Thinglink Scenario Builder

I have chosen to evaluate the Thinglink Scenario Builder. Thinglink is a cloud-based authoring tool that helps teachers and learners to recreate real-life learning environments and situations.  Thinglink has several templates for creating interactive media such as maps, infographics, presentations, and virtual reality experiences.  In addition, users can work collaboratively in real time and securely publish their media creations, while teachers can manage student accounts and upload student data onto their learning management system.  Users need to have a paid subscription to access its full capabilities.

SAMR Integration Model

I chose to use the SAMR integration model to review Thinglink as I am already familiar with TPACK.  SAMR is an acronym for substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition which is a taxonomy of four levels of classroom technology integration.

This framework is used by educators to classify and evaluate the effectiveness of a technology on students and to discover ways of using the technology to transcend traditional classroom practice.

Integration Using SAMR Model

Due to the large number of interactive media options available on Thinglink, I have focused my presentation on the infographic tool.  The instructional possibilities of this authoring tool as a whole are seemingly endless.

Substitution

Students could create an infographic to show their understanding of a multifaceted such as the challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay.  This could coincide with Baltimore County Public School’s second grade social stud on the bay.

Augmentation

Students could amplify the information about the challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay by creating hotspots to provide additional information for users to interact with.  These could include definitions, images, links to relevant websites, videos, or blogs.

Modification

Students could collaborate virtually to create and publish their infographic to share with peers.  They could also collaborate to brainstorm ideas that may help diminish or eliminate problems the bay has altogether.  These ideas could also be imbedded as hotspots on the infographics.

Redefinition

Students could publish the bay infographic publicly on social media such Twitter or Facebook.  They could use these platforms as well as sending links or QR codes to government officials on the local, state, and federal level to help create positive change for our precious and delicate estuary.

How I Used This Tool

I used this tool to create an interactive infographic on the challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay.  I used an image of a map of the bay as the infographic’s main image.  Then I practiced adding tags to add pop up images, text, and a link to a video.  This is similar to what I described students doing at the augmentation level of the SAMR model.  To help take it to the next level, modification, I copied the URL and have shared it  here.

Critique of Thinglink

Overall, I believe Thinglink is a very powerful tool with virtually unlimited possibilities for instruction.  Creating the infographic and adding tags to my infographic was very easy once I took the time to study how to do them.  I was able to get the shareable link to copy into my blog without much trouble, either.

I like that the media can be shared to many social media platforms but read that a good portion of them will lose their interactive capabilities once there.  Hopefully this an issue that can be ironed out sooner than later.

I did have some issues while editing the infographic that should be mentioned.  First, I was unable to figure out if I could add text directly onto the infographic.  I am not sure if that is possible, although maybe I just could not figure it out.  Also, when I first entered the Thinglink sight, I was given many choices as to what I wanted to create (see image above).  The problem was that when I clicked on the infographic icon, it asked me to upload media.  I uploaded several images that I wanted to use but when finished I just saw a thumbnail list of those images.  I still needed to create an infographic.  This did not make sense to me and cost a great deal of time trying to figure out.  Finally, I learned the hard way that once a tab/button is created, you better have it set up exactly the way you want or you will need to delete the tab and create a new one from scratch unless you want to wait for the changes you made previously to make their way through the system.  Apparently that can take some time as I was under the assumption that certain aspects of the editing tool just disappeared, apparently not.

I have come to expect dedicated software to have several issues.  Even broad-spectrum software, like the Microsoft suite, has kinks in them.  Typically a solution will arise or work arounds can be found, so my critiques come half-heartedly.  I would love to have a full version of Thinglink at my disposal to raise my students engagement to a whole new level.