Pinterest+IS+for+Educators!

Edmodo: rr023r =THE EMERGENCE OF PINTEREST = =When Pinterest was first launched in 2010, it was an unknown little cranny of the internet. Amassing a small following, mainly of micro-bloggers who wanted a more visual experience, it remained in relative obscurity. **THE VISUAL ELEMENT ** Pinterest is entirely based around the visual, with little to no text necessary. It is a great way to inform, catch users attention and provide viral content. Making it perfect for both professional and personal use. **COLLECTING NATURE ** Humans are eager collectors, and are attracted to the idea of sentimentality and practicality in that collecting. So is it any surprise that we are so addicted to a site that is dependent on that concept? Graphic designers can collect typography and logos. Fashion enthusiasts can collect runway and magazine photos. Foodies can collect dish pictures. = =Several Types of Boards = =**Individual Board**= =**Group, collaborative Board**= =**SECRET boards**= These boards won't show up anywhere else in Pinterest, that includes search results, your followers' home feed, or your own home feed.
 * For your own personal use
 * As a collaborate tool with colleagues or students
 * You can invite specific people to pinto your Secret Board.
 * Can't make an existing board "secret"...must be a new board
 * Limit of 3 boards. Once you reach the limit, need to delete one or make one public.
 * If invited to pin to someone else's secret board, it doesn't count as one of your boards!

To create a Secret Board from the Web: LET'S GET STARTED!!! =3 ways to create an account:= = A step-by-step guide for creating a Pinterest account = BE SPECIFIC WHEN NAMING YOUR BOARDS! Example: Instead of "Math" Make several....geometry, addition facts, subtraction facts, decimals, fractions, story problems, measurement, algebra
 * Scroll down to the bottom of your profile and click Create a Secret Board.
 * You can also click Add+ on the top right-hand corner of Pinterest to select Create Board and switch the Secret button on.
 * Mobile users will need to download the most recent version of Pinterest, available for iOS and [|Android].
 * The updated versions let you create a board from your profile by tapping the Boards tab.
 * Just scroll to the bottom till you see a button that says Create a Secret Board.

Instead of "Art"......painting, crafting, color wheel, sculpture, figure drawing, mosaic etc.

BE CREATIVE WHEN NAMING YOUR BOARDS!

Instead of "photography" "Capture That" Instead of "food" "Delectible Delights" Instead of "early development" "Baby O Baby!"

When pinning from a blog, go to the individual blog post to pin from. Otherwise you will not be taken to that specific page from your pin!  Here are a few more interesting points to get you started: <span style="background-color: #2964bf; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190%;">Sure, it's great for collecting recipes and cool photos, but how can I use pinterest in an Educational Setting??? <span style="background-color: #ff00eb; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">A great summary of the possibilities of Pinterest.... <span style="background-color: #ff00eb; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">Pinterest Lingo, Awesome hints, Educator Ideas!
 * Install the ‘pin it’ button to your browser so you can pin quickly and easily from any website you browse.
 * Use boards to collect pins from topics or areas of interest, and structure them well.
 * Like all social networks find and follow people and/or their boards.
 * Students can use Pinterest to showcase and collaborate on projects, portfolios, and resources.
 * Optional to connect to Face Book or Twitter

Awesome graphic below from TeachBytes!

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__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 240%;">IDEAS FOR PINTEREST BOARDS: __ [|Common Core State Standards] Professional Development Learning Strategies Art Projects [|classroom ideas] [|learning strategies] [|education technology] Early Childhood Education Math Ideas School Music Videos [|The Teacher’s Quick Guide To Pinterest] //The following article is by Julie Delello of the University of Texas at Tyler. She can be reached at jdelello[at]uttyler.edu if you have any questions or comments.// Children learn social skills by interacting freely with peers. Playgrounds provide an opportunity for children from different classrooms to interact and enhance skill development. What if there was a place for the teachers to play, learn new skills, and network with others? For some, the relatively new social network site [|Pinterest] has become a virtual playground allowing users to “pin” inspiring images from around the web. As a new teacher, it’s easy to become overwhelmed trying to create motivating lessons while managing the responsibilities within the classroom. Noted educator Harry K. Wong, writes in his book //The First Days of School//, that the teachers who beg, borrow, and steal good techniques are the teachers whose students will achieve. Unfortunately, with the daily pressures of teaching and just living, it is difficult for teachers to get together to share their ideas on effective lessons. [|Pinterest], created in 2009 and launched in March of 2010, has been ranked 10th out of the top visited social networking sites across the world, allowing users to search for pins with a specific theme or subject. According to Pearson (2011), teachers can easily bookmark or “pin” lesson plans across the web for a later date, organize resources for the classroom, share unique ideas, and allow for collaboration with students, parents, and colleagues. A good example of pinning can be found in a blog-post entitled //30 Inspiring Pinterest Pins for Teachers// (2012) where the author shares 30 specific pin boards covering everything from arts and crafts to methods of classroom management through visually stimulating images. While perusing these ideas, I decided to create a group board for my own students to collaborate with one another and other teachers from around the world.

