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As SH and PB discussed in teacher briefing

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to get students used to VR/ 360. Also - "You can build your own 360 guessing game. All you need to do is put together a channel of 360 images on ThingLink, and email it to us at social@thinglink.com. We will feature the best guessing games from around the world on our blog and newsletter!"

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You have 30 seconds to guess where you are, or what you see!

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I liiiike this idea a lot

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by Christi Collins

Are you looking for more engaging ways to provide your students with choice-based assignments and activities? One way to provide students with more meaningful, self-directed learning opportunities is to create an Interactive Learning Menu in Thinglink. Interactive Learning Menus, also known as Choice Boards, provide students with a variety of options to choose from based on their individual interests.

Historical Writers Choice Board Thinglink

Last year my 5th-grade students were required to submit a writing sample and present a history project to their peers in order to fulfill district requirements. Since I work for a virtual academy providing instruction to nearly 180 fifth-grade students virtually, I knew I had my work cut-out for me as this would not be an easy feat to accomplish. To make their lives a little easier, I decided to combine the History and Writing requirements into one overall project to assist them with this process and provide them with a more choice-based approach.

To accomplish this feat, I narrowed the Virginia History Standards of Learning (SOL's) down to six categories, then combined the writing and presentation aspects that addressed the English standards expected to meet every requirement. Starting with their initial research, I provided student-friendly resources which were later tagged to each category in my Thinglink interactive learning menu. In addition, students were provided with a Google Document that included the following:

A link to a Google Form to submit their project choice

Step-by-step directions to assist them with each step of the prewriting phase which was broken down into smaller, manageable chunks with the due date for each,

Directions for submitting their final handwritten copy into Schoology to be graded, along with a writing rubric to communicate the writing expectations and for grading purposes.

At the end of the document, I included a selection of presentation tools that could be used to create their final overall presentation and a peer review document to be used for providing feedback to two of their classmates' presentations as they were presented virtually in Blackboard Collaborate.

Once I had my plan in place, it was now time to choose my method of delivery. At the time, choice boards were a hot, new item that I had already been using to provide instruction to my students with great success. So, I figured why not create an interactive choice board that allowed me to combine everything they could possibly need for this project in one convenient location. The answer suddenly became obvious, I would create a Historical Writers Choice Board in Thinglink! This allowed me to provide my students with scenario-based project choices to facilitate a more self-directed learning approach, include multimedia resources to assist them every step of the way, and display the History and English standards that were aligned to this project. I was very pleased with the final results and luckily the project was a huge success for everyone involved. Click to view my Historical Writers Choice Board Thinglink.

Creating My Thinglink Image

To create my Historical Writers Choice Board, my first plan of action was to either find or create an eye-catching graphic to be uploaded into Thinglink. To give it the look and feel I had visualized in my mind, I decided to create my own graphic in my favorite free design tool, Canva. If you are not familiar with Canva, Canva is a web-based design platform that allows you to create your own graphics either from scratch or by choosing from a huge selection of pre-made templates (both free and paid). If you'd like to create your own free account in Canva and explore it for yourself, click on the following link:

Once in Canva, I clicked on the Presentation (16:9) template (shown below) and a blank template appeared for me to get started on my creation.

From there I created my own custom background by clicking on the background tab from the left-side menu, then choosing the free wood grain background that I decided to change from it's initial black color to brown.

Finally, I clicked on the Elements tab and perused through the icons and illustrations that I wanted to use. I added the book images, the bow and arrow, the hat, and the flag icon. The additional icons were images I already owned that were uploaded and added. Once I was finished, I clicked File>Save, then clicked Download to download my image as a .png file to my desktop.

Uploading My Graphic to Thinglink

My next step was to upload my graphic to Thinglink. Thinglink is a platform available via web and app that allows you to upload an image and bring it life by adding tagged links to an unlimited amount of multimedia resources. Thinglink has been my go-to tool for as long as I can remember because it allows me to provide students with engaging learning opportunities that allow them to interact with any content presented.

If you are new to Thinglink, you can easily sign-up for a free basic account to experiment this amazing platform for yourself by clicking . Once you log-in to your Thinglink account, simply click the Create button to get started.

