I stepped out beyond the Twitter world and decided to give
Pinterest a try. I hear about Pinterest all the time. Everyone and their mother
is using it! One of my friends told me, “It is a mixture of pictures,
step-by-step instructions, recipes, lists, quotes, crafts, and more rolled into
one!” You could say my friend is a bit of a Pinterest enthusiast. Me on the other
hand, not so much.
Let me first start off by saying that I am new to Pinterest.
I have quickly discovered that there are a lot of ways teachers can use this as
a resource for the classroom. My account was easy to set up and I got going on
it pretty quick. I found various ideas to use in the classroom. I can always
find ways to integrate technology into the classroom and found a great section
on “bring your own device.” I allow students to use their own devices in the
classroom because it helps meet technology requirements that my classroom lacks
while helping meet the needs of diverse learners (https://www.pinterest.com/esheninger/byod/).
I have such a diverse classroom, that it is essential for me
to meet the needs of every student. It is such a necessity, that I decided to start
a board dedicated to diverse learners (https://www.pinterest.com/kimdecarli/diverse-learning/).
I am totally amazed at all the information that is available about diverse
learners. Since I have so many special
needs students in my class, my first hurdle is to make the classroom more conducive
to them. There are apps for them to use, reading strategies, lessons, etc. You name it, Pinterest has it.
Pinterest really seems like a great tool for educators to
use.
Additionally, I decided to try out Google Plus since I
already have a Google account. Google Plus was one of the tools I saw with my
Google account, but decided to overlook because I didn't want to take the time
to learn it. So here I am, giving it a second chance!
Google Plus is another social networking site that is run by
Google, as I am sure you can tell. Google Plus has a lot of benefits such as an
easy to navigate interface, which is the feature I like the most. I actually
like the interface and navigation in Google Plus better than Pinterest.
I can use Google Plus for photos and videos, mobile apps,
group work, and hangouts. However, the search options seem limited. I searched
for diverse learners and did not find a whole lot. Additionally, when I
searched, I found specific profile pages, not pages on the topic I was looking
for.
I still plan on using Google Plus so that students can
collaborate with each other. I like to be able to give all learners a voice in
my classroom and allow them to have input. There are some really great Google
Apps to be used in the classroom (https://plus.google.com/communities/101802680117484972712).
However, I think Twitter and Pinterest are much better resources for teachers
to use to find ideas and collaborate with other educators.
Kim, it sounds like you are off to a great start on Pinterest. I'm glad you have found so many resources that will help you meet the needs of your diverse classroom. Thank you for sharing your board with us. I, too, am loving how visually stimulating Pinterest is. I appreciate your reflection on Google Plus as well. I have not invested quite enough time on that one, but I know I should. So far, I have found myself accidentally publishing things (my pictures, my blog) and wondering how I did it. Until I figure it out, I'm glad I have few followers there. One of my friends called and said "I read your blog." Yikes! I didn't even realize she would have access to it. Camille's to-do list: spend some quality time with Google Plus! Since we rely on Google for so many other things, why not use it as more of a one stop shop?
ReplyDeleteI love the technology as a tool, not an outcome graphic you shared! Right on!
Thanks!
DeleteI have not spent a whole lot of time on Google Plus. My knowledge on it it fairly limited for the time being. I plan on continuing with it. It seems to take me a little while to fully understand something new.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the wonderful world of Pinterest. It might not seem addictive now...but 5 years later you may end up 5,000 pins deep (like me). Pinterest is truly my first 'go-to' when I'm looking for anything for the classroom. If I know I'm teaching a lesson on character traits and want ideas for a great anchor chart, Pinterest is where I look. If I want a new behavior plan, Pinterest is where I go first.
I, too, have dabbled with Google Plus just a bit. I love the idea of Hangouts in the classroom. I think this is a great way to bring people into the classroom who might not be able to travel to you otherwise. I use Blogger in the classroom to push out sites to students and give updates to parents. I have noticed that Google publishes my blog posts to my Google Plus site already. It looks like I need to look further into Google Plus. I think there are a lot of benefits for it in the classroom.
It sure seems like everyone gets sucked into Pinterest!
DeleteI have heard of blogger and always wanted to try it. I think it sounds like a great way to communicate with parents. I will definitely look into Blogger next! Thanks!
Kim, it is good to see that you are evaluating how you can best use the tools as you are experimenting with them. Fortunately, there are so many tools available that each teacher is be able to create a repertoire to pull from to meet the needs of their unique teaching position and their diverse student learners.
ReplyDelete