The post Storytelling in 3D: Bringing Narrative Learning to Life appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Storytelling has long been a cornerstone of effective teaching. From ancient oral traditions to modern digital narratives, stories provide a natural way for students to connect with information, making learning more engaging and memorable. Research has shown that narrative-driven instruction enhances comprehension, fosters critical thinking, and improves information retention. But why is storytelling so powerful in the classroom, and how can educators harness 3D technology to amplify its impact?
The Power of Narrative in Learning
Stories captivate us because they provide context and meaning. When students encounter facts in isolation, they may struggle to see their relevance, but when those same facts are embedded within a narrative, they become part of a journey. Immersive storytelling deepens this connection further by placing students inside the narrative itself. When learners actively engage in a story—rather than passively absorbing information—they experience emotions, make decisions, and develop empathy.
Immersive learning principles explain that engaging, interactive narratives improve understanding by making lessons feel personal. When students see themselves as part of a story, they become more invested in the material. This is particularly true in subjects like history, literature, and science, where students can step into different perspectives and visualize abstract concepts in context. But traditional storytelling methods have limitations—textbooks, images, and even videos can only take students so far.
Transforming Storytelling with 3D Model Building in Sandbox
3D technology, like that available in Sandbox, revolutionizes narrative learning by enabling students to build and interact with their own immersive worlds. Instead of simply reading about a historical event, they can reconstruct it. Instead of watching a documentary, they can create their own. This shift—from passive learning to active creation—transforms students into storytellers, not just content consumers.
Imagine a lesson on Ancient Egyptian temple design. Traditionally, students might read about the grandeur of Karnak or watch a video explaining its significance. While these methods convey information, they lack personal engagement. Now, picture students using Sandbox to build their own Ancient Egyptian narrative.
They begin by constructing a temple, carefully placing columns, statues, and hieroglyphs, making decisions based on historical research. As they create, they consider not just the architecture, but the story behind it—who would have built this temple? Why was it significant? What ceremonies took place here? Perhaps they narrate a scene where a young Egyptian scribe enters the temple to witness a grand festival. In crafting this scene, they must apply knowledge of religious customs, social hierarchies, and artistic styles. They aren’t just learning history; they are stepping inside it.
Then comes the true power of technology like Sandbox. Using life-sized AR, students can stand beside their creations, experiencing scale and texture in ways that static images cannot provide. A towering obelisk feels imposing when you see it at full height. The intricate carvings on temple walls evoke the pride and craftsmanship of their creators. This sensory engagement helps students internalize not just the facts, but the deeper significance of these structures.
Case Study: The Second World War
In a perfect example of the impact of this approach, Lawford School in Essex used Sandbox to bring WWII history to life through student-created narratives. Instead of just studying the Blitz, students built 3D environments and crafted immersive stories.
Using Sandbox’s green screen feature, students created news reports interviewing virtual civilians about bombings and first-person videos experiencing an air raid inside an Anderson Shelter. These narratives gave students a personal connection to history, fostering empathy and deeper understanding.
Teachers reported increased engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking. The project showcased how 3D storytelling transforms history lessons into immersive, memorable experiences.
Empowering Students Through Narrative Creation
Beyond history, this approach can apply to literature, science, social studies, and many more topics. Students can build interactive stories around fictional worlds, model the evolution of a species over time, or create a digital museum showcasing artifacts from a period they’ve researched. The possibilities are endless, but the key takeaway is the same—when students create stories in 3D, they move beyond memorization to deep, meaningful understanding.
As educators, embracing technology like Sandbox allows us to cultivate critical thinking, creativity, and engagement in ways traditional methods cannot. When students don’t just read history, but build it—when they don’t just hear about cultures, but step into them—their learning becomes an experience, not just a lesson. In the age of digital learning, 3D storytelling is the bridge between education and imagination, giving students the power to bring narratives to life.
Sandbox is now Available for Chromebook
The award-winning Sandbox app has landed on the Google Play Store for Chromebook devices, bringing immersive learning to even more classrooms!
The Chromebook version matches the beloved features of Sandbox: students can create stages, use a vast library of 3D models, explore pre-made scenes, and share their creations between devices. In Sandbox for Chromebook, students shrink themselves down into their scenes and explore them in an interactive, video-game style using a keyboard and mouse.
Designed for access and equity, Sandbox for Chromebook is helping us work towards every student experiencing hands-on immersive learning and exploring the universe from inside their classroom.
Hannah McNaughton-Hussain
The post Storytelling in 3D: Bringing Narrative Learning to Life appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>The post Augmented Reality: Meet the Makers appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that blurs the line between the digital and the real world. Using AR in education to replace a tabletop with a mountain range or the school hallway with the surface of the moon lets students interact with their surroundings in entirely new, immersive ways. Read on to go behind the scenes with the makers of Discovery Education’s AR experiences, Phil and Dan Birchinall and check out Discovery Education’s collection of augmented reality apps and other immersive experiences on our Immersive Learning hub.
