Pinterest in Education

Pinterest is a social bookmarking site where users collect and share photos of their interests, hobbies, favorite websites, and videos. It is one of the fastest growing social networks and is the third largest network behind only Facebook and Twitter. I am relatively new to Pinterest but I have found it very helpful in finding teaching resources. I thought I'd share a few my favorite Pinterest boards. Please feel free to share your favorite boards or Pinterest users with me.

First is my Pinterest history board which currently has 115 pins and is growing daily. It is comprised of mostly American history since that is my content area. 

Here are some of the Pinterest users and boards that I have discovered and follow that could be useful to other teachers out there.

1) The Teaching Bug has over 100 boards that would appeal to elementary level teachers. It is well organized with boards for content areas, projects, classroom stations, behavior, and even by time of year.

2) We Are Teachers 81 boards have a wealth of pins full of information that would interest just about all teachers. Their boards cover topics such as common core standards, professional development, content areas, and they even have a board for teacher humor. Special education teachers will be happy to know that We Are Teachers has a pin board full of helpful information for them as well.

3) As a social studies teacher I was thrilled to come across this board by Pearson which has 48 boards full   of great information. There are boards for U.S. history, world history, geography, and even art history. A must see for social studies teachers.

4) For those interested in technology in education there is this blog post from Avatar Generation, titled The 25 best Pinterest Boards for Education Technology.

5) Finally, for iPad users there is this board, Free iPad apps for teachers. This board is useful to any teacher, parent or student with an iPad.

Parent Teacher Communication?

We Are Teachers is a website where educators can go for a variety of resources. Whether you’re looking for lesson plans, product reviews, web resources and blogs or a chance at money for your classroom, then this may be a site you'll enjoy. We Are Teachers is worth looking at and it is free to join.

Next up is a site called Bureau of Communication. Here you will find official looking forms for every day emotional expressions such as apologies, thank yous, and love letters. They seem to be extremely practical ways of saying things that are often very difficult. At the same time, they are funny because they take something that is deeply emotional and personal and make it heartless and indifferent. Regardless of your motives, the Bureau of Communication is worth a look.

Today's finale is a cartoon that every parent can appreciate. It is featured on a site called Nick Mom and perhaps can serve as a warning to any future parents out there. The morale of the cartoon, don't expect to get too much done when your children are with you.