Major shifts in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require students to have opportunities to practice and master skills in the areas of speaking and listening as well as the ability to compare, contrast, incorporate evidence, understand primary source documents, and create arguments. In terms of student engagement and creation in these areas, the possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, there has been an over reliance on the use of PowerPoint or slide shows for presentations, limiting creativity and too frequently resulting in students reading from the screen. More recently there has been a shift to the use of interactive presentations such as Prezi, which has both its strengths and limitations. After searching and experimenting with different interactive presentation tools, I found that ThingLink is a great option for teachers to use to share information with students, but even better, to have students create presentations that incorporate a wide variety of media and sources.
When I was attending the PARCC ELC in Chicago recently, I attended a workshop on close reads using primary source documents. This particular session pulled in a battle map of Antietam, an excerpt from the Gettysburg Address, a letter from a soldier sent home to his wife, and a Matthew Brady photograph of fallen soldiers along the battle road. I thought that it would be a terrific exercise to make those sources come to life for students, and ThingLink was a perfect tool! Below you will see the Thinglink I created. Essentially, as you scroll over the different elements of the map, you will hear music from the Civil War, see experts from today discuss the battle, see images of the generals where their encampments were on the map, read the letter from the soldier home to his wife, etc
In a classroom, I would have the students create a Thinglink with required elements. They can collaborate and create together as well. Even more importantly, I would have the students explain and show their Thinglink to the class, sharing their expertise. The public speaking should require the students to cite the evidence that they found and compare and contrast media when appropriate. They can even create ThingLinks using original pieces of their own art, music and photography. The options are only limited by their creativity! To see some examples other Thinglinks, click on the featured button on www.thinglink.com.
Remember to remind students of copyright and creative commons licensing. It is important that students follow understand what elements they are allowed to incorporate from different sources and how they should cite those sources as part of your responsible and ethical use policy.
Source: Paula Dillon 3.17.13
A tour of my first attempt at a Thinglink. This video shows the difference between embedding and linking media to a Thinglink. I will rerecord this video from another computer after our session. The sound quality is less than perfect.
Source: By Paula Dillon via Screencast ousing Thinglink (Image citations within the document)
Thinglink Tutorial Slide Show by JGoodburn from Burgettstown Area School via HelloSlide
Make Interactive Images on Thinglink Education by Ruchard Byrne via Free Technology for Teachers
Very Cool Interactive Thnglink on What ThingLink Can Do by J Kern via ThingLink
Source: Included above
Here is a step by step overview of how to get started with ThingLink.
Source: Paula Dillon 3.21.13
Screenshots to assist you in getting started with ThingLink
Source: JGoodburn Burgettstown Areas Schools via Helloslide
Source: Richard Byrne Free Tech for Teachers on ThingLink via Youtube