I have asked myself the question, “How can I turn a Breakout Box into a virtual tool for the middle school classroom?”. With this question I decided to do a little bit of exploration. I have seen and created physical Breakout Boxes in the past, but not a virtual one. So how can I create a virtual one if I have never experienced one myself? After a little Google search, I then stumbled upon BreakoutEDU Digital Sandbox! Breakout EDU Digital Sandbox is a space where educators can share their own virtual breakout out games that they have created. These community-created games are free to use and can be used within your own classroom. 


After attempting a few of the games available, I noticed that the majority of the games were created by using two different platforms. One being Google Sites, while the other was using Deck Toys. I enjoyed games from both platforms, but I did notice some pros and cons from each.

Google Sites – Pros:

  • Free to use
  • Easy to create
  • Easily can link other games and activities
  • Customizable
  • Can easily be shared and monitored

Google Sites – Cons:

  • Have to develop your game from scratch
  • All steps are generally listed on one page
  • Not as visually appealing 

Deck Toys – Pros:

  • Large gallery of ready-to-go game templates (which include puzzles, locks, mazes, etc.)
  • Templates are arranged by subject and grade level
  • Customizable
  • Linear in game-play (must complete A to move onto B)
  • Allows the teacher to view and monitor student’s progress and input
  • Able to test and view the games in various formats (teacher view, student view, etc.)

Deck Toys – Cons:

  • Free account has limitations:
      • 2 classrooms
      • 3 private decks (games)
      • 100 public decks (games)
      • Up to 40 students per classroom
      • 7-day classroom data retention
      • Can only assign up to 2 decks per classroom at a time
  • Must pay for upgraded features
      • $8 USD/month
      • Features include:
        • 10 classrooms
        • 100 private decks
        • 200 public decks
        • Up to 60 students per classroom
        • 30-day classroom retention
        • Can assign up to 10 decks per classroom at a time
        • Upload voice clips to Study Sets and Slide Activities

Overall, I could see myself using both options within the future to create a fun, educational game experience for my classroom. But for this activity I think that I am going to attempt to use Deck Toys to create my first virtual Breakout Box due to the vast array of ready-to-go features.

Stay tuned for my exploration, planning, and progress in this fun and exciting experiment!