Skip to main content

Two Ways to Have Interactive Images in Your Lessons

When people think about interactive multimedia, their first thought usually goes to videos or web pages with built in links.  One of my favorite types of interactive multimedia is actually based in images.  We can use images like digital anchor charts or infographics as the foundation for interactive, digital lessons.  I love using interactive images to house all of the information that I want to share with students in a lesson.  This gives students the opportunity to work at their own pace and minimizes the number of "clicks" that are needed to complete a lesson.  Today, I am going to share two of my favorite ways to create interactive images that are easy to make and share with students.

Thinglink

Thinglink is one of my favorite discoveries from my grad program!  Thinglink allows you to upload an image, place hotspots on it, and add links, videos, images, or text that appear when students hover over or click on the hotspot.  The free version of the app is really easy to use and limits you to only using images.  If your district pays for the full version, you will also be able to make interactive videos or VR experiences.  You can use Thinglink to introduce your students to anchor charts or diagrams, explain an assignment they are going to complete, or even house your entire lesson.  Students could also use this app to create their own projects or reports about what they are learning.  The creative limits are endless!  Thinglinks can also be share via a link or easily embedded into different websites or learning management systems.
Image from https://www.eduappcenter.com/apps/1177#.Xu7WM2hKhPY
To create a Thinglink, follow these steps:
1. Create a free account
2. Select the "create" button
3. Select the type of media you would like to upload (image, video, etc.)
4. Select the "add tag" button
5. Select the type of hotspot you want
6. Select the icon you want and add the information, images, or links you want.  When you are finished, select "done."
7. Looking at the image, select and move the tag where you want it on the image.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 for each hotspot you want on the image.
9. When your interactive image is done, select "done."  You will then be able to share via link or embed code.
To check out a Thinglink lesson I have created, click here.

Google Slides

Another great app for interactive images is anything that creates a slide deck.  You could use Google Slides, Powerpoint, Keynote, or any other slide deck software.  Slide decks are great because you can easily embed media in them and easily link out to other sites or different slides in the presentation.  Google Slides are a great resource because they are free and teachers and students will have access to them.  To use a Google Slide as an interactive image, you can use multiple images on a slide, use links in a text box, or use clear shapes to create links on an image.
Image from http://www.iconarchive.com/show/android-lollipop-icons-by-dtafalonso/Slides-icon.html
If you want to link something in Google Slides, you just need to use the link button.  You can use the link icon in the toolbar (the chain) or use the command ctrl+k when the desired object is selected.  From there, you can copy and paste your link into the prompted box and the link will be established!
There are three different ways to add links to a Google Slide presentation:
1. Using a text box, you can link the text to a specific word.  If you want students to see this, you can use a font and color that pop around the image.
2. Using another image, you can link directly to it.  Students will see the link when they hover over the image.
3. Using one of the random shapes, you can link material throughout the slide.  If you want students to see this box, you can color it how you like.  If you don't want students to see the box, you can make it transparent.  Students will only see there is a link there when they hover over it.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Easy Ways to Create Digital Anchor Charts

If you are like me, you love using anchor charts as a visual aid when teaching your lessons.  Anchor charts are a great way to display relevant content, group important information, and display learning strategies to support students.  Anchor charts are also a great way for teachers to get creative and design things for their classrooms.  Paper anchor charts are great when you are building them with students or want to post them on the walls throughout your classroom.  However, these anchor charts can be hard for students to access when they are outside of the classroom, hard to used in blended and digital lessons, and can be damaged over time if they are not stored properly.  Lucky for us, anchor charts are really easy to create in a digital format!  Here are three easy ways to create digital anchor charts. 1: Using Microsoft Publisher Microsoft Publisher is a great app to use if you want to create anything in a "document style."  Everythin...
1 comment
Read more

Using Google Forms to Design "Choose Your Own Adventure" Lessons

Am I the only one that remembers those "choose your own adventure" books?  I remember reading them over and over again so that I could see what would happen with every possible scenario.  I recently learned that the "choose your own adventure" format is a great way to create engaging, interactive lessons for your students.  You could use this to design your own educational games, teach students while comparing and contrasting different topics, and create many different types of review assignments that give students immediate feedback.  The "choose your own adventure" format is also a great way to allow students to work at their own pace and develop their self-directed learning skills.  You can use Google Forms to create these online for your students.  When you start creating a "choose your own adventure" assignment, it is a great idea to outline each of your questions, the responses for each, and how you plan to connect them to previous question...
Post a Comment
Read more