Where can I use 360 degree content?

ThingLink provides an interactive platform that allows users to create engaging and immersive virtual tours using 360-degree content. By uploading 360-degree images or videos, users can design comprehensive virtual experiences, seamlessly linking different areas or scenes together. Within these panoramic visuals, interactive tags can be embedded that offer additional information, images, videos, links, or even embedded documents. These tags turn a standard 360-degree view into an interactive exploration, providing context and depth to the viewer’s experience. The use of 360-degree content in ThingLink’s virtual tours fosters a more lifelike, engaging environment that can be applied in various fields like real estate, education, tourism, or training, offering viewers a realistic perspective and interactive journey through a location or concept. The example below shows this in action.

In ThingLink you can also save your 360 scene or tour in virtual reality mode, meaning that you can view it on a VR headset for a fully immersive experience.

What is the difference between photospheres and panoramic images?

Panoramic images typically cover a wide field of view horizontally, often 180 degrees or more, but do not necessarily cover the full 360-degree horizontal and vertical field of view. They are often displayed as a wide, flat image that stretches across the screen. Panoramic photos can be created with photo stitching, piecing together a series of photos taken along a single horizontal plane, or they can be captured with special panoramic cameras.

Photospheres encompass a full 360-degree field of view both horizontally and vertically, forming a complete sphere. They allow the viewer to look up, down, left, right, and all around, as if they were standing in the center of a sphere. Photospheres are typically viewed using special software or online platforms that enable the viewer to navigate the entire sphere. When flattened into a two-dimensional image, they usually appear distorted, especially near the top and bottom. Photospheres can be created by stitching together images taken in all directions, including above and below the camera’s position, or with specialized 360-degree cameras designed to capture a full spherical view.

In summary, panoramic images provide a wide, often linear view across a single plane, while photospheres offer a completely immersive, spherical experience, allowing viewers to explore the entire scene as if they were physically present.

New Pano to 360 by ThingLink: a free tool for creating 360° images

Previously, it was possible to use the Google Street View app to create a photosphere. Many ThingLink creators used this approach to successfully create 360-degree images for virtual tours, such as the Budapest museum education team in this case study. However this app was sadly deprecated in June 2023. At ThingLink, we researched a wide range of 360 camera apps, but none provided the same stitching software that Street View had incorporated to make 360 imaging truly accessible and easy to use. To respond to this need, the ThingLink team developed Pano to 360.

Using AI, the tool blends the panorama together at the zenith and nadir of the photo as well as at the seam between the two ends. You will have the most success if your device’s camera has an ultra wide-angle lens but any device with a panorama image setting will work.

This tool is free for everyone, and you don’t need to be a ThingLink account holder or subscriber. It is compatible with panoramic photos taken on Apple iphones, android phones and in fact all android/ios mobile devices. There is no need for a plugin or for downloading from the app store or Google Play. Simply upload your panorama and in seconds you will have a 360 photosphere ready to download and use as you wish!

The dedicated support page here provides a quick video tutorial on how to use the new tool.

Dedicated 360 degree cameras

On the more accessible end are the immensely popular Ricoh Theta and the newer Ricoh Theta S. These small “fisheye” cameras fit in the palm of your hand and capture VR ready content with the click of a button. Check out a compilation of images and video captured with the Ricoh Theta S in the embed below. Other possible makes of these 360 cameras are the Samsung Gear 360 and the Insta360.

360 video cameras

GoPro Max for 360 Video is designed to take 360 video, and is designed to be as robust as the rest of the GoPro range. Some of the models mentioned above also have 360 video capability.

How do I edit my 360 images?

You can easily edit your raw 360 images using either a platform such as Photoshop, or the popular Canva platform, which is ideal for beginners with both free and pro plans and pricing.  

Where can I learn more?

Join one or more of our friendly social media communities to see user-generated content and great examples! The ThingLink Facebook Education Group and the ThingLink LinkedIn Community would love to welcome you.

ThingLink has become a favorite tool amongst these teams because it is incredibly versatile, easy to learn, and produces professional in-house results quickly. In a matter of days, admissions teams can take projects from simple concepts to captivating virtual experiences that can be easily embedded into their websites. This greatly cuts down on time, expense, and the need to request development resources or outsource the production to agencies. 

And with our seamless Canva integration, creating beautiful maps, infographics, charts and timelines to use in your thinglink is now easier than ever! 

