Pinterest, Part 1 How to Use It

Image obtained here

 I first need to confess that I LOVE PINTEREST. It is an additive site! It's a social bookmarking site that is mainly visual. I use it professionally and personally so it's perfect. You get to use everyone's collective research of the web based on the content you search for,  I hope you find it has help full as I have. This is a two part blog post. First I want to get you started pinning and then we will talk about how to use it with your students. So, lets get started.

Signing Up
To sign up for Pinterest, you need an invitation. You can request one from the Pinterest site  or ask friends for an invite. Feel free to email me and I will send you an invitation. When signing up, you will be required to login using either Facebook or Twitter. Some people get nervous about that because they don't want their Facebook account tied to their pinning. You can untie it from Facebook after you have created your account. If you are doing this at school, I suggest using Twitter because in most districts it's unblocked. If you haven't been twitting, it's a great time to start. Twitter is an excellent Personal Learning Network for educators. To learn more about Twitter, go here.

Getting Started
Next, you need to create boards to pin onto. Pinterest gives you suggestions on what to title your boards but I suggest using titles or names that make sense to you. I have some with long names and ones that are just one word. These boards are how you find your pins later and also how others might find your pins.


1. Get the Button: To pin on Pinterest, you need the "Pin It" button on your web browser's toolbar.  Go to the About menu pull-down in the top navigation bar and select "Pin It Button" and then just follow the direction .

2. Get Pinning: As you are surfing the web or if someone sends you a site and you want to save it, click the "Pin It" button in your tool bar and then select an image that represent the site to pin. Including a brief description of what you are pinning is a great idea, that way when you come back to it you will remember why you pinned it.

3. Follow and Repin: You'll also want to follow folks who have similar interests. When you do this, you get to see what they are pinning and have the opportunity to repin it (basically add it one of your pin boards). It's a great way to get ideas from others that you might not have been clued into otherwise.

So, go forth and pin. :)  Next time we will chat about what you can do with all those pins.