster), Teacher Trainer.Teresa has a degree in Portuguese and French and a post-grad course in Translation (English and French) by the Institut Franco-Portugais and the University of Strasbourg. She holds a Master's Degree in Education (Educational Technology). She founded the project "Viagens literárias" (Literary voyages) which aims to provide access to digital learning resources about literature and other curricular subjects as well as to support teachers and provide professional development on the use of digital learning resources.
Teresa has worked for the Ministry of Education Central Services (General Directorate of Education and National Reading Plan) for almost ten years, coordinating several national and european projects on educational technologies and media education. She has been pioneering the use of cell phones as educational tools to promote oral production, reading and creative writing as well as fornative assessment. Teresa is a popular conference presenter and serves as a founding member of the GLT Global ED Board of Directors.
Digital Reading Scripts. Because all reading is a journey. https://pnl2027.gov.pt/np4/rdl_apresentacao.html
Portugal National Reading Plan (in english):
https://pnl2027.gov.pt/np4EN/file/8/NRPframework.pdf
Josh Williams, Round Rock Independent School District in Austin, Texas
For over a decade Josh Williams has been working as a social studies teacher at Westwood High School, an International Baccalaureate World School, in Austin, Texas. While teaching, Josh created (and continues to maintain)
geteach.com.
His site received the 2012 Geographic Excellence in Media award from the National Council for Geographic Education; it also has been featured on Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers, Google Earth blog, and Google Maps Mania blogs respectively. As a Google Earth Education Expert, Josh has had the opportunity to share his knowledge of Google Geo Tools throughout North America. Google Earth Education and National Geographic have featured how he has integrated Google Geo Tools in the classroom on their websites.