ThingLink Spotlight! Lighting Up Immersive Learning with Maarit Ranio
ThingLink Luminaries is a series of guest blog posts highlighting certified trainers who are creating interactive and immersive experiences to make learning more engaging, accessible, and meaningful. Our educators and learning designers bring a thoughtful approach to immersive learning, and their work reflects a deep commitment to creativity, pedagogy, and innovation.
In each profile post, we’ll explore their background, teaching philosophy, and favorite ThingLink projects—offering insight into how they’re making a lasting impact in their classrooms, organizations and communities! Enjoy!
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Introducing Maarit
Maarit Rainio is an experienced educator with 33 years of classroom instruction in foreign languages. Maarit leverages technology to meet the needs of students to ensure success for all of her students. She holds a Masters of Arts degree from Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, with majors in English and Russian, along with a minor in Swedish. Maarit’s commitment and expertise have been widely recognized in Finland. In 2018, Maarit was honored with the prestigious title of Swedish Teacher of the Year, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to education. In 2019, she was recognized as the Pedagogical Innovator of the Year, celebrating her creative approaches to teaching and engaging students. Demonstrating her remarkable dedication, Maarit was awarded the esteemed title of Language Teacher of the Year in 2022, solidifying her position as an exemplary educator in Finland.
Maarit’s ThingLink Project
Passport to Mystery is an immersive Escape Room adventure designed to make language learning exciting and memorable. Just before boarding a flight to a mysterious destination, learners discover their passport is locked inside a suitcase. To unlock it, they must solve a series of puzzles and clues. The experience blends gamification, visual storytelling, and language practice in a fun and engaging way — all brought to life with ThingLink.
What Inspired You To Create This Project?
I wanted to create a learning experience that goes beyond traditional classroom activities — something that sparks curiosity, encourages problem-solving, and brings language use into a meaningful context. Escape Rooms are a perfect match for this, as they combine storytelling, collaboration, and critical thinking. Using ThingLink allowed me to build an interactive and visually rich environment where students can fully immerse themselves in the task. The process of designing the puzzles and narrative was both creative and rewarding — and seeing how engaged the learners became made it all worthwhile.
How Was This Project Used Or Experienced?
The project was used in a language classroom as a collaborative learning activity. Students worked in small groups to solve the puzzles, practicing their language skills in a meaningful and motivating context. One highlight was seeing how naturally they communicated in the target language while working together under time pressure. The immersive format sparked great enthusiasm — some students even asked to do another Escape Room right away! The experience also inspired colleagues to create their own interactive tasks with ThingLink, showing its broader impact on teaching practices.
What Do You Love About ThingLink?
What I love about using ThingLink is how easily it brings learning content to life. It allows me to create interactive, visually engaging experiences that go beyond static materials. I can combine images, audio, video, and text to support different learning styles and make tasks more immersive. It’s also incredibly flexible — whether I’m building an Escape Room, an interactive story, or a vocabulary task, ThingLink adapts to my ideas and enhances student engagement every time.
What Do You Dream of Creating in ThingLink?
As a language teacher, my dream is to create an extensive interactive ThingLink experience focused on the major English-speaking countries. It would combine factual information, cultural insights, games, puzzles, listening tasks, and interactive quizzes — all designed to deepen students’ understanding of language in context. I’d love to include authentic materials like videos, interviews, and virtual tours to make the experience even more immersive. The goal is to build a dynamic learning environment where students can explore, discover, and apply their language skills while learning about the diversity of the English-speaking world.
Fun Facts and Connect with Maarit
I’m a language teacher who lives and breathes hockey — my team is HC TPS from Turku, Finland. Ice hockey has always been a major part of my life, and there’s nothing quite like the thrill of the game. When I’m not teaching or cheering at the rink, I’m at home with my six beloved cats. They’re my constant companions, often found nearby as I work on new projects — my unofficial (and very fluffy) support team! Their playful energy and soothing presence help keep me grounded, whether I’m designing lessons or refining digital experiences with tools like ThingLink.
👉 You can connect with Maarit via LinkedIn
