Pinterest

Pinterest is a free virtual bulletin board where users pin videos and images captured from around the web. These images are then arranged into different categories on a user's board. Pins are also shared and searchable making thus Pinterest a great tool for virtual learning. Pins are also visible to other Pinterest users and one can easily see the board of others as well.
 * What is Pinterest ? **

Pinterest is very easy and simple to use. If you don't have an account there then you need to request an invitation which takes only a couple of days at the maximum to hear back from them. Once registered then you need to look for Pinterest Bookmarklet and drag it to your tool bar. Now when you surf the web and see an image or video you like click on the " Pin It " bookmarklet and pin that image/video to one of your Pinterest boards. You can create as many boards as you like and you can even share your boards with your colleagues and friends. Here are some tips to help better use Pinterest :
 * How does Pinterest Work ? **
 * Pinterest Tips you need to keep in your mind **
 * Make sure you add the " Pin It" bookmarklet to your browser tool bar. Just go to goodies page and drag and drop. There is also a smart extension for Chrome users called Pinterest Right Click which allows users to easily pin any web content by just right clicking on it.
 * When you create a board say for instance about educational web tools then make sure you write a good description of that board so others could easily recognize what it is about.
 * When you pin web content make sure you add your own brief summary of what that content is all about.
 * Make sure to read Pinterest guidelines and abide by them
 * Always pin from individual posts and not from homepages
 * You can tag people in your pins using the sign "@" this will let others know you are quoting or talking about them
 * Make your board titles clear and specific and organize your pinned content in a neat way so that others might want to follow you

Here are some ideas to help you use this social networking tool for professional development purposes : Free Teaching Resources This is a pin board I created and where I pin everything that has to do with the use of technology in education. You will find here free web tools, guides and tutorials on how to better integrate technolog into your teaching. Vicki Davis ( cool cat teacher ) This is the editor of the famous blog cool cat teacher. It has over 69 boards all with more than 600 pins. Some of her best boards include "Teaching Ideas and App", Collaborative Writing", and " Global Collaboration in Education ". Eric Sheninger This guy is one of my favourite educational writers. He has several boards covering different topics such as: Google chrome extensions, Twitter apps and resources, web2.0 tools for educators and his own personal learning network. Karen Steffenson Karen is a great educator with a huge presence online. She has created boards on " Transforming Education", " Great PD Links ", and boards with resources in the areas of science, the arts, literacy and numeracy. Debbie Fucoloro This is an ICT specialist. She has 23 boards and more than 700 pins. Some of her boards include: " Infographics", " Education ", " web 2.0 and social media " and many more. Shannon Smith Shannon has a great Pinterest page that includes some awesome boards on educational technology essentials. Shelly Terrel Shelly has one of the resourceful boards on Pinterest. She covers different topics ranging from digital storytelling to graphic organizers and world cloud tools.
 * Some Suggestions on how Teachers can Use Pinterest : **
 * Pinterest is a great content curation tool for teachers. The ability to pin together images, links, and videos into visually appealing boards makes information sharing way exciting. Teachers can create resource boards for themselves or their students and start sharing with each other.
 * Teachers can use Pinterest as a brainstorming tool where students can contribute in the pinning together of ideas and resources to create one huge visual
 * Teachers can have students set up their own boards based on certain classroom projects or assignments
 * Pinterest can also be used to locate images and videos to include in your lesson.
 * Make group work visual by inviting students to collaborate and share images for presentations or links to papers, resources, and research
 * Teachers can also encourage students photo journal on Pinterest
 * Pinterest provides loods of printable games, and lesson plans for teachers to use in their classroom
 * Teachers can use Pinterest to find new books to recommend to their students.
 * Check out Awesome Ways Educators Use Pinterest for more ideas.
 * How to use Pinterest for professional development **
 * Use the DIY and Crafts category on Pinterest to find inspiration and new project ideas for your teaching
 * Create collaborative boards with other teachers and work together on projects or build better lesson plans
 * Connect with other educators and share ideas and links with them
 * Use the " like" and commenting system to interact with what your fellow educators pin and to also get engaged in meaningful conversations and talks
 * Pin you favorite classroom projects or lesson plans and let others provide their suggestions for improvement. This can also generate a healthy and educational discussion
 * Look for books that other educators recommend and try to read some
 * There are many pin boards about the use of technology in the classroom, find and follow some of them
 * Promote your own classroom blog and show others your teaching skills and your students creativity.
 * Pinterest has loads of educational and teachers blogs that you can search for and read
 * Stay on top of the latest education trends by checking the recent pins on Pinterest
 * Search for tutorials on Pinterest to learn how to take on a project or tackle a new technology or anything else.
 * Some educational Pinners to follow **

10 Pinterest Boards for Teachers
As you probably know, Pinterest is full of teaching materials, classroom ideas and freebies, educational giveaways, innovative and creative ideas and many more. Teachers can have access to this treasure trove without having to pay a cent, why not giving it a try then ?
 * [|1- Free Technology for Educators]** This is our official Pinterest board where we have created 6 interesting pins. We pin every single post we publish here so if you want to stay updated about our work make sure you follow us
 * [|2- My Future Classroom]** This is an awesome board full of teaching ideas and several other resources. It is one of my favorite boards on Pinterest.
 * [|3- Teaching ...One Day Again]** This board is packed with creative and innovative ideas on how to organize your classroom and teaching materials. It has 6 pins and one of them is labeled 100 classroom organizing tricks
 * [|4- Teaching]** This board is a real treasure trove of teaching resources . It includes lesson plans, classroom activities, common core lessons, iPad apps for teachers, games and many more.
 * [|5- Printable]** As its name indicates this board provides great printable materials for teachers. Browse through the different categories it features and you will definitely find something to use with your students
 * [|6- Kid Blog Network Activities and Crafts]** This is a collaborative board from amazing bloggers that focus on activities and crafts for kids. With the foundational belief that playing and crafting with children improves well-being, creative thinking, and strengthens relationships.
 * [|7-] [| Blogs / Webpages]** This board contains some interesting blogs and webpages for you as a teacher. Check them out
 * [|8- Melissa Board]** Melissa is a educational pinner of high caliber. She has created 130 boards and has more than 10.000 pins. She pins about classroom materials, teaching ideas, writing, math, and many more.
 * [|9- Aligator, Aligator]** This is a great board curated by Debbie Clement who is an author and a songstress. She shares poems, songs for kids, and other interesting teaching materials. I love the little song she puts on her motto : "Alligator, alligator big & green. You've got the longest tail, I've ever seen.... swing it to the left, swing it to the right."

**[|10- Charity Board]** This one here has over 70 boards including the popular classroom freebies, classroom ideas, and reading classroom.


 * Useful Pinterest Tutorials : **
 * 1- How to start using Pinterest**


 * 2- How to save Time Using Pinterest**


 * 3- How to Pin a Quote and Text to Pinterest**


 * 4- Everything you Need to Know about Pinterest**


 * The Ultimate Guide To Pinterest**