Technology is all around us, and that includes today's classroom! However, Pinterest probably isn't the social media platform that comes to mind when considering the best tech for teachers. This article will change your mind, though. Here are 29 ways teachers can leverage Pinterest in the classroom and improve their experience, environment, and teaching approach.
Connect and Collaborate
1. Exchange lesson plans. Pinterest is full of lesson plans you can use and adapt to your needs. You can also share your great ideas by pinning photos and lesson plans.
2. Discover educational products. Find pins of the latest and greatest educational products and new-to-you ideas to incorporate into your classroom.
3. Keep an eye on education trends. Pinterest is the place for trends! The best part of searching on Pinterest is choosing what you like, what to save, and returning to it when you are ready for it later. If a trend passes (or you change your mind), a quick delete is all it takes, and you’re on to the next one!
4. Seek out innovative teaching methods. No more teaching ruts here! Find new methods and ideas to incorporate into your teaching so that neither you nor your students gets bored.
5. Share your best ideas. Share your ideas, favorite projects, lesson plans, and more. It is great to browse and save ideas, but it’s also wonderful when you share to help others.
6. Link up with superb tech resources. You can learn about new tech resources for teachers, such as where to find the best planners, tracking systems, digital gradebooks, and more.
7. Get ideas on positive behavior management. Eucators are keen on sharing their ideas about managing students and behavior issues, so jump on and start pinning on your Positive Behavior Management board!
8. Locate informative blogs. New teachers, seasoned teachers, and retired educators share blogs about their experiences; there is something to learn from everyone. From those who’ve gone before you to those going through it with you, shared experience is invaluable!
9. Hone your skills. Leverage Pinterest as your personal development tool. Get ideas that will elevate your teaching.
10. Network with other teachers. Teachers use Pinterest to share ideas and meet like-minded teachers. Jump on board and find your coworkers or teachers in other states (or countries!) to follow and learn from.
11. Stay on top of trends. It can be hard to keep up with the latest education trends. Check out the latest pins on Pinterest for an update.
Increase Student Success on Projects
12. Curate exemplar models of student work. You can use them for student and parent conferences or in subsequent years to show students what exemplar models of assignments can look like.
13. Get fun ideas for student-led projects. If you follow and skim the right boards, the possibilities for student-led PBL via Pinterest are considerable!
14. Help students create digital portfolios. Help students curate digital student portfolios for their growth, to take to the 'next grade' level, or apply to college. If there's a good reason to save student work, Pinterest is a valuable tool.
15. Create a Class Board so students can share their work, ideas, and interests. Reviewing this can help teachers consider topics of interest to include in future lessons to boost student engagement.
Get Inspired!
16. Find inspiration. Teaching can be hard work; sometimes, you might need a little pick-me-up. There are inspirational quotes and photos to help you through even the hardest day.
17. Get inspiration for decorating your classroom. If you're looking to liven up your classroom, there are many photos of great classroom setups for inspiration.
18. Organize your ideas. If you find yourself trying to keep up with ideas or bookmarking websites and forgetting about them? Pinterest can help you organize these ideas and easily find them when needed.
19. Design a better classroom. What you have on the walls, how you organize the desks, tables, and learning stations. The organization of your classroom library. Even a great bulletin board display can make kids excited to learn and proud to see their accomplishments on the wall. You'll find some fantastic ideas for creating your own when you browse Pinterest.
20. Create dream classrooms. Pinterest is filled with fantastic ideas for creating your ultimate dream classroom.
Enhance Lesson Plans
21. Find grade-specific materials. Search by grade level and create a separate board for each grade or level you teach. For example, reading teachers can create separate boards for each reading level to easily locate lesson plans, printables, and more!
22. Get ideas for hands-on fun. If you're looking for hands-on projects for your students, pin away! Pinterest is filled with projects to enhance lesson plans or to perform independently for added instruction.
23. Enhance science lessons with experiments. Search pins for "elementary school science experiments," "science fair experiment ideas," and related topics for ideas that will bring science to life in the classroom and beyond.
24. Perform a book search. Choosing books for young readers can be challenging and time-consuming. Take advantage of the pins that exist for age-appropriate materials to use for your students.
25. Share ideas and work. Images for presentations, links to resources, research, or other documents can be easily shared with others. You can also make boards private so that you only share with those you give access.
26. Take a (virtual) field trip. Through online field trips, you can take students on a safari, down the Amazon River, or even back in time. Use Pinterest to build boards for various locations, so adventure is always a click away!
27. Photo journal. From building a series of photos captioned in a foreign language to documenting real-life personal travel, there are many ways to create a photo journal on Pinterest.
28. Procure printables. Pinterest is a super resource for locating printables for almost any classroom need. From seasonal coloring pages to crossword puzzles to worksheets, if there's a need, chances are there's a printable out there!
29. Find tutorials. Whether you need to learn something new, like how to use new software, or provide guidance to students on performing a task, tutorials are a must! Fortunately, they are easy to find and access via Pinterest. You can even create a tutorial board to refer to when needed.
Whether you need to quickly find a new lesson plan, find printables to leave for a substitute, or collaborate with colleagues, Pinterest is an invaluable tool for teachers. Search, pin, and organize your way to success with all the fun social media platform offers!