ThingLink

How many of you are looking for ways for students to share information in a format that incorporates text, video, audio, and images? If so, Thinglink may be the perfect option for you. This is a free program (with paid upgrades, of course) that allows students to select a base image and embed information on top of it. We have used this for several history projects with our students and they really enjoy using the program. It is easy for them to figure out and to share their work with others. This is an example of a project on the 1920s. These students were assigned Sports in the 1920s. There are several text links and a video clip from a game of that time. Here is the link to the project: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/855465812373274626

This could be a great tool for book reports using the book cover as the base picture. You could do science activities about space, inventions, volcanoes, just to name a few. Plus, they are adding a new feature that makes it have VR capabilities. Check it out. I think you will like it.

-Julie Rhodes, ITF, Hartselle Intermediate School

Here are ten ways you may find Thinglink perfect for your classroom:

  1. Create infographics and graphic organizers to visually explain a complex topic.
  2. Design and share interactive digital posters.
  3. Write a digital storybook with a connect-the-dots Thinglink (replace with color-coded hotspots or numbers, which may require an upgrade).
  4. Curate resources for a topic or project and share with students.
  5. Share out an image to students and ask them to annotate it with hotspots discussing what they see. This can serve as a formative or summative assessment.
  6. World language or ESL/ELL teachers can add audio or video links to images that clarify understanding.
  7. Create a class picture with quick student-written information to share with parents or grade-level teachers. This is best accomplished by creating a class account that students access with a common login.
  8. Create a simpler-to-build Prezi by numbering the hotspots and have students click through them in order (numbers may require an upgrade).
  9. Create a digital portfolio of student work over the course of a year, to be shared with parents at open house or the next year's grade-level team.
  10. Create a timeline of events that includes appropriate multimedia resources.