Edutech for Teachers

Cool Tools for the 21st Century Classroom

Educate with Thinglink

April2

Take your images to the next level with Thinglink, a very cool Web 2.0 tool that allows users to add interactive links to any photo and turn them into dynamic web experiences that drive engagement.  That’s right!  You and your students can give photos new life by transforming them into impressive multimedia presentations featuring links, music, art, video and more!

Thinglink images can be embedded into blogs, wikis and/or web sites.  In fact, check out the example I created below using an image of the Great Pyramid/Sphinx.  Hover over the image to view the “hotspots” I added.

C’mon…  You have to admit—it’s a pretty neat tool!

Thinglink recently announced that educators and students can now annotate fifty free images; however, there is a very minimal cost for upgrading to a premium account—which includes 500 images.

Classroom Connection:

Since visual literacy is such a crucial component of teaching and learning at all grade levels, Thinglink would be the perfect tool to integrate into any classroom!  As for the possibilities this multimedia resource provides?  Your imagination is the limit!  Here are few ideas to get those wheels turning:

  • Whole group and/or independent discovery to introduce, review and/or explore more in-depth information about a topic
  • Interactive reports (Create an image about a place, famous person, landmark, scene from an important historical event.  See an example here.)
  • Vocabulary Activities (Use an image to illustrate the meaning of a word and link photos, videos, text or even webpages that demonstrate the meaning.  Adding an audio file with the correct pronunciation would work as well.  See an example here.)
  • Foreign Language and/or ELL students can label a picture to practice learning new words.
  • Getting to Know You Activity (Students use a self-portrait or picture of themselves and then add tags about their favorite things to help others get to know them.)
  • Interactive Book Talk (Create audio and/or book trailers for each title and link to an image of a book cover.)
  • Photo Collage (Create a photo collage using an online tool (i.e. Photovisi, Shape Collage, Tabblo) or an app (Pic Collage, Pho.to Lab) then tag each image with descriptive adjectives, synonyms or antonyms.)
  • Interactive Author Presentations (Add tags to book lists, trailers, biographies, bibliographies and more.)
  • Talking Art (Students record and listen to stories about their own artwork and/or pieces created by famous artists.)

Kudos to AuntyTech for sharing some of these Thinglink ideas!

Besides the interactivity of Thinglink, one of the main reasons it has become one of my favorite “cool tools” is that it can be incorporated in a way that allows everyone in the classroom to become a teacher and a learner!

If you develop another innovative way to integrate Thinglink into your curriculum, please feel free to leave a comment below!

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by posted under Cool Tools | 5 Comments »    
5 Comments to

“Educate with Thinglink”

  1. April 4th, 2012 at 2:17 pm       edutech4teachers Says:

    Thanks for sharing! =}


  2. January 9th, 2013 at 8:36 pm       Cathy Yenca Says:

    Just started using thinglink in my own classroom today. Such a great resource! Check out my blog post: http://www.mathycathy.com/blog/2013/01/methinks-i-like-thinglink/


  3. January 13th, 2013 at 7:48 pm       edutech4teachers Says:

    Love your blog post! Let me know if you would be interested in having it featured on my site!


  4. February 11th, 2013 at 12:18 pm       Lisa Johnson Says:

    These are such great resources. I am a huge fan of Thinklink in education. I have created a List.ly list of some of my favorite Thinglinks and Thinglink resources. I would love for you to share it or check it out. Thanks so much: http://list.ly/list/35b-thinglink-edu-examples?feature=mylist


  5. February 17th, 2013 at 9:48 am       edutech4teachers Says:

    Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it! I love, love Thinglink as well so I will definitely check out the resource you shared. By the way, both your web site and the TechChef4u app are fabulous! I check them out all of the time! Thanks for sharing such awesome ideas! Jamie


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Hey, edu-tech gurus!

Looking for some technology integration ideas to enhance your classroom lessons? Then be sure to check out my "Tech Tips" for the latest and greatest Web 2.0 tools, applications and web sites that can be incorporated into activities and/or projects. Although some posts may not be applicable to your content area or grade level, be sure to check back often as I will be varying ideas in order to provide resources across the K-12 curriculum.

Be sure to add this awesome tool to your tech-box!

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