In this blog post we will go over several best in class, live projects from fellow ThingLink creators, ranging from K12 schools to higher education institutions of all sizes across the world. The goal is to give you actionable ideas on how to plan, structure and create your school’s virtual tour for increasing new admissions. These ideas will range in complexity from simple to in-depth tours.    

Project Idea One – Aerial campus map or floor plan 

This is one of the simplest and quickest methods to begin your virtual tour project because it only requires designing one base asset, in this case a map or floor plan. You can use the ThingLink tags to include facts, key reasons to attend, and introduce faculty and video content about the campus. 

Pro tip: blend in commentary from current faculty and students into the hotspots to add a personal touch.  For example, have a current student give an interview on why they fell in love with the new science lab. 

Click the icons on the map below to see photos and videos of this spacious green campus and state-of-the-art facilities. Make sure to turn the sound on to hear all about what makes AOSR such a special place!

Project Idea Two – Showcase your diverse study body with a regional map 

This is another efficient project to get up and running with little resources and time. Create a map of your surrounding region, or the world if you are an international school. Use ThingLink to annotate labels on where students are attending from so new students feel comfortable knowing fellow students from their area also attend your school. 

Pro tip: use custom icons to blend in your school logo into the creative.  You can also customize the color styling of the tags and incorporate animations to capture the viewers attention. 

Loyola High School of Los Angeles (click the link to view live website) – Hover over the hotspots to learn where Loyola students are coming from throughout various Los Angeles communities. 

Project Idea Three – Guided virtual campus tours with 360° images & audio

The most impactful method for increasing new admissions through your website is to build a virtual campus tour that dives into each key aspect of the school.  While it requires more planning, structuring and resources, these virtual tours are a really impactful way for students to visit your campus digitally.  

Pro tips: 

1) Use any 360° camera – or the new ThingLink Pano to 360 converter!
In this article we recommend several affordable, low set up cameras that are built to be used by non-professional photographers.  These cameras will allow you to quickly capture high-quality 360° images of your campus and seamlessly upload them to ThingLink with no advanced skills required.  You can capture all of your images/spaces within a single day.

NEW! The easy way to create 360 images: Pano to 360

Creating virtual tours, exhibitions, escape rooms and other immersive content just got even easier! ThingLink has now launched Pano to 360 by ThingLink: an easy way to create a 360 photosphere from a panoramic image using any smartphone. For more information, including step-by-step instructions see this helpful support article. 

2) Plan and structure
Consider how viewers will navigate through your tour. Make it as simple and clear as possible to ensure an engaging experience for your audience. Many of the best virtual tours begin with a regular image or map (see Project Idea One) and use the hotspots to link to each 360° scene. This acts as a visual table of contents that gives the viewer a frame of reference when navigating the tour, allowing them to return to the map to visit a different section of the campus.  

3)Clear instructions – try adding audio!
Include a sentence or two introducing your tour detailing best practices for navigating. Adding audio is a great way to add instructions into the start of the tour, or within an anchored, recurring hotspot. Explore the examples below to see effective and creative methods for incorporating clear instructions for your viewers. 

4) Design consistency
Applying a consistent design theme through your graphics allows the viewer to interact with the tour more comfortably. For example, if using videos in your hotspots, always use a video icon, or a camera icon when you want them to view a set of pictures. The best example of design consistency within a tour using ThingLink has been created by the University of Rochester Medical Center. The team creates an experience that makes navigating a complex facility effortless. Read the full case study here.

Meet Christian, your tour guide!  Christian appears throughout the tour, offering video recaps, key facts and a consistent voice throughout the viewer journey.  The team designed these illustrations into their images. 

Each key scene features an image with the same six actions: 

1. Click the microphone button to view pictures, read key facts and listen to Christian narrate 
2. Click the doctor button below the microphone to watch a video clip with Christian in each space
3. Click the book button to retrieve additional text facts about the space you are viewing
4. Click the map button to view where you are in the tour in relation to the campus 
5. Click the 360° View button to visit a 360° of the featured space 
6. Click either of the arrows to visit the previous or next space within the tour 

At any point, viewers can go back to the original aerial map view and navigate to a specific building in the campus by clicking the home button on the top left corner. Click the slideshow view on the bottom right corner to see every scene within the tour, and search for specific spaces or topics. 

Below you will find 7 additional digital marketing & communications experiences! 

