The value of Pinterest

I think teachers are like magpies, squirrels and hoarders all in one. We love nothing better than searching for shiny bright things that we collect and keep because 'you never know when they might come in useful.' We trawl the local pound shops #poundstorepedagogy, junk shops, book stores and car boot sales for things we can use in class.

Due to the power of the internet the ocean we trawl has become much larger. Twitter connects a huge community of educators and like minded people together from all over the world., sharing thoughts, experiences and resources. Google and other search engines allow us to find a wide range of resources at the touch of a button. My personal favourites, the ones I always look to first are Tes, Primary resources, Teaching ideas, Teachers pet, Literacy shed to name but a few.

However, my new found little gem is Pinterest. It sparkles and shines like a little teaching jewel. If you don't know what Pinterest is or how it works boy are you in for a treat. Pinterest is an online pin board which allows the user to search for pins and then to repin them onto their own boards. It allows the user to collect and organise pins from a wide range of places and on too many subjects to mention. It is said that 1.36m people use Pinterest every day!

I have been using Pinterest for well over a year and I can honestly say it has provided me with lesson ideas and resources which I actually use weekly at least and often daily in my class. I have 1.7 thousand pins organised onto 22 boards! My boards range from education videos to a board for my next topic topic Katie Morag. What I like about Pinterest is that it provides access to resources from teachers in America, a resource I didn't have access to before. Lots of the American pinners are home educators and as such have quite creative teaching ideas which I love. I also like the fact that it is a safe resource. I can open my boards in school on the whiteboard quite safely, I have not come across anything inappropriate at all. I do know though like everything on the internet that nothing is 100% safe but I am impressed that in over a year I have never had any problems at all.

So if you've not checked Pinterest out yet give it a go!