Getting Started
Pinterest is straightforward and doesn’t require a lot of technological experience to get started. Educators should review their school district’s policies to make sure they are in compliance before opening a Pinterest account as it is a public site and any ideas that are “pinned” may be re-pinned to another user’s site. In order to create a Pinterest group for a course you are teaching, you will need to do the following: The students were very excited and engaged to have a place to network with other teachers. “I want to come up with inventive and fun ways to teach the students… If another teacher has a great lesson or anything else that they find to be beneficial and provide positive results, I say use it… We learn from each other”. Another remarked, “By using the best from everyone, it might just make our own class better”. Throughout this experience, both I and my students realized that effective teaching strategies don’t have to be confined to the classroom. Today, we have over 30 boards and 1300 pins. =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333537; font-family: 'PT Sans Narrow',Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 22px; vertical-align: baseline;">Educational Pinterest Boards to check out! =
 * 1) Set up an account. Because Pinterest is an “invite-only” site, you must either register for an invite at [|www.pinterest.com] or receive an invite from another user. You will also need a Twitter or Facebook account. I created a Twitter account just for the course and then reset the password in Twitter once the Pinterest account was set up. I used my University email since the students already had access to it and created a password which was specific to my class course. I would have preferred for each of my students to have set up their own accounts but in order to have a group board on one page, I would have to follow at least one board belonging to each student and then add each individual student to the class board.
 * 2) After setting up a group account, you will need to edit the profile, creating a display name, profile picture, and short description of the purpose for the group.
 * 3) Under the add category, I edited, created and re-arranged basic pin boards (categories) which I believed would be valuable to all pre-service teachers.
 * 4) I demonstrated the site in class and gave each student the group name and password to access our [|Pinterest] page. We named our site TEACHFORKIDS.
 * 5) Once the site was in existence, it was time to start pinning. Each student was required to pin a minimum of 10 items in various categories with descriptions as to how the pin would be relevant to teaching. Their categories included boards on anti-bullying resources, motivating lesson and classroom management plans, educational advocacy information, digital news clippings, art and craft designs, and community service applications.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00f6ff; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">**Teaching Tools and Inspirations** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Teaching Tools and Inspirations is a collaborative board consisting of teachers, homeschooling parents, and kid bloggers. Helpful teaching resources are pinned daily from over 60 contributors, making this a fantastic resource for teaching children!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> **New Teachers** The New Teachers board is a collaborative board created by Erin Wing of Small Types and is a fabulous resource for anyone teaching young children. Contributors consist of experienced teachers and educators. This board has almost 500,000 followers which speaks for itself. It is a fabulous resource and one of my favorite boards.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> Lifetime Love ofLearning Lifetime Love of Learning is a collaborative board created by Zina of Lasso the Moon. The board focuses on fostering a lifetime love of learning by making it fun! I find this board to be loaded with educational inspiration and it is a go to resource when adding learning elements into our play.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> **Early Literacy**The early literacy board features over 150 literacy based activities and play times for kids. You will find TONS of alphabet activities, reading resources, book collections, free printables, and more! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> **In Lieu of Preschool**The In Lieu of Preschool board features all the fabulous activities shared by Genny of In Lieu of Preschool. Genny is a homeschooling mama who shares all the activities she does with her two small children in lieu of preschool. The activities are educational and FUN, making them some of my favorites to implement with my girls. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%; line-height: 1.5;">**Preschool Projects**The Preschool Projects board belongs to Allison MacDonald of No Time for Flash Cards. Allison is a former teacher who continues her passion for education by sharing an array of learning activities for children. The Preschool Projects board features almost 400 activities pertaining to art, math, and Science. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> **Math Activities** The math activities board belongs to The Educators Spin on it. The board is packed with educational and fun math resources. Also be sure to check out their site as it is a great educational resource.

