Pinterest and My Intro to Chemistry and Physics Class
Community Review for Pinterest
My Take
My county has restrictions on what kinds of things students can do online that asks them to use their real information. I would keep this in mind. I have a gmail account for use in the classroom. Studnets can log in under that name and work on whatever assignment I have given them. I have a few email addresses for this use. If a student feels comfortable using their own Pinterest account that is ok, but they should be careful not to share their information with anyone else.
On using the actual app, the students did a great job with this assignment. Both special ed classes and general ed classes enjoyed the variety of choices that come up for each student so there is a wide range of responses.
How I Use It
I teach both self-contained and general education science classes. In my classes I like to have the students do their own research and poking around online on new topics. Sometimes they come to you with interesting facts that you never even thought of before. That is why I love Pinterest. The students could research on their topic and create boards on each unit or learning cycle if you want. The students in my intro to chem and phys classes start with a unit on fireworks, so I had them create a board on their own and share ten interesting things they learned. They had all kinds of cool things pined. It was hard for them to connect with other stundets this way, but those that felt comfortable followed each other and created shared boards.