https://anchor.fm/hitechpod/embed/episodes/18--How-to-Cultivate-Interactivity-for-Engagement--ThingLink-e14qfvp
ThingLinkThingLink is an interactive learning platform. You can upload images, videos, or 360 degree videos into the platform and create hotspot interactions within the media. Then, the viewer can interact with the hotspots to see what information you have added to complement the learning material.
Check out the example below of a 360 degree video of the entrance to a building with information hotspots all around to help the viewer learn about what they see.
[View original ThingLink](https://www.thinglink.com/media/1438396248716476417)
Will was first introduced to this tool by an instructor who recorded 360 degree footage of themselves paddling down a river in a kayak. Different elements of the environment were turned into hotspots so the students could learn more about what they were seeing without having to actually kayak down the river themselves.
At the end of the day, ThingLink could be used for almost anything you can imagine: virtual labs, heat maps, annotated images of anatomy, tours of real places, tours of fictional places, and any other kind of virtual experience you can imagine.
Truly, it rewards curiosity! If you can imagine showing something to your students, ThingLink can help you do that without forcing them to travel to or interact with real environments that may not be able to access.
ThingLink offers a limited freemium design: their free use limits you to 1000 views, so you need to be judicious with your use of the free platform. However, their paid version for a single teacher is actually quite inexpensive. If you considered this a centerpiece to your curriculum, it would not be hard to justify this tool as courseware for a face-to-face or online course.
Once you've determined the financial side of things, learning how to use it first starts with getting or creating the right content. If you want to do 360 degree videos, you will need some extra skills to create that content in the first place. If you just want to work with normal video or images, simply upload it into their platform and start adding your hotspots!
To get started check out ThingLink's Creating & Publishing how-to resources.