Tell us a little bit about yourselves. How did your career lead you to working with Augmented Reality (AR)?
Phil: In the early 1990s, I started working in inner city schools in Manchester, teaching children from very diverse backgrounds as part of a technology project run by the UK government. Although at the time we were placing state of the art technology into the hands of teachers and students, it often failed to sustain engagement beyond the initial excitement. It was clear that a deeper understanding of engagement and newer ways to use the undeniable power of education technology to deliver it were needed. After developing projects that had technology-mediated storytelling at their heart, the students across the school district began to show a strong attachment to the subjects being taught, and an equally strong desire to go deeper into them. Teachers reported that student attention, attendance, and behavior were improving. From there I worked across the city, country, and the European Union developing projects and managing innovation before co-founding Inspyro with my son Dan, who is Discovery Education’s Head of Immersive Content.
Dan: I started working in the education content space when I left university. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by cutting-edge technology when I was growing up, and in my education work I was keen to integrate technology into the learning experience. Initially this took the form of video, animations, and audio, but as soon as I saw Augmented Reality in action for the first time, I knew it was an incredible tool to deploy in the classroom. 2023 is the 10th anniversary of launching my first Augmented Reality app and I haven’t looked back since.
What excited you the most about AR when it first began to emerge? How has it changed since then? Where is it going?
Phil: AR was, and still is, a misunderstood and misapplied technology in education. Too often it’s led by gadgets and gimmicks, with very little thought to the primary objective in the classroom—illuminating and inspiring learning. Technology, especially technology like AR, has a magical appeal and impact on those that use it. Any teaching and learning tool that can illicit gasps from teachers and students alike deserves a place in the classroom. We now weave these techniques into a broad range of content that we call “immersive,” based on how students and educators respond to it. Immersion is a feeling and happens on a scale; it can be purely instructional or can move you to tears of joy or sadness (and everything between).
Dan: The first time I saw Augmented Reality it felt like a glimpse of the sci-fi future Hollywood had been promising us for decades. Even in its early form, AR felt like magic. What excited me most was how AR could let us do things that no other medium could, and that’s why it’s so effective as a learning tool in the classroom. Looking ahead we’re going to see the merging of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality with headsets from leading tech companies, which will only further blend our physical and digital worlds. It’s important to note, however, that you don’t need expensive headsets to have great experiences in AR; your smartphones and tablets can deliver transformative AR experiences too (like Sandbox AR)!
Walk us through the process of creating AR from initial concept to a functioning application. How long does it usually take? What stages must you work through?
Phil: We have strong guiding principles that we adhere to when making immersive content. We need to be sure that it’s worth the effort and that there is a clear focus for the content. We start by asking, “will the concept engage students?” Once we have decided that we have a good concept, it’s about designing an experience. We want the technology to draw students into the narrative or journey we have designed. This could be a narrative that contains elements that hook the user in, like episodes (as in TimePod Adventures) or the opportunity for students to create content and express themselves and their learning (like Sandbox AR). But it’s equally important to provide the standards and curriculum context to produce a successful learning outcome.
Dan: We follow one important rule when developing an Augmented Reality experience: don’t do anything that can be done better in an alternative medium. This philosophy drives the design process and ensures that our final product uses AR to its full potential. Development itself almost always begins with creating a simple prototype that demonstrates the core experience. We then build on this prototype to enhance the visuals and ensure the user experience is smooth and intuitive. We are lucky to have a core group of educators who help refine the experience and ensure it will work well in a classroom environment!
What is the most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?
Phil: We’ve worked on some fascinating projects over the years, and it’s allowed us access to some amazing people and places. Historical exploration is a very natural application of immersive content, so we’ve found ourselves in some interesting places! We’ve been in a cold museum basement with 20 dead ancient Egyptians, crawled into small spaces to film fossilized remains of a 90-million-year-old plesiosaur, and have pushed the boundaries of photogrammetry with detailed 3D models of tiny microliths (stone tools) used 11,000 years ago that we brought back to life on Lunt Meadows, the site of one of Europe’s most important Mesolithic settlements. With Discovery Education, we’ve created simulations and models of Haul trucks the size of a house, with a full mine to explore, mapped the surface of the moon and Mars, and are currently modeling the Edge experience at Hudson Yards for DE’s first VR experience!
Dan: We‘ve been lucky enough to work on a great variety of projects using AR (and VR) from recreating ancient Mesolithic sites or transporting people to the trenches of World War I, to developing VR prototypes to improve the vision of people suffering from macular degeneration. The most exciting project for me is Sandbox AR—with Sandbox we built a toolbox for students and educators to see what amazing worlds they could create and share with each other. And they haven’t disappointed!