Loyola High School of Los Angeles – Why do we love this example?

1. Three clear ways to experience the tour, including campus map, list of locations, and thumbnail views
2. Use of ambient audio sound throughout the tour further immerses the viewer into the space 
3. Blending text labels and directional instructions into the 360° image file prior to uploading to ThingLink (view the football field scene)

International School of Budapest – Why do we love this example? 

1. Clear help prompts on every scene.  Clicking the green question mark icon on any scene will take viewers to a special instructional view
2. Interactive video!  Click to Start Your Journey and it will take you to an exciting interactive video.  In some cases video can be a more impactful way to connect with your audience over images, but it can also increase production time over regular images. 
3. Clean and clear design theme makes navigating the tour very clear. 

If you love this ‘virtual tour front door’, here’s a Canva template for you to use and make your own!

Keele University – Why do we love this example? Read the full case study here

1. Immediately after starting this tour, you are greeted with a warm audio welcome with instructions and goals for the tour
2. 360° video! All of the cameras we recommended earlier also allow you to capture 360° videos. Once you are in the map view of this tour, click the play buttons to visit a 360° video featuring various key places at the campus. Adding tags to a 360 video is as straightforward as adding to an image.

Keene State College – features campus map view, self-guided tour and guided tour options! 

Father Ryan High School – video campus tour captured with drone footage

Anglo American School of Moscow – proctor virtual open houses for students, parents and stakeholders: 

Communicate strategic updates and vision with timelines:

If you have specific questions about the creating similar experiences, or want to start using ThingLink on your school’s admission team, please email contact us below or via support@thinglink.com. 

Watch this instructional video for further information on using 360 images and virtual tours with ThingLink.

When a school or a district is considering the use of a new visual learning solution such as ThingLink,  it needs an opportunity to try it out, and see how it works and integrates with other tools such as Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom. Local training and resell partners play a key role in this process supporting first time users with practical advice and examples. 

PowerUpEDU bridges the gap between technology and instruction by offering the most relevant and highest-value solutions, resources, professional learning, and ongoing support services for teachers, schools and districts. PowerUpEDU offers solutions to support learning across grade levels and content areas.  The addition of ThingLink’s easy-to-use visual content creation platform to the solutions offerings will allow PowerUpEDU to provide districts and schools with new and engaging options for dynamic remote and traditional learning experiences.

Given today’s unique and highly unusual circumstances, solutions that support distance or virtual learning have never been more relevant.  Maggie Phillips, Head of Professional Development and Teacher Engagement for PowerUpEDU, states, “PowerUpEDU is incredibly excited to offer ThingLink, as a platform for educators to amplify learning through images, video, and virtual tours. As a teacher, whether you are looking for a dynamic way to deliver image or video-driven content to students, or are looking for an authentic way to assess student learning, ThingLink is a powerful solution. It allows teachers and students to catapult learning to a higher level!”  

“We are absolutely delighted to announce this partnership with PowerUpEdu. Their approach to building physical and digital learning environments for classrooms does not promote one solution or technology over others, but it seeks a sensible combination of instructional practices and technological tools that can complement each other and help achieve the best results in each situation”, says Ulla-Maaria Koivula, the founder and CEO of ThingLink.

To learn more about available ThingLink trainings and professional development options in Southeastern United States, please visit PowerUpEDU.com or contact training@powerupedu.com.

Interested in becoming a ThingLink reseller? Submit an application via our Reseller Program page.

Universities and Colleges crate virtual campus tours

The covid pandemic made it hard for students and parents to visit a new school in person. Consequently, increasing numbers of colleges and universities created virtual tours to embed in their websites or admissions pages. These self-guided tours can help students and their parents make better informed choices about where to study, or where to follow up with an in-person campus tour. For a real inside peek at college life, why not include videos and introductions from student ambassadors and current undergrads?

Benefits of virtual campus tours

As well as the academic programs on offer at your college or university, prospective students and their families want to see residence halls, sports and athletics facilities that undergraduate students can access. 

Providing a virtual tour that gives an immersive experience of the campus and teaching facilities helps increase enquiries and applications from overseas students or those who otherwise might face challenges in attending in person.  

Examples of virtual campus visits from the US, UK and Australia

Keele University creates a virtual campus tour

The University of Keele is a public research university in Keele in England. They created an interactive campus map for their virtual experience. The map uses an aerial photo  that connects to points of information. However there are also 360 videos from different parts of the campus area. In addition, they included reports from international field trips in the tour.

