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Tag: sandbox

  • Discovery Education’s Immersive Learning Resources – EdTech Digest

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    New research included in the Education Insights 2025-2026 report offers a clear view of how important engagement is to learning, motivation, and achievement.

    To support deeper student engagement across the curriculum, Discovery Education makes available to educators worldwide a host of experiences that deeply engages learners and captivates their senses, emotions, and attention, creating a sense of being fully surrounded and absorbed in a particular environment or activity. These resources, which can be found at Discovery Education’s Immersive Learning website, transport students out of their classroom, their neighborhood, and sometimes their planet and time period, to witness firsthand the topic of interest.

    Among the resources found on Discovery Education’s Immersive Learning website are:

    TimePod Adventures

    TimePod Adventures from Verizon and Discovery Education immerses K-12 students in the universe through state-of-the-art, life-size Augmented Reality. Accessible on a browser, Chromebook, or mobile device, students need only internet access and audio. Guided by an AI-powered assistant and featuring grade-band specific lesson plans available in English and Spanish, TimePod Adventures support educators in developing new skills and encourages students to take control, explore incredible environments, and solve complex challenges.

    Sandbox

    The BETT and GESS award winning Sandbox app, which is now available in both the Google Play store and Apple App store, enables students to create virtual worlds using unique objects from history, science, nature, and more. Sandbox also gives students new ways to express themselves and demonstrate their learning through features like photo taking or annotations on virtual text panels. Designed to create immersive experiences, Sandbox offers a mode that allows users to explore and create content from inside their own virtual environments.  Sandbox also includes many pre-built sandboxes exploring diverse subjects, such as ancient Egypt, space exploration, Maya civilization, road construction, and more, with additional themed 3D models added regularly. Finally, subscribers to Discovery Education Experience have access to additional, standards-aligned ready-to-use Sandbox lessons that enhance classroom instruction.

    Game-Based Learning

    Discovery Education’s game-based learning resources boost motivation, create a heightened sense of achievement, encourage a growth mindset, and aid with knowledge retention. Through game-based immersive experiences, students can become more receptive to further learning. Among the game-based learning resources are:

    Crash Course is an interactive 3D experience that helps students in grades 6-12 learn the principles of speed and the forces involved in a real-time crash test-based scenario. In this immersive game-based learning experience from Honda Safety Driven, students select course variables, then take the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R to witness the outcome of safety decisions.

    The cutting edge Haul! Learning Experience is designed to provide students in grades 6-12 the opportunity to discover how copper ore makes its way into the items that power our day. A part of Dig Into Mining – The Story of Copper, the educational program created in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan that uncovers the use of metals such as copper in our everyday life, HAUL!  challenges students to navigate their way through a 3D copper mine to earn their Haul Truck Operator’s Scorecard while learning how STEM is used in this larger-than-life operation.

    I

    n Operation Communication, a new immersive game from the STEM Careers Coalition, students in grades 6-12 experience a day in the life of an employee in a simulated workplace, navigating production schedules, team dynamics, and customer satisfaction. Players practice a wide range of active skills with a focus on effective communication in the workplace to keep the production line running smoothly and create happy customers.

    HARVEST: From Seed to Success from Cooperative Minds with the CHS Foundation empowers students in grades 3-12 step into the role of a farmer and discover what it takes to grow a successful harvest. In the experience, students consult agricultural professionals to analyze a soil sample, select crops and fertilizers, identify the right moment to harvest, and simulate operating a combine to harvest crops. An accompanying educator guide and ready-to-use student activities make it easy for educators to integrate the resource into any lesson plan.

    Interactives

    With interactive resources from Discovery Education, students can travel the trade paths of Ancient Rome, grow tomatoes in a virtual lab, and solve equations at a zombie luau! Research, experiment and have fun learning about topics at your own pace through a variety of interactive types—including virtual labs, games, investigations, interactive maps, and more. Among the interactives available are:

    – The Interactive Virtual Labs, created in partnership with the LEGO Group’s Build the Change program, investigate Bird Behavior and invite students in grades 6-8 to explore innovative ways to improve human-bird interactions in their shared environment. Designed to spark creativity and curiosity, these labs immerse students in engaging, hands-on experiences that connect the wider world to the classroom.