How do you imagine AR use in the classroom will continue to change?
Phil: Any technology like Augmented Reality is driven by powerful hype cycles that cause great interest in the media and huge speculation amongst users. The current hype is around wearable technology like AR glasses. Remember Google Glass? The concept never went away and there is continued speculation around what Apple is about to bring to market this year. We keep an extremely close eye on these trends. We expect that AI will be integrated very soon into our experiences in ways that we couldn’t have imagined even months ago. Our innovation is continually driven by our users in the classroom, which helps us focus on the right thing: positive outcomes for learners and educators.
Dan: I would love to see AR being used in a collaborative manner in the classroom, with students and educators working together to build and explore new digital worlds. It’s certainly something we have on our roadmap for Sandbox AR and the possibilities are incredibly exciting!
Do you have any stories about teachers’ or students’ reactions to using AR?
Phil: My favorite story (which I bet Dan will tell as well) of bringing AR to education happened in 2013, ancient history in AR years. I was demonstrating to a room full of teachers how their iPad and our app could make objects appear on top of the worksheet they were using. As they used the app there was absolute astonishment and gasps around the room. Out if the corner of my eye, I spotted one teacher look around to check if anyone was watching, and when she was sure they weren’t, she carefully looked underneath the iPad to check that the 1920 London Cenotaph hadn’t materialized on the floor right there. I found that quite profound! The author Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Dan: Yes, that story of demonstrating our very first AR app to educators at a conference was something I’ll never forget! I noticed one teacher looked under the iPad to check we hadn’t put an object underneath it, and at that moment I knew we had something magical.
What is your advice to young people interested in working with AR in the future?
Phil: Any technology like Augmented Reality is driven by cycles of interest in the media and speculation amongst users. For us, we keep an extremely close eye on trends. As I mentioned, we can expect that AI will be integrated into our experiences soon, and in incredible ways. We keep our management and exploitation of innovation driven by our users in the classroom, so we can stay focused on positive outcomes for learners and educators.
Dan: If you’re not familiar with Augmented Reality, play with some apps first. Sandbox AR is a great demonstrator of some core AR principles and it’s also free to use! AR works best when you play to its strengths, and you can only understand that when you’re familiar with the medium. On a technical level, our development team uses Unity to build our AR experiences and we do our programming in C#. Unity is free to use for students and is also an amazing tool for making all kinds of interactive content. To those who want to learn, my only advice is to start small and learn the basics—that’s what I did!
Augmented Reality (AR) is an evolving, exciting technology reaching classrooms thanks to makers like Phil and Dan! AR can help students have powerful, immersive learning experiences not possible through other media.
Phil Birchinall
Senior Director, Immersive Content
Phil has been an educator and award-winning EdTech innovation leader for over 30 years, creating and delivering high-impact content into the classroom. In 2022, he was named as one of the pioneers of immersive learning and has led regional and national education and innovation initiatives in the UK as well as across the European Union. Phil was co-founder of the award-winning immersive company Inspyro that was acquired by Discovery Education in 2019.
Dan Birchinall
Head of Immersive Content
Dan is Head of Immersive Content at Discovery Education where he leads an incredibly talented team of developers making interactive content for schools. Dan has over a decade's experience building cutting-edge experiences in augmented and virtual reality and is responsible for multiple award-winning products, including Discovery Education's own Sandbox AR.
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]]>The post 25 Ways to Use Sandbox in the Classroom appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Technology can be a powerful tool for deepening engagement and enhancing student understanding. From exploring ancient civilizations to creating science labs and visualizing math concepts, Sandbox empowers students to design their own virtual and AR experiences, making learning not only interactive but also personalized and unforgettable.
Sandbox is available for FREE from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Sandbox is installed on 1.3 million devices worldwide. So, how are educators using it effectively? Below are 25 creative ways to bring Sandbox into your lessons, helping students to connect, create, and learn like never before.
25 Ways to Bring Sandbox into the Classroom
Sandbox is Now Available for Chromebook!
The award-winning Sandbox app has landed on the Google Play Store for Chromebook devices, bringing immersive learning to even more classrooms!
The Chromebook version matches the beloved features of Sandbox: students can create stages, use a vast library of 3D models, explore pre-made scenes, and share their creations between devices. In Sandbox for Chromebook, students shrink themselves down into their scenes and explore them in an interactive, video-game style using a keyboard and mouse.
Designed for simple and easy access, Sandbox for Chromebook is helping us work towards every student experiencing hands-on immersive learning and exploring the universe from inside their classroom.
The post 25 Ways to Use Sandbox in the Classroom appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>The post Reimagining Curriculum with 3D Scene Building appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Educators are always looking for ways to make curriculum-based learning more engaging and impactful and today they have an arsenal of digital learning tools to help. Enter Sandbox, a powerful 3D modeling tool from Discovery Education, designed to bring immersive learning to life on Chromebooks and iPads. This innovative tool makes standards-based instruction more immersive, interactive, and effective, transforming how students engage with history, science, geography, and more.