Loyola Marymount University’s virtual campus tour 

Loyola Marymount University is a private research university in Los Angeles. Ray Andrade is a librarian and is a member of the Library’s outreach department. Ray coordinates library visits, student programs and tours. In 2019 Ray began to develop a virtual library tour that could serve all students. Above all, he wanted to create a standard tour in English. However, firstly he worked with faculty staff, and students to create a tour to support LMU’s international community. As a result, he created the tour in different languages. His tour includes eighteen 360 degree images. These contain over 65 interactive tags, 17 original videos and 4 “How To” videos. You can read the full project description here.

How do you make a virtual campus tour? Creating a virtual visit is easy with ThingLink!

You can add a huge variety of types of content in tags to your virtual tour. Here’s a handy guide to what you can add in tags. You could also add:

• Recorded videos of information sessions with Admissions regarding entry requirements, financial aid etc.
• Sample timetables 
• Sample menus from the canteen
• Introduction videos from clubs, societies or members of the student panel

Remember your tour can link to images or infographics as well as photos or 360 images. An infographic or timeline would be super helpful as a guide to the undergraduate admissions process. 

NEW! The easy way to create 360 images: Pano to 360

Creating virtual tours, exhibitions, escape rooms and other immersive content just got even easier! ThingLink has now launched Pano to 360 by ThingLink: an easy way to create a 360 photosphere from a panoramic image using any smartphone. For more information, including step-by-step instructions see this helpful support article. 

Easy and instant to edit and update your virtual tour

If any of your content needs to be changed or updated, it’s instant with ThingLink. Swap out the background of any scene and keep the tags in place, or update the tags themselves, and wherever your virtual tour is embedded will update in real time too. 

More examples of virtual campus tours to inspire you

Virtual campus tour from Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute 

The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a music and dance college and university-preparatory school in Baltimore. In 2017, it created a virtual campus tour of its facilities. Now, students can now virtually visit the school and its various spaces.

Virtual Campus Tour at Charles Darwin University 

Charles Darwin University used ThingLink to introduce their Casuarina campus. It is the largest study location at CDU, and the hub for Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Research. The tour features various buildings, landmarks as well as links to more information and resources about the campus.

Washington University Center at Olympic College Poulsbo 

Olympic College Poulsbo is a collaboration between Olympic College and Western. Above all, it serves the community and businesses on the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. So that new applicants could visit the university online, the college used ThingLink to create a virtual campus tour of the college. The tour is available for all visitors to their website.

Virtual tour of College of Design at the University of Oregon

The College created an interactive map with custom icons. These provide shortcuts for exploring different parts of the campus, with tags that contain both video and text. As a result, viewers can read and translate the text to over 80 language using Immersive Reader.

Take a virtual campus tour of Brevard College 

Brevard College already had a numbered map with a list of locations, but they turned it into an interactive virtual campus tour.  They did this by adding descriptions to each of the numbered spots.

FAMU Law School’s virtual campus tour

Florida A&M University is a public, historically black university in Tallahassee in Florida. Their VR lead L. Michelle Salvant and Dr. Kelley Bailey are ThingLink Certified Educators. They started exploring the use of Virtual Campus Tours in 2016. This tour starts from the atrium in the College Of Law, and gives the visitor quick links to the lecture room and library.

California State University Virtual Tour 

CSUF is a public university in Fullerton in California. With about 40,400 students, it is one of the largest in the California State University (CSU) system. This brief tour shows the locations of the Admissions and Records Office, the College of Education, and the School of Business and Economics.

A virtual campus tour around the University of Southampton 

The University of Southampton sits in the city of Southampton, on the south coast of England. The Valley Gardens, houses rare plant and animal species. This beautiful campus tour of the Valley Gardens was created by Dr. Sarah Fielding, who is a Specialist in Learning Design. Enjoy the birds!

Check out some of these other university virtual tour case studies

• University of Calgary create an orientation guide for first-year students
• Student-led tours: On Rochester Medical School tour, current students are your tour guides to give a flavour of student life 

Connect and get inspired!

Why not connect with us and our communities on social media? Facebook Education Group is a great place for tips, examples, support and advice.

Explore the map in situ on their website here or view the individual highlights via our embeds below.

