Log into Pinterest. Add a Pin. Upload a Pin. Choose Board. Describe Pin. Add Link. Pin It. As I was going through the motions of updating the LTF Pinterest page this morning, I thought, ‘How are teachers using Pinterest? Are they on it for the recipes, the blog links, the fashion photos, the memes, and the photography? Are they on it for education news, tips, activities, and other classroom aids?’
About Pinterest
Let me take a step back and explain what Pinterest is for those of you who are new to it. Pinterest is a social networking site comprised of virtual pinboards (simply called "boards") and pins, online images that either link to other websites or stand alone. After joining Pinterest, a user adds new boards to his or her profile, categorizes the boards by naming them, and then begins repinning images of interest from another person’s board to his or her own boards. Uploading new images and linking to new images online are other ways to add pins to boards.
LTF on Pinterest
Here are two of LTF’s boards and associated pins:
As you can see, one of the boards is named General Education. This board offers a broad range of resources for educators. The other board, Teacher Training, highlights LTF-specific products, including open lessons, videos, trainings, webinars, and more. Our other boards are specific to math, science, and English. Note that we as an organization have only recently created our Pinterest account, so we’re still in the process of filling our boards! Follow LTF on Pinterest.
Pinterest for Professional Development
Before Twitter arrived on the scene of the digital world, I had never heard so much scoffing about a social media tool. After all, Twitter is the network that lets people tell the world what they had for breakfast, right? Well, yes and no. People have the option to tweet the mundane, but they also have the option to use Twitter to enhance their teaching knowledge and skills through articles, videos, webinars, and resources about professional development. The same goes for Pinterest. It’s not going to solve all of the teaching problems in the world, but it may lead you to an informative blog or some helpful resources.
I challenge you to do a Google search for a combination of the words “Pinterest” and “teachers,” and see what you find. In fact, I just searched for “teacher resources pinterest” and found a handy little article titled “37 Ways Teachers Could Use Pinterest.” Fourteen of those relate to professional development.
Pinterest App
If you’re on the go like I am, you may want to download the Pinterest app to use on your mobile device. I don’t like the layout of the pins on the app as much as I like it on my laptop, but that’s not to say that the app isn’t great. It’s functional, convenient, and makes using Pinterest just as easy as it is on a PC or Mac.
Are You Pinning?
What about you? Are you pinning yet? If so, do you have an education-related board that you recommend we follow?