THINGLINK

Description of the tool

  • ThingLink is an interactive media platform that makes it easy to use multimedia content and links to share knowledge and tell stories with additional information. It also allows educators to create audio-visual learning materials including photos, videos, maps, pictures, and drawings in an integrated reading tool.

How to access the website

  • In order to access the website, first sign into your Thinglink account (can be a personal account or an education account, which allows for classes and students). Then, click ‘Create’ to start a Thinglink; choose a background from your local computer, the web (after reminding students how to safely use online images), or a variety of Cloud accounts. Add hotspots that link viewers to multimedia resources (again, after discussing the safe and legal use of online media). This includes text, images, videos, and audio recordings, but make sure that they are hosted in the cloud and accessible via a link, not on the local device.

How it works

  • Here are eight ways to make use of ThingLink in 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.

4. Choose an existing resource 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. Add audio or video links to flash cards to clarify the pronunciation.

7. Create a digital portfolio of student work over the course of a year.

8. Create a timeline of events that includes appropriate multimedia resources.

How it can be used in the classroom

  • One of the primary benefits of ThingLink is that interactive 360° images and videos help students develop contextual understanding, academic vocabulary and skills in remote locations, cultures, work environments, or social situations. In other words, walk-throughs and tours give students access to real-world environments and situations that would otherwise be out of their reach. 

  • Thanks to the multimedia resources it presents, students become fluent in using multiple forms of media to express themselves inside and outside the classroom and be aware of their own learning style as well. Educators as well as students can use this platform to save notes with direct audio recordings and images, which is a convenient form of sharing and keeping knowledge especially in online education. In addition to creating an original work, users can also choose topical ThingLinks from the community. 

  • Completed projects can be collected into channels that are then shared with colleagues or students. They can also be shared via social media, a link, or embedded into blogs or websites.