Trying Skybox for Learning Design
A Quick Look at What I Built, and Where It Might Lead
I’ve been spending time lately exploring new tools—partly because I enjoy messing around with technology, and partly because I’m always thinking about how we can design learning that feels more immersive, more curious, and more grounded in context.
Even though I’m not in the classroom anymore, I’m still a teacher at heart. I can’t help but think about how people make sense of content, and how we might shape those moments in more meaningful ways.
One tool I’ve been experimenting with is Skybox by Blockade Labs, which lets you generate 360° panoramic scenes from text prompts. You describe a setting—like a desert canyon at dusk, or a storm approaching an arctic research station—and it creates a fully navigable environment that you can pan through in all directions.
This post is a quick look at one of the scenes I built, how I imagined it being used in a learning context, and why I think tools like this are worth exploring—even with their quirks.
What Skybox Is (and Isn’t)
Skybox isn’t a 3D modeling tool, and it won’t give you pixel-perfect recreations of real-world spaces. What it does offer is a fast, flexible way to generate 360° panoramic environments based entirely on text prompts—anything from “a futuristic desert temple at night” to “a foggy mountain pass at dawn.”
It’s not ideal for site-specific training where visual accuracy is critical. But it works well for mood-driven storytelling, decision-based scenarios, and conceptual exploration—especially when you want learners to think through what they’re seeing, not just memorize procedures.
Skybox Pricing
Free Plan – 5 standard-resolution downloads/month
Pro Plan – $24/month, includes:
Up to 250 image generations/month (though most users don’t come close to hitting that limit)
Higher-resolution downloads
Commercial use rights
Built-in API access for plug-ins and integrations
Note: Skybox recently streamlined their plans, merging older tiers and adjusting limits based on actual usage. If you're signing up now, the new plans are already live. Check out the membership information here.
What I Built: A Wildfire Evacuation Scenario
One of the first scenes I tested was a wildfire evacuation zone, imagined as a training experience for park rangers or emergency preparedness teams. I wasn’t aiming for photorealism—I just wanted to create a space where learners could feel tension, observe their surroundings, and make a decision.
The scene I generated placed the learner on a high ridge overlooking a forested valley. Here’s what they’d see:
Smoke rising in the distance
A line of fire flickering near the horizon
Two dirt paths: one heading into a canyon, the other climbing toward higher ground
An emergency vehicle parked at the fork
There are no people. No instructions. Just a tense pause, right before the fire shifts, and a decision to make.
Why It Matters
In real life, emergency response isn’t about memorizing steps. It’s about situational judgment—recognizing signs, weighing risks, and making decisions under pressure. That’s hard to teach with a slideshow.
Immersive scenes like this offer a different kind of entry point. They allow learners to slow down, look around, and ask: What do I notice? What do I need to do next?
It’s subtle, but powerful.
What’s Next
This was just a starting point. I’ve been sketching out other use cases—flood scenarios, historical reconstructions, outdoor survival, cultural navigation. Some scenes turned out beautifully. Others were a little… strange. But that’s part of the fun.
I’m learning a lot about where these kinds of tools fit into instructional design—and where they don’t.
Next up, I’ll break down what worked, what didn’t, and some creative workarounds that helped turn “cool visual” into something actually useful for learning.
If you’re experimenting with immersive environments in your own work—or just curious about what’s possible—I’d love to know what you’re building.
There’s so much potential here. Let’s see where it goes.