Next, follow the steps provided in the links below to upload your image and start inserting clickable tags to make your image come alive and create your own Thinglink Interactive Learning Menu.

I hope you found my ideas helpful and I wish you the best of luck as you create your own Interactive Thinglink Learning Menus and Choice boards.

Additional Choice Boards Ideas

To see additional Choice boards and resources I have created in Thinglink, click here: Christi Collins

About The Author

Christi Collins is a second rade Language Arts teacher at Virginia Virtual Academy and an adjunct instructor at the UVA-Wise/Center for Teaching Excellence in Wise, Virginia. Christi is a Thinglink Certified Educator who has been using Thinglink for many years to deliver instructional content in more engaging and meaningful ways. To follow Christi on Twitter: @christibcollins

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Using Thinglink to Create Interactive Learning Menus that Support Student Choice

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by Christi Collins Are you looking for more engaging ways to provide your students with choice-based assignments and activities? One way to provide students with more meaningful, self-directed learning opportunities is to create an Interactive Learning Menu in Thinglink.

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by Adriane Ellis

We have been in the process of turning our library into a Learning Commons. This process has been 3 years in the making and we are super proud of the progress. Unfortunately, I am not always able to reach all my parents and community through open houses and parent meetings. The library often gets overlooked. I created this tour to give future and current students and parents, as well as teachers and community members, an inside look into the amazing things we have going on in our Learning Commons Space.

Going beyond just pictures

With ThingLink 360/VR, you have many different options for customization. I included lots of pictures to show close up looks at different parts of the library, but I also was able to include websites and a google form. I love the new features of customizing your tags by changing the look of it. With 360/VR you can find pictures online, or use your own pictures to upload. I used a 360 Ricoh Theta camera to capture the essence of our Learning Commons. It took me only a couple of minutes to take the picture and quickly upload it to the ThingLink editor.

About the Author

Mrs. Adriane Ellis is a library media specialist at Bagley Middle School in Chatsworth, Ga. She has her master's degree in Educational Technology, a certification for Library Media, and is pursuing her specialist degree in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia. Adriane is a T hingLink Certified Educator and a Google Certified Educator. Follow her on Twitter @adee_ellis

Thinglink VR has helped me to see the endless possibilities of technology in schools. Since the bootcamp, I have been able to not only expand my capabilities but also find new people to add to my PLN with similar passions!"- Adriane Ellis

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by Adriane Ellis We have been in the process of turning our library into a Learning Commons. This process has been 3 years in the making and we are super proud of the progress. Unfortunately, I am not always able to reach all my parents and community through open houses and parent meetings.

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Explore women's rights around the world in 360 multimedia.

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by Mona Voelkel

Unleash the possibilities of Thinglink 360 by crafting learning experiences that allow students to gain information about important issues, filter that information through a shifted perspective and then build on that learning to bring about change. This allows for the embodied virtual experience to lead into real-world journeys of empathy and social change.

Consider This Scenario
You are the principal of a school. You have just found out that other schools are banning chocolate milk. Use the attached resources to explore the issue.
Students will explore the issue from multiple perspectives using Thinglink 360. After the exploration, students will be asked to weigh the pros and cons of chocolate milk in school and decide where they, as principal of the school, stand on the issue.

Then, they will be asked to craft a speech that they will present to the school community, including not only their position on the issue but the examples and statistics that support their ideas

Afterward, students can be asked to reflect on their learning and asked how they will connect their new learning to their real lives. How has their thinking about chocolate milk in schools changed as a result of their learning?

ThingLink offers a motivating way to share content and build knowledge with our students so they can explore these issues from multiple perspectives in the classroom and then make connections to their own lives

About the Author

Mona Voelkel is a literacy specialist, an author, and a National Board Certified Teacher with over twenty years of classroom, staff development, and family event experiences. Mona is a longtime ThingLink Certified Educator who has inspired many over the years. Follow her on Twitter @movoelkel.

"Thinglink, thanks to its powerful VR editor and amazing community of educators, has helped me to design engaging lessons that build critical thinking skills using 360° photographs."