Why Immersive Learning Matters
Immersive learning isn’t just for extra-curricular activities or special classroom moments—it should be integrated into daily instruction to maximize student engagement and comprehension. The power of 3D scene-building allows students to step inside historical events, explore scientific concepts, and connect with content in a way that is memorable, believable, and complete.
Immersion in learning is crucial for creating deep, meaningful experiences. Engaging students through interactive, 3D environments helps them retain information better, develop empathy, and make real-world connections. Immersive learning has been shown to be especially effective when students can explore, manipulate, and experience educational content firsthand.
By integrating 3D scene-building into lessons, educators can:
- Increase student engagement by making lessons more interactive and hands-on.
- Improve knowledge retention by allowing students to explore concepts in a multisensory way.
- Develop critical thinking skills as students make decisions and interact with 3D models.
- Support varied learning styles, ensuring that all students, regardless of their preferred method of learning, can connect with the material.
Bringing Curriculum to Life
Sandbox is a dynamic learning environment that allows students to build and explore curriculum-aligned 3D scenes. The app provides hundreds of topical 3D models that tie directly to state standards, making it easy to align with lesson plans. Whether students are working on a Chromebook or an iPad, they can collaborate and create, building their understanding of key concepts.
How Students Can Use Sandbox
Chrombooks
Students can build their own scenes, organizing objects, structuring environments, and experimenting with concepts while seated and focused in a classroom setting. This helps with classroom management while fostering critical thinking and problem-solving.
iPads
Sandbox scenes can be explored in Augmented Reality (AR). An educator can check students' work and save it for later, or students can look at their classmates’ creations and step inside their own historical reconstructions, scientific simulations, or geographic explorations.
Even in classrooms where only one iPad is available, teachers can still integrate Sandbox AR into their lessons. Students can create 3D scenes on their Chromebooks and then take turns using the iPad to experience their work in life-size AR.
Example: Experiencing the Oregon Trail Like Never Before
A powerful example of Sandbox’s impact is its Oregon Trail experience, available in Discovery Education Experience, where students can visit Three Island Crossing in Idaho, 1836. Traditionally, students might learn about the Oregon Trail by reading a passage in a textbook and looking at a 2D map. With Sandbox, they can step into history.
Standards-Aligned Sandbox Lessons For Oregon Trail:
- Have students explore a life-size, animated 3D model of Three Island Crossing to better immerse themselves in the journey.
- Walk students through the historical scene in the life-size AR, experiencing the Snake River and wagons up close.
- Using what they see in the AR scene, have students role-play as pioneers and debate whether to cross the river or take a different path.
- Interacting with historical artifacts in 3D, have students consider what supplies the pioneers needed for their journey.
With Sandbox, students aren’t just learning history—they are experiencing it. They see the scale of the wagons, stand at the river’s edge, and confront the real decisions pioneers faced, gaining deeper historical understanding and stronger analytical skills.
Beyond History: Other Use Cases
While history is a prime subject for immersive scene-building, Sandbox also supports other curriculum subjects, including:
- Science: Students explore ecosystems, label diagrams, and investigate planetary systems in 3D.
- Geography: Classes can build and explore landscapes, walk across maps and visit life-size landmarks.
- ELA: Prompt storywriting and imaginative creative writing using detailed, atmospheric scenes that impart a sense of scale and realism. Use Scenes Mode on the iPad to create stories right from inside Sandbox.
The combination of Chromebooks and iPads allows educators to create blended-learning environments, where students can build their knowledge, explore new ideas, and experience the world beyond the classroom.
Immersive Learning for Every Classroom
Sandbox proves that immersive learning is not just for special projects. It is a practical, free, everyday tool that transforms curriculum-based instruction into an interactive and engaging experience. Whether students are building on Chromebooks or stepping into history with iPads, 3D scene-building is revolutionizing education.
By integrating immersive learning into daily instruction, educators can create more engaging, memorable, and impactful lessons that prepare students for the world beyond the classroom.
Sandbox is now Available for Chromebook
The award-winning Sandbox app has landed on the Google Play Store for Chromebook devices, bringing immersive learning to even more classrooms!
The Chromebook version matches the beloved features of Sandbox: students can create stages, use a vast library of 3D models, explore pre-made scenes, and share their creations between devices. In Sandbox for Chromebook, students shrink themselves down into their scenes and explore them in an interactive, video-game style using a keyboard and mouse.
Designed for access and equity, Sandbox for Chromebook is helping us work towards every student experiencing hands-on immersive learning and exploring the universe from inside their classroom.
Hannah McNaughton-Hussain
The post Reimagining Curriculum with 3D Scene Building appeared first on Discovery Education.
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