How to use the interactive map

Click on the London tag for example to explore an interactive image featuring London shows (below). Click back on the top left corner to revisit the original map and continue exploring the remaining regions. Viewers can seamlessly navigate between interactive images of Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and more directly from the single map view of Europe. You can use ThingLink to create image carousels, presentations and deep dive maps, infographics or learning exercises. The possibilities are endless! 

Adding rich and engaging media to your tags

Notice how there are subtle movements when each of the number icon tags above open?  FashionUnited uses GIF files within these tags to add an extra level of dynamic content via animations, that further captures viewer attention.  You can use GIFs within ThingLink tags to highlight a specific product feature, demonstrate something in a learning setting, or simply to improve the design and dynamic nature of your interactive content.  

How do I make my map interactive?

Thanks to platforms like Google Maps, we all now use rich media interactive maps on a daily basis. But did you know how easy it is to create your own map like this with no coding or design experience? You can easily make your own custom maps or infographics that are interactive like this version – go to our blog below to see just how easy it is with ThingLink!

• How to create interactive maps

Share via direct link or embed code to add to your website or landing page. Because ThingLink is a cloud-based platform, updates you make to your map will be made in real-time wherever it is embedded and shared.

Further reading: Use cases for interactive maps

A variety of different interactive map styles on display in our blog:

• Six examples of interactive maps

A gold standard use case:

• Interactive world map of shipping ports from Wilhelmsen

Join our active groups and communities on social media for more inspiration:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

Or watch helpful tutorials at our ThingLink YouTube Channel.

JLL

JLL is a global real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. They are ranked 190 on the Fortune 500.

Using icons and ThingLink hotspots, JLL California elegantly provides an interactive tour of their office campus and surrounding area without disrupting the visual nature of the map.  Using interactive content provides a more visual and engaging experience on landing pages that will keep your viewers spending time on the page longer. 

In the first example, embed tags contain 360 images showing the proposed design of the buildings and areas. The middle and bottom examples show two different approaches to aerial maps used by JLL to provide more detail on specific buildings.

Aperture Del Mar Office Campus

Custom Icons

Custom icons are a popular feature amongst ThingLink users because they allow the author to give visual prompts to their viewers in an intuitive manor.  JLL California uses custom icons to preview the tag content: 

• 1) info icons: open tags that contain pictures, text and a call to action button. 
• 2) camera icon: open tags that include primarily pictures.
• 3) camera shutter icon: open tags that contain 360° scenes previewing the outdoor courtyards.
• 4) Route 56 icon: labels a prominent highway appearing in the map. 

• Read more about creating your own custom icons here

Text Label Tags to annotate your map

If you don’t need images or a lot of text included in your tag, use the text label layout to create a simple text label that appears on hover, as in the middle and bottom maps. This can be used for labeling maps, infographics, breaking down complex objects, or key points of information you can use to tell viewers what is happening within your image. 

Further reading and ideas

• Six examples of interactive maps
• How do you create interactive maps
• Wilhelmsen keeps global shipping moving with interactive map
• ThingLink’s New Smart Solution for 360 Real Estate Photography

Join our active groups and communities on social media for more inspiration:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

Or follow our YouTube channel for tutorials!

A shoppable infographic

You can also make your ThingLink content shoppable like Arsenal does at the bottom of this introduction. Click the shopping bag icon near “Get the shirt” to purchase a Dani Ceballos jersey from the Arsenal online store.

Tailoring your infographic design for your ThingLink tags

It’s a good idea to design your visual graphics to accommodate for interactive content when you know it will be uploaded to ThingLink. Notice that Arsenal includes specific locations for the hotspots to live that fits in well with overall look and feel of the infographic.  This also helps viewers navigate the content more easily. 

More interactive infographic examples

In these blogs below we showcase lots of other types of infographics that you can take inspiration from.

• How to create interactive infographics
• Interactive infographics: What are they and why should you use them?
• 3 great examples of interactive infographics

Why are interactive infographics so powerful for content marketing?

Interactive infographics have emerged as a game-changer in the world of content marketing. Unlike static infographics, which rely solely on visual elements and limited textual information, interactive infographics elevate engagement to a whole new level. By incorporating animations, scrolling features, and interactive elements, these dynamic visual content pieces transform data visualization into compelling visual stories that captivate audiences.

