THINGLINK | FACILITATOR GUIDE
Interactive Places and Branching Choices
One tool, two clear ideas: tags guide an audience through a place, and choices change the path through a story.
The two-week route
Week 4: Make a place interactive
Day 1 analyze and plan. Day 2 build the 2D map. Day 3 compare flat and 360 media. Days 4 and 5 build, test, and revise a 360 guide.
Week 5: Choices change the route
Day 1 Two-Door practice. Day 2 story map. Days 3 and 4 build. Day 5 test every path, revise, and publish.
Before students sign in
- Create a ThingLink group for this class. Share the group invite code or use the district single sign-on route. Do not ask students to make unmanaged personal accounts.
- Test the student sign-in on a student device. Keep every scene for this unit in the same student account.
- Confirm that your ThingLink license can share Scenario Builder projects. K-12 sharing requires an Enhanced or Staff Training license. Essential and Individual Teacher accounts cannot share scenarios. If sharing is unavailable, use the linked-scene fallback in the Branching Narratives guide.
- Choose the 360 media route: ThingLink library, teacher-provided 360 JPEGs, or small groups using a charged 360 camera. Do not promise a camera route until file transfer has been tested.
Teacher resources
Interactive Place Map
Use the lesson guide and optional whole-group deck for the 2D map days. The student assignment remains the accessible and absence route.
360 Guide
Use the lesson guide for media preparation, 360 specifications, camera/library choices, and the partner accessibility check.
Branching Narratives
Use the lesson guide for Two-Door, the story-map gate, Scenario Builder, the linked-scene fallback, and the final rubric.
Current platform checks
- 360 image: JPEG, 2:1 aspect ratio, and no larger than 8192 by 4096 pixels.
- Accessible tags: descriptive titles, meaningful alt text, captions or transcripts for media, high-contrast icons, and a logical tag sequence.
- Sharing: test the exact audience link in a signed-out or Student View window before students submit.
- Edpuzzle: optional teacher-connected route only. The student page defaults to the original YouTube video.
Grading map
Minor
Interactive Place Map: 5 points
360 Guide: 5 points
360 Guide: 5 points
Formative
VR overview, Two-Door, and Story Map: 0 points and omitted from the final grade
Major
Branching Narrative: 100 points with an attached Canvas rubric
Optional swap-ins
Planet Planning, the earlier Storyboard, and Planet Branching are available in Enrichment · Parked Alternates. Use one only if you want to replace the Week 5 project with a longer planning route.