ThingLink Use Cases Across Campus
ThingLink is commonly used in higher education to create interactive, media-rich learning experiences that increase student engagement, support flexible learning, and make complex content more accessible.
U of A Campus Case Studies
Where the Past has an Exciting Future: Making the Ancient World Accessible for All at the University of Arizona
This case study highlights how University of Arizona professor Dr. Rob Stephan used immersive 360° experiences and interactive storytelling to make ancient Greek archaeology more accessible for students who could not participate in study abroad programs. Using ThingLink, students in a large online course created virtual escape rooms and choose-your-own-adventure experiences based on ancient historical sites, transforming learning from passive content consumption into active, creative exploration. The project improved engagement, accessibility, and peer interaction while helping students develop digital storytelling and communication skills, ultimately leading the university to adopt ThingLink institutionally after the pilot’s success.
Bridging Educational Divides Through ThingLink Virtual Field Trips at the University of Arizona
This case study highlights how Christopher Sanderson, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona, uses ThingLink to create immersive virtual field trips that make authentic learning experiences more equitable and accessible. By combining 360° images, interactive hotspots, multimedia resources, and guided learning activities, Sanderson enables students to explore locations and cultures they might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit due to geographic, financial, or logistical barriers. The virtual field trips promote active learning, global awareness, and digital literacy while giving students the flexibility to engage with course content at their own pace. The project demonstrates how ThingLink can bridge educational divides by expanding access to experiential learning for both in-person and online learners.
Browse through a treasure trove of other case studies that ThingLink has published.
Common Use Cases
Instructors, instructional designers, and student support teams also often use it in the following ways:
- Interactive Course Content – Instructors can turn images, videos, PDFs, and 360° environments into interactive lessons with embedded explanations, links, quizzes, and multimedia resources.
- Virtual Tours and Orientation Experiences – Colleges use ThingLink to create interactive campus tours, lab walkthroughs, library guides, and student orientation modules for online and in-person learners.
- Simulation and Scenario-Based Learning – Programs such as nursing, teacher education, business, and criminal justice use branching scenarios and simulated environments to let students practice decision-making in realistic situations.
- Escape Rooms and Gamified Learning – Instructors create interactive review activities, digital escape rooms, and problem-solving challenges to increase participation and reinforce course concepts.
- Interactive Lab and Equipment Training – Science, healthcare, engineering, and workforce programs use annotated images and 360° spaces to teach students how to use equipment, identify components, or follow procedures safely.
- Student-Created Projects and Portfolios – Students can build interactive presentations, storytelling projects, research posters, or multimedia portfolios that combine text, images, audio, and video.
- Accessibility and Multimodal Learning – ThingLink supports multiple forms of content delivery, including audio narration, captions, and embedded supports, helping institutions provide more inclusive learning experiences.
- Online and Hybrid Course Engagement – Instructors use ThingLink to make asynchronous learning more interactive by replacing static pages with selectable, exploratory learning activities.
- Professional Development and Training – Institutions use ThingLink for instructor onboarding, technology training, compliance training, and instructional resource hubs.
- Interactive Study Guides and Review Modules – Instructors can create visual study aids where students explore concepts, definitions, videos, and review questions in one centralized space.
These use cases are especially valuable in higher education because they support active learning, self-paced exploration, and experiential learning across both academic and student support environments.