One of the key reasons interactive infographics are so powerful is their ability to simplify complex information. They break down intricate data into digestible bits, making it easier for the target audience to grasp and retain the message. For instance, interactive graphs and calculators can allow users to customize their experience and interact with the data, helping them understand the nuances of the information presented. This not only enhances comprehension but also keeps visitors engaged for longer periods, ultimately driving them to explore more of your content.

People love to share interactive infographics!

Moreover, interactive infographics excel in leveraging social media platforms. With their eye-catching animations and interactive map features, they are tailor-made for sharing and re-sharing on social networks. The best interactive infographics are akin to GIFs, captivating viewers and encouraging them to share with their followers. This viral potential can substantially boost your marketing strategy by attracting new subscribers and directing traffic to your landing page.

• In our blog, Fascinating Interactive Map of Scottish Dialects Goes Viral, we showed how an interactive map of dialects using ThingLink went instantly viral.

By utilizing infographic templates and integrating motion graphics, interactive infographics have become an indispensable tool in any content strategy, turning your data into a compelling, shareable visual communication tool that resonates with your target audience.

Join the conversation!

Join our active groups and communities on social media for more inspiration:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

Using interactive infographics to summarise blogs and other long-form content

Blog posts can quickly become very text-heavy, which causes readers to engage less with your content.  As the web shifts to more visual media like images and videos, we recommend incorporating as many as possible into your blog posts to capture the attention of today’s readers. Using interactive hotspots within visual media allows authors to continue telling their story without having to increase article length with many lines of text.  The examples below show how Schneider Electric has continuously leveraged interactive infographics within blog posts to generate stunning communication experiences.   

Showing smart home devices’ dependency on an internet connection 

Pro Tip:  Using GIFs within your tags is a simple and impactful way to highlight a certain product feature or message.  Notice Schneider Electric uses GIFs to illustrate the different smart home devices found in the infographic above.  

Pro Tip: Use ThingLink custom icons to match the look and feel of your organization, or green and white in Schneider Electric’s example above. Custom icons can be effective visual instructions for your viewers and what they can expect underneath the hotspot (a play button to indicate a video). Finally, custom icons can be used to portray a relevant illustration like signal tower used above.  Click here to read more about uploading custom icons.

Further reading and great examples

• How to create interactive infographics
• Interactive infographics: What are they and why should you use them?
• 3 great examples of interactive infographics

Why do interactive infographics work so well?

Interactive infographics have revolutionized the world of content marketing by offering a dynamic and engaging way to present information. Unlike their static counterparts, interactive infographics leverage animations, templates, and interactive elements to create a truly immersive experience for the audience. This approach transforms data visualization from a passive viewing experience into an interactive journey, making it ideal for capturing the attention of today’s social media-savvy audience. By integrating features like scrolling, animated infographics, and pop-ups, marketers can craft eye-catching visual stories that not only educate but also entertain.

A versatile format

One of the key advantages of interactive infographics in content marketing is their versatility. With a wide range of graphic design and infographic templates available, marketers can tailor their visuals to match their marketing strategy and target audience. Whether it’s an interactive map illustrating regional data, dynamic graphs, or even calculators that allow users to input their own data and see real-time results, interactive infographics offer endless possibilities for conveying complex information in a digestible format. This level of customization not only enhances engagement but also encourages social sharing, extending the reach of your content.

Effective at conversion

Furthermore, interactive infographics are highly effective at converting web visitors into subscribers. By strategically placing interactive elements on a landing page, you can entice visitors to interact with the content. This engagement not only holds their attention but also provides valuable insights into their interests and preferences. When done right, the best interactive infographics not only tell a visual story but also guide the audience toward desired actions, making them a vital tool in any content strategy. So, if you’re looking to make a lasting impact with your content marketing efforts, consider incorporating interactive infographics to harness the power of visual communication and captivate your target audience.

Join the conversation to see more inspiring examples

Join our active groups and communities on social media for more inspiration:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

“We heard about ThingLink at a special event at our cultural building at which new technologies for teaching students about history were on display. This gave us the idea to shoot images of notable Maine locations with our 360 camera and populate each shot with interesting facts and images from present day and history.”

Kristen Muszynski, Director of Communications, Department of the Secretary of State in Maine

Kristen spearheaded the project and started working with the state archives team to gather materials and edit them to create virtual tours that could be viewed as interactive virtual reality experiences. The result was three initial complete virtual tours of the Maine State House, Old Orchard Beach Pier and of Maine, and Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.

