Web 2.0 Tool

Many amazing web 2.0 tools have been introduced throughout the duration of this course. These tools are very beneficial when used effectively inside the classroom, and promote fun and creative ways to learn.

One application that I have been using on a weekly basis on Pinterest. I have been using this tool for a variety of things in the past. This whole time I had no idea that it was actually a 2.0 tool. This tool is by far amazing! Pinterest is basically a visual bookmarking tool that lets you save and discover creative ideas. It is filled with ideas from all over the world, recipes, fashion, education, DIY’s, home projects, and so much more. Really, the list could go on for days. It is a free site that allows its users to upload, save, and manage images. These images are known on the sites as “pins.” The idea is that users create their own boards for their saved pins, and these boards are then organized according to the users liking. When I first started using Pinterest I will admit to you, that for me, the sole purpose was for the fashion, and the healthy delicious recipes is provided on a daily basis. I always knew it had fun ideas for school projects and cool crafts but its current and potential uses in education did not become clear to me until after my research.

Pinterest has taken the educational community for quite the amazing ride! If you go on the site you will see that the sources are visual, clickable, and sharable. This promotes student engaged learning and collaboration. The virtual boards that can be made on this site can be shared by an individual or group or created by an individual or a group. Educators have been taking advantage of this like no other by creating ideas for the classrooms and posting lesson plans for others to use. Furthermore, the material on the site being created in an “open source” manner, is easy to access, implement and integrate into a teacher's planning.

There are many experienced educators sharing exceptional lesson plans and classroom ideas, as well as educational resources that should are definitely worth looking at! Some of these pinners include:

•  Laura Candler
• David Kapuler
• Angela Watson
• Edtopia
• Lisa Dabbs

These individuals and many others have shared resources that are easily accessible and can be incorporated into your teaching lesson plans! It truly is a site that encourages inspiration, sharing, ideas, and discoveries!

Here is a link you can use to see all the great things this 2.0 web tool has to offer!

pinterest.com