ThingLink
For more information on prices of cost use this link: https://www.thinglink.com/upgrade?teacher=true&buttonSource=fpPricing
Description of the Tool
ThingLink is a flexible tool for teaching and learning that can be used for a wide variety of purposes in education. At its most basic level, teachers and students can start with an image, define it through multimedia and pack it full of content to present knowledge and ideas. It’s a great tool for teachers at any level of tech integration because of its simple, flexible design.
How to Use This Tool
You will first need to create an account at “ThingLink.com”, you can use your everyday email to create an account for Thinglink. You then will sign in and go the top right corner to “create”-this is where you’ll create an image.
Once you’ve click on an image you can ‘upload’ an image from the internet (anywhere), or your hard drive. Once the image is uploaded you want to add a title (aka name it). Once it has a title, you can start ‘plug in’ your links to a particular image. Note: To get plugin on Thinglink, you have to install it beforehand. A description of the Thinglink Plugin is above in (‘Thinglink Official Plugin’ image). You then click on the image and then you connect that image to a specific website. For example, let’s say you’re teaching your students about healthy eating habits. You might upload a picture of an apple and name it ‘healthy meal ideas’, after that you would add a plug in (link) to the image. An example of a link here might be a website for healthy recipes.
You can also add YouTube videos to the images as well. To add a YouTube channel you simply go to the YouTube channel of choice and copy and paste into the image. After your done adding links to your images. You can choose to share your through a lot of social media channels-including Blogger. To share it to Blogger, use the ‘embed’ option. You would copy and paste into the ‘embed’ option. In Blogger you would go in and write a post, but where there’s the option to compose or HTML-you choose HTML. You can preview this by selecting ‘preview’ to make sure all your links work.
Another option of Thinglink is following people or explore other people’s images. To do that your click in the upper right corner where it says ‘explore.’ This is where you’ll be able to see other people’s videos and posts. The ‘create’ button at the top of the page lets you explore tutorials that random people have posted. This is a great source for someone who just started on Thinglink-it gives them an idea of what to expect.
How Can This Tool be used by the Trainer/Teacher?
While doing my research on the Thinglink tool, I found myself engaged in a lot of blogs and YouTube videos. This is a tool that can be extremely useful for teachers/trainers who are wanting to transform their learning to the next level. Susan Oxnevad (2014), a blogger who writes about Thinglink in one of her many blog posts. She writes about the special connection of Thinglink to the teacher/trainer. She implies “ThingLink images are powered by ideas and intellect. Right out of the box, teachers can use the tool to provide students with differentiated learning experiences that support unique learning styles through the use of multimedia. As teachers become more comfortable with tech integration, this flexible tool will continue to support their needs. More experienced tech users can truly test their creativity and challenge themselves to think outside of the box when designing powerful learning experiences. For this reason, ThingLink is one of the most frequently used tools in my toolkit.”
I’m finding the teacher/learners role with Thinglink is one of creating a more advanced learning style. For those professionals who use Thinglink in a workplace and teaching environment state this “A ThingLink graphic packed with resources and combined with sufficient time for constructive play is an excellent way to introduce a new technology tool to teachers Include video tutorials, written directions, links to examples and podcasts to provide participants with all the resources they need in one easily accessible and compact graphic” (gettingsmart.com). Gettingsmart.com also recommends that teachers can use Thinglink for “interactive graphic to introduce new technology to a group of teachers or students can be a very effective and appealing to those who are hesitant to learn to use new technology.”
How Can This Tool be used by the Trainer/Teacher to Support Student Learning?
There are so many useful ways that Thinglink can add value to to a classroom or learning environment. Just from my personal experimenting and playing around with Thinglink, I think using this tool in the classroom has countless ways of teaching and learning. Gettingsmart.com suggest these ideas from their website for a learning atmosphere: 1.) Use ThingLink as a Multimedia Curriculum Launcher- “ThingLink provides teachers with opportunities to design multimedia rich student driven learning experiences that offer flexible learning paths to meet the diverse learning needs of all students. A ThingLink graphic can provide students with background knowledge and opportunities for challenge all in one place. To make sure students are accountable for learning, use an Essential Question or scavenger hunt to guide the learning.” 2.) Use ThingLink to Introduce a Technology Tool- “Using an interactive graphic to introduce new technology to a group of teachers or students can be a very effective and appealing to those who are hesitant to learn to use new technology. The ability to pack a large amount of multimedia content into one graphic and the addition of colored nubbins to the ThingLink features provides a way to differentiate instruction visually, allowing teachers and students to explore areas of interest.” 3.) Use ThingLink to Publish Student Work- “Students who create and publish for an audience are likely to do their best and most careful work. Why not promote your program and provide visitors with a peek into your classroom by using ThingLink to regularly publish student work? Do remember to protect student identities when publishing their work on the Internet.” All these examples that gettingsmart.com provides ample support for learning with the Thinglink tool.
How Can This Tool be used by Students?
Here are some tips that Jacqui Murray of Teachhub.com states students can use Thinglink for: 1.) with the focus on multimedia resources, Thinglink allows students to differentiate for their learning style. Text, images, audio, and other options are all intuitive to add. 2.) 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. 3.) Design and share interactive digital posters. 4.) Curate resources for a topic or project and share with other students and your teacher. I think the reason why I’m drawn to it (being a student), that it’s free! I also think that it’s a different way to communicate with my peers, but with getting the information out there.
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Training and Other Resources
This first link is a quick all about Thinglink. It’s a quick five minute tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yrcCE4RK1s
This is the actual Thinglink website. There is the link you want to use to get yourself started. https://www.thinglink.com/welcome
This is another how to get started tutorial. This link has a little bit more detail than the YouTube video above. https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/how-to-create-a-thinglink
References
Murray, J. (2009). Technology in the Classroom: 10 Ways to Use Thinglink. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/technology-classroom-10-ways-use-thinglink
Oxnevad, S. (2014). Weaving a Web of Flexible Tools with ThingLink [Web log post]. Retrieved from Thinglink Education Blog website:http://thinglinkblog.com/2014/03/03/weaving-a-web-of-flexible-resources-with-thinglink/
Oxnevad, S. (2012). 5+ Ways to Use ThingLink for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2012/08/5-ways-use-thinglink-teaching-learning/
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