What is Pinterest?
Lately I’ve been using the site Pinterest as a way to share links for the workshops and online training courses I run. If you haven’t come across Pinterest before, it’s a virtual pinboard that allows you to share links with other visually. It’s part inspiration board and part scrapbook – think of it as a way of eliminating all those torn-out magazine pictures! The key here is the visual aspect – when you look at a page of links on Pinterest, you see a collection of images. It’s very easy to see what catches your eye or identify the item you’re looking for.
Because of it’s visual nature, Pinterest is very popular with artists, photographers, foodies, the fashion industry and interior designers. However, it’s also making a splash in the education arena as more and more teachers discover the benefits of “pinning” useful classroom management tips and lesson plan ideas.
On Pinterest, links are organised into separate “boards” where each board is a specific topic or area of interest. So far, my boards include:
- Clever Music Videos
- Free Music Technology Resources
- Film Scoring Resources
- iPad Apps For Music Teachers
- Sibelius Tutorials and Training
- iPads in Education – Research and Trials
- iPad Accessories For Music Teachers
Each board then contains a number of “pins” which link back to an original online source like a webpage, blog post or product for sale. They are all a work in progress: each board will grow in size as I discover more links to add to them.
One of the benefits of Pinterest is that you don’t need to be a registered user to view someone’s Pinterest boards. Any of my workshop attendees can access the set of links I’ve put together as part of the support material for that session.
Exploring Pinterest Step-By-Step
- Visit my Pinterest page
- Click on one of the boards
- You can quickly scan the images on the board to see if there’s anything that interests you
- If you like the look of one of the pins, click on it – it will open up on its own individual page
The most important thing to know about each Pin
When you’ve clicked on a pin, you can click on the image again to view the original source. For instance, on my iPad Apps For Music Teachers board I have a series of links for music apps I recommend. Clicking on MadPad pin opens it on a separate page. Clicking on the image a second time will take you to the iTunes page where you can see the price, app information, reviews by users and the “View in iTunes” button.
How To Join In The Fun
Pinterest is currently “by invitation only” but there are a couple of easy options for joining:
1. You can visit the Pinterest website and click on the Request an invitation link at the top of the page. I did this and after a day or so I was granted access to the site.
2. You can contact a current Pinterest user (like me!) and ask them to send you an invitation. Access is granted as soon as the user responds to your message.
If you would like access, send me an email and I’ll forward a Pinterest invitation to you.
Once you’ve joined….
The basic process for adding images and links to your own Pinterest collection is:
- Surf the internet
- See something you like: a recipe, a useful tips article, a beautiful kitchen, a poster idea for your classroom or a how-to video
- “Pin” that image or video to one of your Pinterest boards
For more in-depth information, visit the Pinterest support area for step-by-step instructions.
Other Music Educators On Pinterest
There are a number of other music educators on Pinterest. Here are just a few of them:
1.Amy Burns – Amy is an elementary music specialist and one of her boards highlights apps she uses in her PreK-Grade 4 Music classes
2.Cherie Herring – Cherie is a very active “Pinner”! She has a number of music education-related boards including this one: Smartboard Music Lessons
3.Pat Toben – Pat has a great Music Literacy board
4.Martha Stanley – Martha’s boards include a School Music Videos collection.
8 Comments
Found this post by nothing else than Pinterest! Great post and good information. I’ve downloaded your Ebook and it’s a great resource! Thanks for sharing. I have a ton of music education and STEM and Music Ed pins (I teach at a STEM academy – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) so I save a lot of pins with regard to music and those disciplines. Check out my blog and my Pinterest boards – I think we have a lot in common! Great work! http://www.learnmemusic.com – my boards are linked from my blog. Happy pinning!
Thanks Claire! I’ll take a look at your blog and connect on Pinterest.
I also have lots of music/teacher/technology pins on various boards (and share the School Music Video board with Martha!)….feel free to follow! http://pinterest.com/annelyon/
I enjoy looking through a post that can make people think.
Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!
[…] If you’d like some more background information about Pinterest and the way I’m using it, head over to my earlier article Using Pinterest To Share Music Technology Links […]
[…] written before about the way I use Pinterest to collect and share links to articles, apps and videos. Pinterest allows you to organise your […]
Thank you for including my Music Literacy board on your blog. Glad to be able to share the inspiration for others.
You’re welcome Pat! Keep up the good work 🙂
– Katie