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by Mona Voelkel Unleash the possibilities of Thinglink 360 by crafting learning experiences that allow students to gain information about important issues, filter that information through a shifted perspective and then build on that learning to bring about change. This allows for the embodied virtual experience to lead into real-world journeys of empathy and social change.

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TOUCH this image to discover its story. Image tagging powered by ThingLink

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Take screenshots of Logic (software they use in music) and label what each of the buttons that they might need to use and explain what they do.

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We are pleased to invite educators to take the ThingLink 360 Breakout Challenge in March. This fun and free professional learning opportunity stems from an innovative idea by Dan Gallagher, a ThingLink Certified Educator with a lot of talent. Dan has combined the power of ThingLink's 360 image editor with Google Docs to create an interactive, media-rich version of the popular learning game Breakout EDU. This hot classroom activity is an educational adaptation of an escape room that requires students to use clues to try to break out of a room.

ThingLink adds a new dimension to a Breakout EDU type activity by using 360 images and rich media tags to create an interactive experience. Students can move around a room to discover clues on tags that are displayed via a variety of media. They unlock locks to break out of the room by submitting a supercharged Google Form that is embedded right on top of the image. We are very excited about the potential of using this winning combination of tools to engage students in the development of problem-solving and critical thinking skills. and we hope many educators will join us in creating a collection of ThingLink 360 enhanced Breakout activities.

Create a Breakout EDU Using ThingLink 360/VR

Dan created this screencast to demonstrate how to create an interactive, digital version of Breakout EDU by combining the power of ThingLink 360/VR and Google Forms. Watch this quick video to learn from Dan Gallagher.

Join the ThingLink 360 Breakout Challenge

If you are interested in using ThingLink 360/VR to create a Breakout Challenge of your own, we invite you to Take our Teacher Challenge with Dan during the month of March. We're offering this free and fun PD to provide educators with an opportunity to learn with us, build your PLN, and test our 360 media editor.
Steps at a Glance

1. Complete the form below to register.

2. Join Dan's Group, #TL_Breakout.
We will send you aJoin Code for Dan's group, #TL_Breakout

1. Everyone who joins Dan's group will inherit his ThingLink Premium features for the duration of the teacher challenge.

2. Members of the group will also be able to post to channels to create interactive collections of Breakout activities.

3. Stay tuned to the ThingLink Blog for Education to receive tips and tricks, based on frequently asked questions.

4. Turn in your Breakout 360 activities through a form before March 30th.

5. Participate in our webinar event to celebrate and share the collection of Breakout EDU lesson created!

Get Started with the ThingLink 360 Breakout Challenge!

Sign up to get started now!

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Take the ThingLink 360 Breakout Challenge

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We are pleased to invite educators to take the ThingLink 360 Breakout Challenge in March. This fun and free professional learning opportunity stems from an innovative idea by Dan Gallagher, a ThingLink Certified Educator with a lot of talent.

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There are a few cool 360 art YouTube vids this could be done with

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TOUCH this image to discover its story. Image tagging powered by ThingLink

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-by Jen and Brian Cauthers

As more communities and developments branch out into undeveloped lands, we encounter habitats that are often overlooked as important to the stability of our ecosystems. Unfortunately, freshwater wetland habitats typically fall into this category, as they are often simply referred to as "swamps." Most people do not have a positive reaction when they hear the word "swamp." Instead, they think stagnant stinky water. In reality, freshwater wetlands are vital to the stability of our ecosystems because they provide breeding grounds for many creatures such as frogs and turtles. They also provide a filtration system for our water as it percolates through the soils.

The 360 image used for our ThingLink journey is a picture from a freshwater wetland in New York State. The image explores many components to a freshwater wetland using images, videos, and student engagement tools. Students will be guided along to answer the question: "How can we protect and restore wetlands to their native state?" Students will explore the soils of the wetlands, endangered species, native grasses, water testing parameters and methods used to restore wetlands. Students will also create a shared google map plotting various wetland regions of New York State. ThinkLink offers the ability to include links to key Google for Edu tools, as well as popular student engagement tools, such as Padlet to encourage voice and collaboration during the project.

