360 Image Tools for the Classroom

Virtual reality is a leading emerging technology in educational technology right now. There are several options for inexpensive virtual reality goggles, including Google Cardboard, and plenty of free online resources. There are also several tools for creating your own virtual reality images. Two great tools are Thinglink and Google Tour Creator. Here are some similarities and differences between the two:

Google Tour Creator allows you to create multi-scene tours with 360 images. You can add Points of Interest which include audio and brief written descriptions. The tool is also free. I created one for this post with two images. One image is from Ireland. I took the picture with the Street View app on a smartphone. The second image was taken in my hometown using a proper 360 camera. I made my Points of Interest the pros and cons of the how each image was taken. You can also add actual Google StreetView images. Here is my example of the Google Tour Creator Image.

Thinklink is a tool that is free if you only want to add 2D images. Adding the 3D feature costs $35 per year. It comes with 35 student accounts and the 3D feature. Both the paid and unpaid versions allow for the additons of Tags (Thinglink’s version of Google Tour Creator’s Points of Interest). There are more options with Thinglink’s Tags than with Google’s Point’s of Interest. You can add audio, images, uploaded videos, custom, and embedded options. You can also add other 360 images to create a tour (click on a tag and move in that direction to the next image). Here is a simple Thinglink example where I only added images: Thinglink Example.

Here are a few other things you should know. Both tools can be used to create tours by and for students (although the 360 and student options require a paid account with Thinglink). You do not need virtual reality goggles to use these tools. They are just an option. Google StreetView offers many thousands of images on it’s own if you are just looking to show something to your students in a 360 format rather than with Tags/Points of Interest.

I hope you find this useful. If you do, please share with others who may also benefit. Don’t forget to also follow me on Twitter @JoshuaElliott3 for more tips and ideas.