"64 Pinterest Marketing Tips and Tactics – Infographic." Jeffbullass Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. 

By

Caroline Brewster, Stephanie Coufal, Loretta Edwards, Laurel Schall, and Lauren Shultz 

What is Pinterest? 

Pinterest is a unique social networking site that allows you to build, organize, and share an electronic collection of things you love.  It all starts with a pin. Pins are pictorial icons displaying either a solitary image or video.  As you explore the website, you will encounter a limitless number of pins related to everything, from cooking, to women's apparel, to education.  All of these pins are organized into specialized categories on the website through which you are free to explore (after you receive a sacred invitation to join the site, that is).  By clicking on a pin, the user is able to venture through an embedded link to the website where the image or video originated from. Through the original website, one can learn more about the pin to determine its purpose and personal value. Once one finds a pin worth holding onto, they can "pin" (i.e. virtually attach) the image or video to a personal Pinterest board. Boards are used to preserve one's findings and to categorize pins into different areas of interest. This way, the user can easily find their pins based on the different boards they create. Pinterest users have the freedom to not only collect the ideas of others, but to also create and share their own pins by uploading their personal images and videos and publishing them on the website.  Pinterest is truly a collaborative, occasionally addictive, program created to entertain, to motivate, and to inspire.

How to use Pinterest

DesJardins, Nicole. "Pinterest for Teachers." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. 

What Pinning Looks Like 

 First, click on the image that interests you.

Then, you can choose a board to place your pin on by

scrolling through your list.

After you have chosen your board, click the "pin it" button

and it will automatically save the image to the selected board.

(screen shots taken from Caroline Brewster's computer)

How to Utilize Pinterest as a Teaching Tool

Here we have a selection of innovative ideas on how teachers can take advantage of Pinterest as a valuable teaching tool, especially when it comes to developing classroom literacy skills.

Lesson Idea Generator: As a teacher, Pinterest is a great resource for organizing and planning activities. As you stumble across helpful websites, news articles, and images about various topics you desire to teach on in the classroom, you can pin them to a specific page (or board as it is referred to on Pinerest). That way, when it comes to teaching sight words, sentence starters, or new vocabulary, you have a variety of innovative activity ideas for your students to learn and develop through.  There are a limitless number of teaching ideas and suggestions for literacy lessons for all grade levels on Pinterest.

Story/Writing Starters: For upper elementary classes, teachers can create a Pinterest board of story starters and writing ideas. This board could consist of an assortment of interesting pictures, inspiring quotes, short videos, and other intriguing ideas. When students can’t think of something to write about, they can go on the Pinterest writing board for inspiration.

Good Reads Board: The creation of this Pinterest board should involve the collaboration of all the members of the class. After students read a book they enjoy, they can create a post about it on the “Good Reads” Pinterest board to recommend the book to their classmates. To encourage the development of literacy skills and provide children with a unique writing opportunity, it is suggested that you require the students to compose a one paragraph response about why they are recommending the book and what it is about to accompany their post.  Be sure to remind the students not to give away the book’s ending in their response!  This activity serves as a great way to create a positive and cooperative classroom atmosphere as students learn about one others’ interests and similarities.

Poetry Board:  One of the most fun and creative ways to develop students’ literacy is through poetry study.  As a class, the students could create a poetry board on Pinterest where they can post examples of poems they like, websites that demonstrate how to write different kinds of poems, and places to find rhyming words.  The children should be encouraged to access the board as a way to scaffold instruction and gain support as they learn to compose their own poems during a special literacy unit.  Developing this board will not only provide children with valuable resources and a special place to keep their personal poetry collections, but will also provide them with the unique opportunity to share their own work with the rest world by uploading and posting their poems to the class poetry board.   

Helpful Resources

The following are a series of awesome web resources you can explore as a teacher to support and inform your effective use of Pinterest as an educational tool.

Pinterest Flees Palo Alto, Ends Up In San Francisco Office Building. N.d. Photograph.

The Inquisitr Pinterest Flees Palo Alto Ends Up In San Francisco Office Building Comments. Web.

02 Apr. 2013. <http://www.inquisitr.com/272809/pinterest-flees-palo-alto-ends-up-in-san-francisco-office-building/>.