Week 6 of the Connected Educator Class

Social Media

Social networking is a big part of our culture today.  The Internet can be used to gain information, collaborate with your peers, or even communicate with students.  It can be used for teaching, learning, and to increase productivity.  However, it can also be misused.  People have lost their jobs for posting inappropriate photos or videos on their Facebook page or using their social networking sites repeatedly during working hours. 

Today’s generation has grown up using many types of technological devices and different types of social media.  If you talk to students today, they might tell you that they would like to see schools try to integrate social media into the curriculum instead of trying to limit their access to social networking during school hours.  There is a debate about how technology should be used but some people will say that if we want to reach today’s youth successfully, it is a needed method of communication.  The students can find information from online websites and students would like to see educators use more social networking sites in the classroom because they feel that they would stay engaged in learning if they did. 

One of the most useful tools for teachers is Pinterest.  It has rapidly become one of the biggest ways for teachers to share resources and information.  You can build ‘boards’ and easily ‘pin’ parts of the web onto those boards.  You can share lectures, notes, organizational ideas, lesson plans, etc..

 

When you “pin,” you are adding an image to your “board.” 

 

When you “repin,” you are adding someone else’s pin to your board.

 

You can search for other Pinterest people’s pins and repin them.

 

You can also install the “Pin it” button, so that you can pin
anything you find on the Internet to one of your boards.   

 You can also make comments on other people’s pins, or “like” them, and repin them. 

 If you are a teacher, and would like to use Pinterest in the classroom with students, be sure to read the Terms of Service because you will need parental consent for students under 13.

Here is a website that will show you how to get started on Pinterest.  

TheTeacher’s Quick Guide To Pinterest

 Here is a video to also help you set up a Pinterest account and get started. 

 

If you like to use Pinterest then you will really benefit from using the "Pin it" button.  

Here is how to install a "Pin it" button.  

It makes pinning so much easier.  You can pin something quickly from any website.