Sandbox AR from Discovery Education is an award-winning digital media platform that serves more than 4.5 million students worldwide across 140 countries. New to Sandbox AR is an app that was launched in 2022. The freeaugmented reality app, available on iPad only at the time of the launch, takes advantage of the device’s camera, display, motion sensors, and high-speed processors to meld reality and digital creations.
Using the app, students and teachers enter an empty space—for example, a school hallway—and hold up the tablet with the camera on. Instead of displaying the empty area, the app overlays digital creations in that space. Users can then move about in the real world to explore the virtual creation. For example, students can explore an ancient Roman city as if it were really in front of them. That opens up the possibilities for school trips, allowing students not only to travel the globe virtually but also to visit certain places in time. The tool will continue to grow. Development is under way for major events such as Tutankhamun’s 100th anniversary. Cost: Free app
Each month we publish blogs and newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in December.
“Gettysburg: A Nation Divided” is an augmented reality mobile application by QuantumERA designed to teach users about the Battle of Gettysburg. Using interactive technology, users travel back in time to July 1, 1863, to explore the story of the turning point of the American Civil War.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The Academy Museum’s mobile app for iOS and Android provides an immersive experience that connects users to the creative, collaborative process of filmmaking.