(upbeat music) It is a great day to learn something new.

Guten Morgen!

That is how you would say hello in Germany.

(Frisbee hums) Oh, guten morgen, Frisbee.

Oh, good morning, Mrs. Saum.

Good to see you.

Frisbee: It's good to see you, too.

Did you know that my family lived in Germany for almost five years, and it's where both of my children were born?

Oh, well, that's great.

Congratulations.

Jessica: Thanks.

While we lived in Germany, it was important for us to stay connected with friends and family who still lived in the United States.

And since we've moved back here to Arkansas, we want to stay connected with our friends in Germany.

Oh, well, that's what I'm having problems with right now, communication, Mrs. Saum.

Well, I don't think this old phone is going to help.

But we are fortunate that we do have other technology that makes communication a lot easier.

Tell me more.

Well, think about how technology transcends borders.

It makes learning accessible to more people.

It doesn't matter what state or timezone you live in.

We can use devices like computers, Chromebooks and tablets to take advantage of digital learning opportunities and connect, communicate and collaborate with people all across the world.

Digital learning has started to transform our world and not just at school, but in all stages of life.

So my husband Shane is in the Air Force, and he just spent a year working at Lodge's Air Field in the Azores.

He has to regularly work with people all the way in Germany for work.

It is amazing how technology helped him work from across the ocean and for us to stay connected as we drove to school and could video call on our phones each day.

That means you could communicate anywhere.

Anywhere and everywhere.

But what if we did want to get together in person or he needed to work with those other people?

For example, we live in Arkansas, and if I wanted to get to South Carolina to visit friends or family, how could I get there?

Oh, well, I guess you could take a car or a train maybe.

Absolutely.

Those are great options.

We could also fly.

But what if I wanted to visit my husband in the Azores or go all the way to Germany?

I don't know.

Walk, maybe?

I don't think I'm going to walk that far, and I definitely can't drive.

But I could take a plane.

Planes, cars and trains are great ways to experience travel and stay connected with people all across the world.

I love flying.

You might as well just call me an Airedale terrier.

Jessica: (laughs) Oh, my.

Goodness.

So we said I couldn't drive to Portugal if I wanted to get there, but I could drive to South Carolina.

Those are ways we can travel to stay connected to our friends and family.

For sure.

If I could drive there or I could get on an airplane and fly.

Both of these are great choices when my family wants to go on a trip anywhere in the United States or across the world.

Certainly.

Jessica: When you visit friends or family that do not live close to you, how do you get there?

Oh, I tend to walk a lot.

Well, could we drive to Portugal?

Oh, I love car trips, but that'd be a long ways to go.

There's not a chance.

Frisbee: Oh!

We could use a ship to get there, but it would definitely make the most sense to fly.

The same is true for Germany.

Because of this amazing technology we can use to travel, I can be halfway across the world in a single day, and that's pretty amazing.

Did you know that other countries like Germany, have high speed rail travel and that when we lived there, I could get from the city of Kaiserslautern near my home to Paris, France, in half the time it would take to drive there?

Oh, that's crazy.

I've never been on a train before.

Jessica: It's a lot of fun.

You can sit back with a book.

You can get a snack.

It is amazing to see how our lives continue to be more and more connected because of access to increased and improved technology.

Technology opens up channels of communica- tion and gives us tools we can use to learn and the skills we need to communicate and collaborate effectively.

That's great.

Think about this technology next time you want to talk or connect with a friend or family member this summer.

Opportunities to stay connected are truly amazing.

I could talk to all my pups.

(upbeat music) Whoa, who turned out the lights?

Mrs. Saum.

Jessica: (laughs) I can't see anything.

It's time to rise and shine.