From the beginning, the plan was to post the tours on the State Department website as well as travel around to schools and libraries with a VR kit to show the tours to students and their parents.

However, like all ThingLink virtual tours, they can just as easily be viewed on any mobile device, tablet or desktop – making them accessible to anyone, any time!

Explore the virtual tours

• Explore the tours in these three embeds by clicking on the arrow hotspots. For example, you can move inside the State House from the exterior in the tour below!
• Click the magnifying glass to hear about features within each scene, and see detailed images of the feature.
• You can also click the VR icon on the bottom right corner of the tour to begin viewing in a mobile VR headset. 
• You can explore the entire series of linked tours by clicking on the two squares in the bottom right of each image – choose where you would like to go from the array along the bottom!

Maine State House – VR EXPERIENCE

Old Orchard Beach Pier – VR EXPERIENCE

Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory – VR EXPERIENCE

Successful feedback from the first school tour

The students from the Windsor Elementary School were the first ones to get an up-close view of some of Maine’s most prominent sites via VR. The local TV channel WABI/5 covered the event and captured students’ reactions and feedback, which was so positive that the teachers requested their own VR headsets and phones so they can use this in the classroom.

The tours were so well received by school students and teachers that many further tours were subsequently created.

Photo credit: State of Maine

This project is a great example of how new media technologies and public archives can be used to:

• Engage citizens to learn about a region and its history
• Provide new resources for schools and libraries
• Enable students to visit notable places without logistical costs of in person visits

Inspired by these virtual tours? It’s easier than ever to create your own 360-degree tours!

Pano to 360 by ThingLink is a new and completely free tool that lets anyone convert a panoramic photo taken on their mobile device (Android or iOS/iPhone) and convert to a high-quality 360-degree image. No 360-degree camera or virtual tour software required! A super-simple tool and direct replacement for the now deprecated Google Street View camera app.

Other uses for virtual tours

• As well as educational uses, virtual tours are ideal for showing potential buyers or guests around a home or vacation property.

• They are also used by many universities and colleges for virtual campus visits to increase admissions enquiries.
• Or why not create a virtual field trip for your students?
• Creating a virtual exhibition, museum or gallery is easy with ThingLink

Further reading on virtual tours

• Adding floor plans and mini maps to your virtual tour: an easy-to-follow walkthrough of the steps to add a navigational guide to your tour

• For realtors and other real estate professionals

• How to create a virtual tour with ThingLink: learn how to create transitions between rooms or spaces with this easy to follow tutorial

• Creating 360 video tours with ThingLink

For more great examples and inspiration, join our creative social media groups and communities:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community 
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community 
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The Anglo-American School of Moscow (AASM) is an independent, international school catering for students between the ages of 4 and 18, chartered by the American, British and Canadian embassies. As their communication and development department started preparing for the school’s 70 year anniversary, graphic designer and public relations coordinator Anastasia Osminina started looking for interactive touch screen solutions for their exhibition.

“We researched online, and ThingLink came up as a viable option with a simple interface and a short learning curve.”

Image: A student exploring the digital timeline at The Anglo-American School of Moscow. Photo credit: AASM

A digital timeline

The main hallway of the AASM features a timeline that tells about the history of the school from 1949 to 2009. For the anniversary celebration, the idea was to replace the old timeline with a digital version that lets students interact with the timeline by clicking on various pieces of additional information embedded in the infographics.

Image: Students exploring the digital timeline at The Anglo-American School of Moscow. Photo credit: AASM

Explore the digital timeline by clicking on the penguin icons below:

The digital timeline consists of multiple infographics that are published both on the school website and in the main hallway using 40-inch vertical screens.

Engaging students to document the school’s history

What comes next? “We are going to challenge students to document the last 10 years of history digitally using ThingLink. Going forward,  students can create a new page to our timeline every new school year, ” says Lyubov Bordaeva from the AAS communications team.

Summary and results

This project is a great example of how interactive visuals on large touch screens can help turn a physical space into a place for exploration and learning. The feedback for the timeline project was overwhelmingly positive:

• Visitors, alumni, parents and students were able to interact and learn about the school’s history in a new, deeper way
• Students said that the interactive screen allowed them to learn new facts about the school and its history overall
• Empowering students to author pages in the history timeline drove engagement, interest and learning

Interested in creating your own interactive timeline?

Read out blog below where we set out the process for creating a timeline with Canva and ThingLink!

Create interactive timelines for students

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