Introducing Tarina by ThingLink: AI-free student creation on iPad

Ulla-Maaria Koivula November 5, 2026

Until now, ThingLink’s creation experience has been largely shared across customer segments: a student in fifth grade has used the same tools as a corporate learning designer. AI is changing how our users create and use digital learning content. Students need space to develop their own observation, thinking and storytelling skills independently of AI. Workplace learning designers, on the other hand, need AI-native tools to turn existing knowledge into relevant training at scale. Going forward, these two use cases are best served by different products.

This week, we are introducing Tarina (‘story’ in Finnish), ThingLink’s new student creation experience for iPads that works offline and has no AI features.

Tarina focuses on foundational cognitive skills through investigation and storytelling. Students document projects and create virtual tours and field trip reports by adding text, photos, audio or video notes to images. For project-based, active learning, this makes visible not only the outcome, but also the process of engagement and inquiry: what students investigated, what they did, and how they explained it. The application is deliberately AI free and serves well for building  essential thinking and communication skills before getting access to more advanced AI tools on the ThingLink web service.

Read how Ylitornio Apple Distinguished School got students talking with Tarina by ThingLink

Tarina by ThingLink is free to download and try locally. For assignments and collaborative classroom activities, it connects with a ThingLink school account

Tarina by ThingLink

What it is

Tarina is ThingLink’s AI-free companion app for student creation on iPad. It also works on iPad Mini, iPhone and Neo. Free to download and try. Connect it to a ThingLink school account for assignments and shared projects

What it does

• Lets students document projects and field trips with interactive image stories
• Simplified AI-free creation flow: easily add text, photo, audio and video notes to images
• Turns panorama photos automatically into 360 scenes
• Supports a variety of school projects from STEAM to history and language arts
• Works offline, suitable for areas with poor internet connection and documenting field trips

How to get started

1. Try it: download Tarina by ThingLink from the App Store. Local use is free and stays on the device.
2. Use it with your class: sharing, assignments, submission and cloud backup need a ThingLink school account. The school’s admin controls apply.
3. Already a ThingLink school? Contact your account manager or education@thinglink.com to activate Tarina for your school.
4. New school? Get a price for a ThingLink school account on the Tarina by ThingLink landing page!

For IT and school leaders. Tarina is distributed through Apple School Manager and works inside your existing MDM. Identity runs through Managed Apple IDs. ThingLink is ISO 27001 certified and compliant with GDPR, COPPA and FERPA.