The ThingLink platform allows for engaging and clean packaging of an interactive unit to learn about freshwater wetlands.

About the Authors

Jen and Brian Cathers are ThingLink Certified Educators and science teachers from New York. Our collaboration began when we met at the Mount Saint Mary's Bootcamp. #TeamCauthers participated in the Bootcamp to prepare for a series of AR/VR workshops this fall.

If you missed them at the Google Summit in Manchester, CT, you can still catch AR/VR in the classroom moving from consumption to creation" during a pre-conference workshop at NYSCSTE in November and also at FETC in January. Follow Jen @cauthersj and Brian @mahopacskiteam.

My interest in technology started with my MS in Instructional Technology from NYIT. I am also a Google for Education Certified Trainer and an Apple Certified Teacher. I have always loved integrated technology in my class starting with using probes for science experiments in the early years to 1:1 Chromebooks in the last few years. Recently, I have found a passion for virtual reality and augmented reality apps now that mobile devices have become so powerful and most students carry them daily. I love VR and AR use with students because it takes them on journeys that are not normally possible especially within a 42 minute class period. My main focus with technology integration is to use it for student creation rather than simply consumption of information.

My interest in technology started at an early age growing up in a house with my father who had a computer science master's degree. When I began teaching, I set up my own network in my classroom with my apple laptop and helped my inner city students stay on the cutting edge as they were part of an engineering/technology house. In later years, I began to incorporate more web-based applications for ease of use with students at home. I recently became very involved in the applications of virtual reality and augmented reality apps in the classroom. I began a virtual field trip website for our school district, piloting a 360/VR field trip group in my middle school.

GET INSPIRED

We are dedicated to providing our education community with inspiring ideas for teaching and learning with ThingLink through this blog. We hope you will read more ThingLink Certified Educator guest posts and subscribe to receive weekly updates highlighting our featured content.

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Using ThingLink 360/VR to Explore Wetlands

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by Jen and Brian Cauthers As more communities and developments branch out into undeveloped lands, we encounter habitats that are often overlooked as important to the stability of our ecosystems. Unfortunately, freshwater wetland habitats typically fall into this category, as they are often simply referred to as "swamps."

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by Amy Pietrowski

ThingLink is one of my favorite apps, and I have been using it in different capacities for several years now. Labeling pictures and maps made so much sense to me as a social studies teacher. We downloaded Civil War images from the Library of Congress and added several media assets from sites to sounds. As a technology teacher, we labeled feet with our digital footprints and created tours of our school with ThingLink 360/VR. But now, as an English teacher, I had to do a little thinking.... What would be the best use of ThingLink in the Language Arts classroom?

One day it came to me: figurative language!

First, I created a metaphors channel of images. Each student selected a picture featuring nature and came up with three metaphors. Next, they made a deeper connection with their metaphors by adding corresponding images. This group of sixth-graders picked up ThingLink so quickly, I knew they'd have no trouble at all with 360/VR.

I was right! As we moved through a few lessons on word connotation, I dreamed up the next adventure. Through Google Classroom, I provided students with the link to the Teleport library of 360/VR images. Once they chose an image and cloned it, they were instructed to create at least five tags with sentences containing positive connotations meant to convince prospective visitors to come to "their" city. Some of the results were truly magnificent. Here is one created for Copenhagen, Denmark!

About the Author

Amy Pietrowski, a Maine native, has taught in several schools around the world due to her husband's Army career. This has given her the opportunity to teach at every grade level and almost every subject area. In the classroom Amy always infused technology into her lessons and, as a middle school language arts teacher, she strives to create a balance of tech skills and curriculum standards in each lesson. Amy has presented at numerous local and statewide technology conferences, has a passion for helping teachers use technology effectively in their classrooms, and is a part-time, online instructor for Michigan State's Master of Arts in Educational Technology program.

Thinglink helps us promote visible thinking strategies!"

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by Amy Pietrowski ThingLink is one of my favorite apps, and I have been using it in different capacities for several years now. Labeling pictures and maps made so much sense to me as a social studies teacher. We downloaded Civil War images from the Library of Congress and added several media assets from sites to sounds.