ThingLink and Rosen Digital have teamed up to run an interactive image contest for K-12 students. The ThingLink Interactive Image Contest for K-12 is giving away ten iPad minis, one to each category winner. All K-12 students are eligible to enter in one or all ten of the categories. Entries are now being accepted through this form.

The contest categories are as follows:
My Favorite Books or Authors
Science — Think Like a Scientist!
Health & Well-being — You, Your Family, Your Friends
Environment — The World Around Us
Community — Volunteering & Making a Difference
Money Smarts — Earning, Saving, Spending
Art & Music — Express Yourself!
Sports — Game On!
History & Social Studies — From Yesterday to Today
Animals — Furry, Friendly, & Fierce

Voting: Friends and family can vote on their favorite images by using “touch” icon on a ThingLink image. The most “touches” counts for a portion of the score. A team of educational advisors will review entries and determine winners.

Prizes: One iPad mini will be awarded to the top winner in each category. The winning school in each category will also receive one Rosen Database subscription for a year (Teen Health and Wellness, Digital Literacy, Financial Literacy or the Power Knowledge Science Suite). Certificates will be awarded to second and third place winners in each category.

Applications for Education
Even if your students don’t or can’t enter the contest the list of categories is worth looking at for some ideas for using interactive images in your classroom. I like the idea of having students create interactive images about their favorite books. Students could create story maps then upload them to ThingLink to make the map interactive with pinmarks that contain additional images, video clips, audio clips, or links to additional reviews of their favorite books.

Disclosure: ThingLink is currently an advertiser on Free Technology for Teachers.