Learn with Play The Learn with Play board belongs to Debs of Learning with Play at Home. Debs is a former teacher turned stay at home mom who strives to make learning fun. She shares TONS of fun learning activities on her site and you can easily follow the fun by connecting to her Pinterest board. = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333537; font-family: 'PT Sans Narrow',Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 22px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pinterest Boards in Educational Technology = =<span style="background-color: #ff00eb; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.5;">Other unique educational uses for Pinterest =
 * 1) Vicki Dabrowka, Ed Tech: Browse through more than 180 pins all related to educational technology from teacher and environmental educator Vicki Dabrowka.
 * 2) Cristin Dillard, #EdTech: This edtech board is filled with helpful resources for using technology in the classroom, finding apps, and a few useful web 2.0 tools, too.
 * 3) Patricia Brown, EDTECH: There are numerous videos, tutorials, articles, and other resources to help you learn how to better use technology in education on this very helpful board.
 * 4) Vicki Davis, Teaching Ideas and Apps: Vicki Davis, better known as “Cool Cat Teacher,” is a popular edtech blogger. Here she shares some of her favorite tools and ideas for using tech in the classroom.
 * 5) Regina Hartley, Ed Tech: Library media specialist Regina Hartley offers up some amazing pins on edtech through this board, including some very useful infographics.
 * 6) TeacherVision, Educational Technology: TeacherVision doesn’t just offer great resources on their own site. Teachers can also head to their Pinterest account and find great boards like this one, pinning dozens of valuable resources for teaching with tech.
 * 7) [|Kathy Schrock, Kathy Schrock’s Support Pages]: Educational technologist Kathy Schrock is all over the web, so it’s no surprise she’s also using Pinterest. On this board, you’ll find helpful support pages that can assist you in making the most of her tech-focused presentations.
 * 8) Edutopia, Students Like Tech!: Edutopia pins resources for teaching with tablets, loads of infographics, articles about edtech, and much more here.
 * 9) [|Edudemic, The Best Web 2.0 Tools]: Not sure what edtech tools are worth your time? Here, Edudemic pins some of their favorites, including lists of hundreds of educational apps and websites.
 * 10) [|TED News, TED ED]: Have you checked out the resources offered by TED Ed yet? On this board, you’ll get access to some of the most amazing videos and activities found on the site.
 * 11) [|ISTE, Ed Tech Resources]: The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) shares some of their favorite edtech resources on this board. Educators will find help in understanding Google, boosting media literacy, using tablets, and even links to tons of free software.
 * 12) [|Kristin Brynteson, Ed tech]: From free apps for education to the best websites for teachers, this board is full of amazing pins: 257 and counting!
 * 13) [|Samia Wahab, Ed Tech Articles]: Looking to do some edtech reading? There are almost 40 articles well worth reading pinned here that can help make you an edtech expert.
 * 14) [|Jennie Hoffmann, EdTech: Awesome Web Tools]: This board is a great resource for finding web tools and activities to use in the classroom.
 * 15) [|Charity Preston, Technology]: You’ll discover all kinds of new and innovative ways to bring technology into your elementary school classroom with the help of this pinboard.
 * 16) [|Melissa Alonzo-Dillard, Smartboard]: If you’ve got access to a smartboard then you’ll love this Pinterest board. With 166 pins sharing ideas for getting the most out of smartboard, it’s a must for any tech-centered classroom.
 * 17) [|Rachel Friedrich, Technology]: This board is a solid resource for finding tech-related materials for the classroom, even boasting a link to 155 Reading Rainbow episodes.
 * 18) [|Education World, Science & Technology]: Education World provides numerous resources on the Web for educators, and they’ve branched out to share many of those resources through Pinterest as well, using boards like this one to offer access to insights into using tech tools to teach.
 * 19) [|Med Kharbach, Teacher Free Resources]: This board collects numerous (and we do mean numerous) resources for teachers that are free to use. So far, the collection includes worksheets, printables, tutorials, infographics, and more.
 * 20) [|Shannon Smith, EdTech Essentials]: Don’t miss out on this board, loaded with highly informational edtech articles and infographics, resource guides, and lesson plans.
 * 21) [|Eric Sheninger, Twitter Resources, Apps, and Tools]: Those interested in using Twitter in the classroom will find a wealth of resources on signing up, tweeting, and connecting with others.
 * 22) [|K S, Technology in Education]: Created by an arts educator and a curriculum consultant in Canada, this board can help educators learn more about digital literacy and teaching with tech, through pins of articles, videos, and resource lists.
 * 23) [|Debbie Fucoloro, Tech Tips & Tricks]: Find some simple tech tips and tricks to make you seem like a technology pro in the classroom on this useful pinboard.
 * 24) [|Shelly Terrell, Digital Storytelling]: Digital storytelling can be an excellent way to get kids engaged with learning through technology. On this board, you’ll find project ideas, resources, and writing tools to get you started.
 * 25) [|Education Technology Group Board]: This group board brings together pins from more than 20 different pinners, all teachers and educators. Working together, they’ve shared apps, resources, and web tools that have helped them to be more successful in the classroom.

