We all know that it is hard to only verbally describe a process, image, or event to our students- they only can picture it in their heads based on our description and their best summation of our words. Showing just a picture might help clarify and create a better picture in our students’ minds, but a multimedia tool might be the best option. If there was a way to connect a picture to a related current event article, “How To” videos, related resources, and record your own explanation, would your students have a better learning experience?
Great news! There is a tool that can do ALL of this! One of my favorite new tools this school year is ThingLink because it allows both teachers and students to create an outlet for a deeper understanding. As an interactive, online tool, ThingLink has revolutionized how I personally can communicate information to students and how they demonstrate their understanding of that information to me. Students are able to create or explore a maze of multimedia layers that offers a variety of ways to learn about a topic. One of the projects that I use with my Global Studies students is an Intro Project for each region that we study.
First, students find a picture to act as the background or topic of the ThingLink. They are able to upload a picture from the camera roll (iPad) or pictures (laptop). Then, they edit the ThingLink picture by adding tags that contain text, YouTube videos, recorded videos, websites, and other multimedia resources. The tags come in many different shapes, designs, and colors and can be rearranged anywhere on the picture to blend in or stick out. For my students’ Intro Project, they use a map of the region as their background picture and research specific examples of the themes we examine throughout the unit (see expectations below). | |
Some of my students offered their work as samples for the Africa unit. They also did a great job on the Intro Projects for the Middle East unit.
You can also use ThingLink to communicate information to your students; just follow the same steps and add the same types of tags that would explain and offer relevant information to what you want the students to explore. If you don’t feel that you are inventive enough to start out creating your own ThingLinks, you are also able to search a topic and choose one the web community has already created. ThingLink is a practical tool for any classroom and can be used in so many different formats; something as simple as highlighting or emphasizing parts of a map (Location and Status of Ebola Outbreak in US) or collecting a variety of sources for a topic (How To: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo) can add a tactile and visual layer to our students’ learning. Here are more examples for how ThingLink can be integrated into your classroom or curriculum:
Additional ThingLink ideas and resources from Tammy Howell (MS - Skills for Digital Age Learners) are shared below:
- Students create character analysis of fictional characters or historical figures. EXAMPLE: http://www.thinglink.com/scene/439880358951911425
- Students research and tag an image of an iPad or MacBook with the correct term or keyboard shortcut. EXAMPLE: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/429692587599724546
- Students demonstrate understanding of nonfiction text features: EXAMPLE: http://www.thinglink.com/scene/358259750342754305
- Create interactive book talks by asking students to create audio ads or video book trailers and tag them to images of the book covers. EXAMPLE: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/421691333351047168
- Provide a virtual tour of your classroom, teacher website, or learning platform through interactive images. EXAMPLE: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/412042493366894593
- Students add tags with photos, audio, videos, text that demonstrate the meaning of vocabulary words. EXAMPLE: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/544688184198430721
- Create an Internet Scavenger Hunt by creating questions related to any topic that can be answered from added tags. EXAMPLE: http://www.thinglink.com/scene/448659459602907138
- Students work in small groups to create a 'Meet the Author' multimedia presentation adding tags to book lists, book trailers, biographies, bibliographies, etc. EXAMPLE: http://yourteacherlibrarian.wikispaces.com/Laurie+Halse+Anderson