Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Web 2.0 Tool #3: Creating with ThingLink



Description: This wonderful tool provides a number of tutorials and webinars to get you started. However, it takes a significant amount of time to become comfortable with the tools and the creation process. I did not find it as intuitive as Prezi of Animoto but once a user becomes more comfortable with the software, I can see how it will benefit the learning process. It allows users to combine almost any type of media to create presentations, interactive lesson plans, video tutorials,   study guides and student projects. Also, it comes with iOS and Android apps so students could use it on their phones and tablets. There is an educational version of the software designed specifically for teacher and students. It allows teachers to create channels for each class so that projects are only accessible to specific groups of students. What I enjoy most about the site is its emphasis on images rather than text. I can help students with a variety of learning styles to build background knowledge on a subject and demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.


When I first started playing with this technology, I immediately thought of my U.S. History class for ESOL students. In my district, lower level ESOL students are provided sheltered content classes including U.S. History. The biggest challenge of the class is building background knowledge since the students have been educated outside of the US school system for the majority of their academic career. The project I created focuses on the Bill of Rights. I included two links to get the students started. Once they view the video and complete the web quest, I would ask them to search the web for another source of information on the Bill of Rights. The source could be in their own language or English but they would have to be able to give a brief explanation of the source when they link it to the image. This Web Tool allows the class to collaborate and add links on the same canvas in order to quickly build background knowledge on a topic.

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