Wednesday, December 26, 2012

3 reasons to give Pinterest a shot


I was told in a technology meeting a couple of weeks ago by a teacher I greatly respect that Pinterest is a great professional development tool. This was not the first time I had heard this, so I decided to give it a shot while on break. Pinterest has a purpose, and here are the reasons I like Pinterest the most.

1. It is the best social media tool for personalizing our professional development.
2. It is less stressful than Twitter.
3. It is a great way to interact with our colleagues, friends, or spouse.

It is the best social media tool for personalizing our professional development
We can follow subject boards of interest to us, and steer clear of the boards we have no interest in. Take for instance the teacher who recommended Pinterest. I follow her education boards to get writing ideas, but steer clear of the boards that are more of an interest to my wife than me.

It is less stressful than Twitter
At the height of the political season or when tragic news hits, tweets begin flying around that can stress us out. Pinterest boards stick to the subject. I have found this to be a more efficient use of our PD time, and a less stressful experience. I will still use Twitter, but I may end up enjoying Pinterest more.

It is a great way to interact with our colleagues, friends, or spouse
We can use the secret board option to create interaction topics. We can use the privacy setting to keep the interactions between who we would like, and change the setting so both (or multiple people) can pin things on the same board. I imagine this could be a great collaboration tool for colleagues. As an example, we are transitioning to Google Apps. I am going to invite fellow district beta testers to my Google App board.

My wife and I are using this feature for a parenting board and a home remodel board. My father and I will be bicycling and backpacking in the Swiss Alps this summer, and we are using the open board option to begin to map our journey.

Click here to learn how to use Pinterest. Happy pinning.

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