Thinglink for Interactive Image Creation

Update: Thinglink now has a site called Thinglink EDU that allows teachers to create and manage classes so students can sign up without having an email address.

Thinglink (hard to say) is a great website that allows you to tag images so that when someone rolls over the image a box pops up with more information and, optionally, a link to a website. It was always one of those tools that I had heard about but never could wrap my mind around until I watched Richard Byrne's video explaining it and then I was hooked. Alternately, you could go to their website and look at the current image they have on their home screen and roll over it to get a feel for what the website allows you to do.

Watch Thinglink Video Here

In a nutshell:

• you choose an image from a website or upload one of your own
• highlight a portion (or portions) of the image
• type in what you want the box to say when someone rolls over it with their mouse
• type in any URL you want to link to along with the text
• from there you can embed this image onto a website or blog or share it via a URL

I could see a great application in the classroom where students find an image of something they are studying, tag parts of that image with information, and share with the rest of the class. My second question, after finding out exactly what the site does is, "Does it work on an iPad?" Yes, it does. And here are 26 ways to use it in the classroom (Thanks FreeTech4Teachers.com)

Storehouse App for Storytelling

Storehouse is a great app that lets you add images and pictures and text to create a story. My first question was, "How is this different from Keynote?" The first reason is that it's free, while Keynote can cost money if you don't have a brand new iPad. The second reason is that Storehouse allows you to publish your stories and you get a a nice, neat URL to share with others. Furthermore, with the latest update you can comment on other stories. This would be very useful for kids collaborating on projects or teachers grading them. The interface is very simple to use (drag and drop images/video, add text) and the navigation is simple swiping left and right, up and down. I will definitely give this a spin in my classroom. Here's more stoke:

Share your world through Storehouse. It's the easiest way to create and discover beautiful stories.

Combine photos, videos, and text to meaningfully document your experiences. Publish your stories for friends and followers, or share them by email, Facebook, or Twitter. Explore stories created by your friends and our community of storytellers from all around the world.

BUILT FOR MOBILE
Storehouse was designed for mobile, from the intuitive touch-based interface to the way we allow you to create and share on-the-go.

UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY
We've made laying out photos, videos, and text so easy that anybody can create beautiful stories. Easily add photos and videos from your iPad Camera Roll, Dropbox, Flickr, and Instagram. You don't need to be a designer to put together something stunning.

SHARE YOUR STORIES ANYWHERE
Stories look great on all screen sizes so you can rest easy knowing that you can share them with anyone.

DISCOVER STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Get inspired by exploring stories created by our global community. Instantly travel the world, learn a new skill, or discover interesting places and people, all from your iPad.

Powtoons - Free Accounts

Powtoons is a neat website that lets you make animated videos for your classroom.  It's not too hard to create a video or you can choose one of the premade videos and edit in your own content.  Right now they are giving away 50,000 free educational accounts that comes with the ability to add 60 students for free.

ExamTime for Test Preparation

I read this on FreeTech4Teachers.com

ExamTime is a service that middle school, high school, and college students can use to prepare for tests. On ExamTimes users can create flashcards, mind maps, and practice quizzes to help them study. ExamTime also provides the option to create online groups to share study materials. Groups allow teachers and students to share learning resources to group members and to host discussions.

Here is a video describing the service

Scrollshow for Cool Presentations

Scrollshow is a pretty cool free app that is not necessarily an alternative to Keynote but rather and different approach to slideshows. It's kind of a combination of Keynote and Prezi in the sense that you can use it to make presentations but it uses the infinite background idea that Prezi uses. Give it a shot.

Scrollshow

QR Codes with Voice Messages

Another cool tool from Free Technology for Teachers is QR Voice. If you don't know what a QR code is then check here. QR Voice basically allows you to type in something (or use your voice if you have dictation) and it will create a QR code. When someone captures the QR code on their smartphone it takes them to a site that will play the message you added. Pretty cool. As mobile devices become more and more the norm this will be a great tool to make sure kids are getting the message. Plus you can have it speak 44 languages! Oh, and it's free.

Add Pins to Maps and Share

This is a pretty neat website I came across that could be very useful in a Social Studies class or any class where you use maps. It's called Pinmaps and it allows you to search for a location (like Google Maps) and then put a pin on the map. Big deal, right?

The neat part is you can then add a picture, URL, and text and then share the map. So a class could share a login and password and work on the same map, adding their information and locations. Check it out.