Blog Post #8

I have noticed that when many teachers use technology in the hopes of enriching their students education, they do it in a strict boring format that leaves very little room for personal expression or imagination on the student's part. The dilemma for a good use of technology in the classroom is that while the students need to have personal expression, the teacher also needs to be able to control what information they are recieving. I know in my past blogs I have discussed how Pinterest could be an effective learning tool in the classroom, and I believe that it is still true in a situation like this. I am planning on teaching history, and I am planning on using Pinterst in a way that will work perfectly with any history course. First of all I would create a new Pinterest account strictly for school use. I would then create a new board for each chapter. Using the steps: think, imagine, seach, consult, choose, and communicate, I would "pin" interesting articles, videos, pictures, and stories that I found which had to do with what my students are studying to specific corresponding boards. My students would use their own Pinterest accounts to follow these boards as a type of supplimentary activity that will enrich their education. If students find something particulary interesting they may re-pin it, and comment on it allowing other students the opportunity to think about that was said, and perhaps bring it up in class the next day.

I understand that some courses, such as anything in the math department, may not be able to use Pinterest effectively because most of math involves application in particular situations. For history though it will work perfectly. Since my plan may be hard to visualize I am adding a link to my history board on Pinterest. Also the picture to the right of this shows how these things may appear on a specific "board." The board is called For When I am a History Teacher. What is great about my plan of using Pinterest is that Pinterest includes a little bit of everything. It is blogs, youtube videos, slideshows, pictures, articles, and stories all rolled into one great site for everyone. This plan will allow me to control what the students are recieving while still allowing them a degree of freedom. Pinterest has not yet been widely used in school, but most students have Pinterest accounts. Because the students are familiar with the format of Pinterest it will be a fun and non-intimidating suplimental activity.

To make an account with Pinterst please follow this link: Pinterest Registration.

Another site that would work very well for history is a site I came across a couple of months ago. Shepard Software.com is a site that uses games to teach students the locations of states, capitals, countries, and major landmarks. This is very useful for anything in the social sciences. I took geography a few months ago and used this site to prepare for all of my quizzes, therefore I can vouch for its usefulness.

Another excellent educational tool that I found was Playing History.org has games from the different time periods of history that are meant to help students learn history in a more fun way than they are used to. Students can make accounts on this site so students can record their score in the various categoies