Plan a trip
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #3b3128; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you are studying a particular country, city, or state, have students create a board to map out where they would go when they visited there...sights to see, native food they would like to try, travel options. Create a visual plan of what to see, where to stay, what to eat and how to get there! **Create a Visual List** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #3b3128; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Have students create their own "bucket list" of places they would like to go, books they would like to read, famous people they would like to meet one day, the list is endless! **Create a CV** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #3b3128; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">For educators, consider creating your own CV. A [|curriculum vitae], commonly referred to as CV, is a longer (two or more pages), more detailed synopsis than a resume. It includes a summary of your educational and academic background, as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations, and other details. This would be SO easy to do on a Pinterest Board! There are quite a few examples of CVs already on Pinterest. While you can use the social networking site to showcase your work, why not take it one step further and get into details about your skills, your education, where you went to university, what special skills you possess, what languages you speak, where your online profiles are, and more. You can create a visually interesting professional profile that, if you’re applying for a creative job, will definitely help you stand out in the crowd.

Create an online Student Portfolio
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #3b3128; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pinterest is a great way to keep track of all of the projects students create throughout their education years. No big folders, no dvd's to get scratched or lost...store it visually online. Each photo, would link to a page with more detailed information about the project or even the project itself stored on Google Drive. Wouldn't this be great to submit for a scholarship application? Things to include would be: academic and sports awards and achievements Newspaper clippings Program clippings Videos of musical performances or speech and debate contests Presentations such as Prezi or PowerPoint Comments from Instructors Photography of science or art projects Community Service projects <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #3b3128; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">  If you haven't been on Pinterest lately, there are a few minor changes.....

**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">(taken from **http://theholidayhelper.blogspot.com/2013/01/staying-safe-on-pinterest.html)

__<span class="IL_AD" style="background-color: transparent; color: #009900; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">Protect Your Computer __ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">Make sure you have a **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">reliable **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;"> anti-virus software installed. No matter what website you are on, if you are clicking any links or downloading anything you need to be protected.

__<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">Check the Source __ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">Whenever I see a pin I find interesting, the first thing I do is click on it once to bring up all <span class="IL_AD" style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #009900; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">__the details__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">. In <span class="IL_AD" style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #009900; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">__the right__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;"> corner right above the repins, there is a section that says "Pinned via _ from _." The second blank will be the website the pin will link to, or the source. If you recognize website, carry on. If not, Google it instead of clicking the pin and check out what others have to say about the site. Is it safe? Does it show content it claims to show? If it looks fishy, it's just not worth the risk. Sometimes links are not working, so it's a good idea from that standpoint as well to check the link BEFORE pinning.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Friends Don't Let Friends Pin Unsafe Content__What makes Pinterest so great (and sometimes bad) is that any one pin can go "viral" (a.k.a getting passed around like crazy) within minutes. So if you notice a pin that looks like it may be spam or other risky content, comment on the pin and let the person know that they should take it down. This will also let other people know when they see it not to repin.__Use the Report Button__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you've tried the previous idea to no avail, it's time to report the pin and let Pinterest handle it. To do this, click once on a pin to pull up the details. On the right hand side of the pin, there will be a series of buttons including the "Report" button. When you click it, there will be a list of options you can report it for such as "Hateful Speech", " <span class="IL_AD" style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #009900; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Nudity__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Tahoma,Arial,san-serif; font-size: 12px;">", or "Spam". I generally report any unsafe content as spam, as that seems to be the most effective way to get it removed quickly.