Google hopes for extra credit with updates to education apps - CNET

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Sigh. Yes, the break is over and school awaits. But with a little luck you might be able to ditch class and go to the moon instead.

With the new school year upon us, Google has souped up its Expeditions and Classroom apps for teachers and students.

The Expeditions app, which lets students take virtual-reality field trips with the help of a phone and Google's Cardboard VR headset, now features more places to "go," the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.

New Expeditions include a walk on the moon, a visit to the White House kitchen garden, a jaunt inside the human lungs, a stroll in the Himalayas in Bhutan, a meander on the ocean floor, a look at the Taj Mahal's history and an encounter with planes flown by the Tuskegee Airmen.

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Expeditions will be moving beyond Android and coming to iOS devices soon too, Google said in its post. On the iPad, viewers will be able to use full-screen mode, rather than a headset, to participate.