EdTech Preview: ThingLink & Google Apps

In the spirit of Connected Educator Month (yes, it's Connected Educator Month!) I watched a webinar sponsored by ThingLink.com:  "Transform Teaching and Learning with ThingLink and Google Drive." The presentation featured Susan Oxnevad, an expert on using ThingLink and Google Apps to create interactive images for classroom research projects. She is a teacher and facilitator from Chicago who is also a contributor at Getting Smart, a"community passionate about innovations in learning."

Oxnevad shared sample research projects (rainforest exploration, Civil Rights Movement) to show how teachers can use Google Apps and ThingLink to help students construct knowledge and create meaning. Basically, ThingLink offers a teaching tool to make the dissemination of research sources more engaging for learners. Depending on what you pay for (I tested out the free version), you can embed images with a variety resources that students would then use in a collaborative or independent research project. 

I created my own embedded image for a 7th grade media unit.
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Here are some pros and cons that I noticed after a quick test. 

PROS: 

• Quick creation: I created my page in about ten minutes.
• Easy to figure out: I'm a figure-it-out-as-you-go person as opposed to a tutorial watcher, but there are tutorials available if you need them.
• Student accounts: you can create and invite students to join ThingLink through your master account (I have not done this yet, but if it's like other sites it shouldn't be too difficult.

 CONS:

• Upgrade costs money: you can upgrade for $35/year if you're an educator. This gives you access to annotating video and you can "easily add students." (Now I'm wondering if it's difficult to initially add students!)
• Is it really that big of a deal? Sure, it looks cool aesthetically, but does it result in deeper learning than creating a packet of resources or a GoogleDoc with links?

Go to ThingLink.com and test it out for yourself!

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