What is ThingLink?

Have you ever heard of ThingLink? No, it’s not a Dr. Seuss character (remember Thing One and Thing Two?) Although, a student could use ThingLink to do a report about Dr. Seuss. Or just about anything else for that matter.

ThingLink Logo

ThingLink is a free, web based tool and has mobile apps for iPad and Android. Simply upload an image to ThingLink, then click on the image itself to insert text, links, videos, music, and more. The image or photo, once static, becomes interactive. When using this in the classroom, it enables a student to show what they know and have learned about a topic by creating content to go with the image.

ThingLink was a topic for the ICE (Illinois Computing Educators) Wednesday Webinar series; it was moderated by Nicole Zumpano, Dominican professor, and presented by Sue Gorman, professor at the  University of Wisconsin – Parkside.

The many examples in the webinar included using ThingLink for book reports – students can insert text to demonstrate their knowledge of characters and the plot, link to a website to provide more information discovered about the topic, and embed a video to show a visual representation of a topic.

One such book report was done by a student named Gavin, on the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio, that was tweeted out by ThingLink.

Image from @ThingLink_edu on Twitter

http://t.co/JiNelh9K12

During the webinar, Sue provided an energetic presentation on the benefits of using ThingLink. It can provide (digitized) differentiated learning, increase collaboration, and ultimately increase learner engagement. Any technology tool, when it’s the right tool for the task, can help students amplify their thinking in this digital age. 

SAMR model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura

Sue demonstrated how using ThingLink in the classroom fits with the SAMR Model, and allows for teaching “above the line”. The SAMR Model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition), developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, offers a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning.

More about Sue – she is a Google Certified Teacher and an Apple Distinguished Educator and a kind friend you definitely want to get to know for your Personal Learning Network (PLN). She introduced several members of her own PLN and shared many real world examples of how these talented professionals are using technology effectively in the classroom. To follow Sue on Twitter, you can find her at: @sjgorman. 

Be sure to visit www.ThingLink.com/featured to see some imaginative ideas. You may even want to sign up and get started yourself.

As far as webinar learning goes, I like the format. Since it's recorded, I will likely go back and refer to it in the future since it is loaded with information relevant to what I'm learning at Dominican.