    – Plus, students of all ages can dig into grade-banded interactives covering important topics like financial literacy, data analysis, biotechnology, and Earth sciences.

    Virtual Field Trips

    Virtual field trips (VFTs) empower educators to introduce students to amazing places, new people and ideas, and remarkable experiences, without ever leaving the classroom. Discovery Education, a pioneer in creating VFTs, offers a large library of fun and engaging resources, including.

    – The Bridge to the Future: A Virtual Field Trip into Extended Reality  with Verizon shows students how extended reality is redefining the world from entertainment and medicine to education and beyond. Students visit the Verizon Innovation Lab in Boston, Massachusetts to discover how new technologies are connecting people and redefining the possibilities of how we interact. Students will also get an up-close look at exciting careers in cybersecurity, gaming, and engineering by meeting with STEM professionals.

    – Additional resources to support learning are available, such as a standards-aligned companion guide with hands-on activities and educator support content. Learn more about all the virtual field trips – including new ones with partners like LEGO, the National Science Foundation, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBA, LIV Golf, and more – here.

    Immersive resources encourage a style of learning which is based on problem-solving and trial and error. Immersive learning gives students permission to fail, to try again, and to overcome obstacles which initially may seem insurmountable. Discovery Education offers educators new to immersive learning a host of professional development resources to ensure they feel supported as they integrate these resources into classroom learning.

    For more about the free Immersive Learning resources from Discovery Education, learn more.

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    Stephen Wakefield

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  • Nintendo Forcing Garry’s Mod To Delete 20 Years’ Worth Of Content

    Nintendo Forcing Garry’s Mod To Delete 20 Years’ Worth Of Content

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    Garry’s Mod, a popular 2006 sandbox game that emerged from the modding scene around Valve’s Source software, has recently been issued takedown notices by Nintendo. As a result, Facepunch Studios, the developers of Garry’s Mod, are in the process of removing about 20 years’ worth of Nintendo-related content from the game.

    Why The Hot New Redfall Gameplay Trailer Left Us Feeling Cold

    In an update to Garry’s Mod’s Steam page, the developers stated, “Some of you may have noticed that certain Nintendo related workshop items have recently been taken down. This is not a mistake, the takedowns came from Nintendo.”

    The update continues, “Honestly, this is fair enough. This is Nintendo’s content and what they allow and don’t allow is up to them. They don’t want you playing with that stuff in Garry’s Mod – that’s their decision, we have to respect that and take down as much as we can.”

    Despite Nintendo’s litigious nature, not to mention its fierce protectiveness over its brand image and that of its mascots, the notice from Nintendo comes as a bit of a shock. As the update goes on to note, Nintendo content has been hosted on Garry’s Mod for close to 20 years. Models of countless Nintendo mascots like Mario have been ported over to the Source engine for the enjoyment of anyone playing Garry’s Mod since the very beginning. It’s strange for Nintendo to suddenly come out of the blue and enforce a takedown of this much content, especially since the flexibility of the Source engine in Garry’s Mod was a large part of the appeal behind the game, which was popularized in the early 2010s by a slew of gaming Youtube personalities playing multiplayer social-deduction games in Garry’s Mod such as Prop Hunt and Trouble In Terrorist Town. Of course, you could also argue that Facepunch was, at times, a little too lenient about what they allowed on Garry’s Mod, making sense of Nintendo’s decision to take action after all this time.

    Nintendo-themed add-ons seem to have begun getting taken down a few months ago, though Facepunch didn’t publicly divulge that the company had issued the takedowns until earlier today. The process has been “ongoing” since then, and the developers are still working to remove all of it, which is an understandably Herculean task.

    It’s so much, in fact, that at the very end of the update, Facepunch jokes that, “If you want to help us by deleting your Nintendo related uploads and never uploading them again, that would help us a lot.”

