Pinterest in the Classroom

I enjoyed using Pinterest because it gave me inspiration and ideas for things that can be done in the classroom that I might not have otherwise thought of. I do like thinking of ways in which I might teach in the best way possible, and this is giving me ways in which I might be able to have a more organized, efficiently run classroom.

As a teacher I believe I would mainly use Pinterest to get ideas on classroom management, design, activities, and other basic tips. I would take advantage of different peoples ideas because I know mine alone aren't always good enough. Ideas from many combined minds tend to be more developed and effective than ideas that stemmed from only one person.

I like how clocking on a picture can take me to another website where I can read more about the thing being posted. Often I end up looking further on that secondary website because I am drawn to other posts they have made, leading to even more inspiration. I also like that I can make my own boards because then I can look back at all the ideas I liked, or even save some for latter if I don't have the time to thoroughly look at them at the moment. It is a convenient, simple, attractive way to look back at websites that I wanted to retrieve useful or desired materials from, without having to make loads of additional bookmarks in my computers files. The pictures given with each pin is a simple reminder of what the website content is, which saves time when trying to locate a page previously liked.

One downside to Pinterest is that not all useful pages utilize pictures. I have come across many useful pages in the past that don't have several, or in some cases, any pictures. This would limit Pinterest's ability to make a quick reference to some creative ideas. The other downside to the website is that there sometimes just seems to be an overwhelming amount of pages and ideas you can look at. Don't misunderstand though, as I love the idea of new thoughts constantly popping up for you to get inspired with. However, because new ideas are always showing up, it is also easy to miss things that may have otherwise been beneficial to you, as it is impossible to look at everything, and undesirable at that.

I guess my main reason for my second complaint is because I have found Pinterest to be so addicting that whenever I do log on, it is very difficult to get off. That would probably be my largest and last complaint. How am I supposed to continue with my day if I keep wanting to scroll down and see what other ideas I may come across?