For my post this week I decided to highlight a new tool I have discovered that has greatly increased my ability to think outside of the box in my classroom.
As a teacher I am always looking for new and exciting way to reach students. This year my goal was to begin thinking more outside of the box. To begin this journey I began following several amazing teaching/classroom blogs. Before the school year began I already had several new innovative ideas I would have never been able to create on my own. One afternoon while catching up on one of my favorite blogs (The First Grade Parade) I stumbled upon a post that discussed a new website... Pinterest. It grabbed my attention so I checked into the sight. After requesting an invite I joined the site and learned what it was all about. I discovered this site was an excellent source for sharing and collecting ideas.
The main gist of the web-site's concept is that you can store and save ideas/inspiration found through the site or around the web easily. Here lies the concept of "pinning." When you find something you are interested in you "pin it" to a categorized board. When you need to go back to an idea all you have to do is click on the saved image and the site will direct you to the original source. For example, while browsing this week for "turkey cookie recipes" to use with our reading buddies on Tuesday, I found several ideas. I pinned them and when I was ready when back to my idea board (labeled classroom ideas) to find out more about the ingredients and recipes. I did not have to spend all day on the internet "googling it up" as I like to call it. It is almost as if others have done all the searching for you. Of course if you find an idea through a website or search that you like, you can pin them as well.
Overall Pinterest provides an amazing way to save and organize creative, thoughtful, and exciting ideas! In just a few months it has greatly impacted the "creative factor" in my classroom!
To begin using Pinterest please visit www.pinterest.com. You can request an invite there or you can let me know and I can invite you as well! Happy pinning!
I have seen so many posts about this website and have checked it out briefly myself. I must admit though, I'm overwhelmed by all of the possibilities when I'm there :) I hope to do some of these crafty things over the break with my daughter.
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