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    Moises Taveras

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  • Crypto industry bats for lower taxation and a standardised regulatory framework 

    Crypto industry bats for lower taxation and a standardised regulatory framework 

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    The Indian cryptocurrency industry, ahead of the Union budget 2024, is expecting the government to reconsider the current taxation structure on the virtual digital asset (VDA) class, establish a self-regulatory body for the crypto and block chain sectors, and create sandboxes to help start-ups in the sector thrive.

    The crypto exchanges in India have been losing trading volumes on the platform since the introduction of taxation as crypto users moved to offshore exchanges. However, the finance ministry’s recent move to send show cause notices to offshore exchanges and block URLs subsequently has bought respite for domestic exchanges.

    Ashish Singhal, co-founder and Group CEO of PeepalCo, notes that crypto platform CoinSwitch urges the government to reduce the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on VDAs from 1 to 0.01 per cent, allow offsetting and carrying forward losses from the sale of VDAs, and treat income from VDAs on par with other capital assets. “Reducing the tax arbitrage that exists today will also help stem the flight of capital, consumers, investments, and talent, as well as dent the gray economy for VDAs,” he said.

    Further, industry body Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) urges the government to also reexamine the flat rate of 30 per cent applicable to income from the transfer of VDAs, specifically including foreign exchanges in the scope of TDS under Section 194S.

    The industry also seeks a standardised regulatory framework. Sumit Gupta, CEO of CoinDCX, said, “Contemplating the establishment of a robust self-regulatory body for crypto and blockchain sector participants could be a game-changer. Implementing a standardised regulatory framework for the crypto and blockchain sectors, the government would not only provide clarity but also unlock a multitude of opportunities and use cases at a global scale, empowering India Inc. to lead on the world stage.”

    In a bid to foster start-ups in the sector, Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, notes, “Imagine India as a fertile field; crypto and blockchain are the seeds waiting to sprout. We need tax incentives and sandboxes to nurture these seeds into thriving start-ups. Sandbox initiatives need protection to foster experimentation.” This will create a new generation of jobs, propel India into the global DeFi and blockchain space, and unlock economic growth, he opines.

    Further, Nischal Shetty, co-founder of Shardeum, also notes that the industry would also like the ministry to dedicate funds for indigenous blockchain projects, exemplifying real-world utility and innovation.

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  • Parenting 101: Great toys for sensory play

    Parenting 101: Great toys for sensory play

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    Sensory play is so important for children. It not only encourages exploration and creativity but it also helps your child with language development, cognitive growth, and to develop problem-solving skills. Here are five fun hands-on sensory play toys.

    Capture baby’s attention with the Curiosity Clutch by Baby Einstein. Your little one will stay busy and engaged as they grasp, pop, twist, press, and interact with the many activities on this infant toy. The Curiosity Clutch helps parents introduce their babies and toddlers to shapes, sounds, colors, and textures early on-and it helps build their understanding of cause and effect. 

    The Kinetic Sand Sandbox Set includes a sandbox tray for contained play, perfect for the indoors. Squish it, cut it, scoop it, mold it – the creative possibilities are endless. Kinetic Sand is made from natural sand and is wheat, gluten and casein free. 

    The B. Wiggle Wrap, Sensory Wrap-Around lets littles grab, pull, squeeze, bite, and shake. It’s equipped with adjustable loops and can be wrapped just about anywhere to keep your little one entertained wherever they are. Getting cozy in the crib? Check! Taking a stroll in the stroller? Check! Driving around with the parents? Check! It comes with three hanging toys that together create a sensory explosion. 

    This Orbeez pack comes with 2,000 non-toxic water beads in five sensational colors: purple, red, yellow, green and blue. With 400 of each color included, you can get straight to the fun without waiting for your Orbeez water beads to grow. Squishy and smooth, kids and adults alike will love the soothing sensory experience of these. 

    All of these are available at Toys R’ Us.

    – Jennifer Cox

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