What better way to bring inquiry into your classroom than by taking advantage of the many technological tools and advances available today? Pinterest is an excellent source of information for your classroom and lesson planning. There is even an entire section just on inquiry based learning.
Just like a blog, I encourage you to start finding a few pin boards that you like. Pinterest has a school/classroom section that is a great place to get started to find your favorite boards. What I like about Pinterest is that you can take a lesson similar to what we did in class yesterday and search for ways on pinterest to improve it. My group is doing animal adaptations and we HATE the activity that the book suggests. All you have to do is type in animal adaptation lessons on pinterest and you will find a plethora of lessons from blogs all over the world. Of course, you still need to research the lesson on your own, but it is definitely a great starting point to get ideas churning in your head.
Sometimes social media tools tend to have a bad rap, but just remember they can be excellent collaboration tools as well. Pinterest is still considered social media. Similar to a blog, I also see the benefits of having a twitter for your classroom. We did this for one of my classes in college and it was a great way for the teacher to share info with us. The teacher would share additional articles, or links to extra help both of which could be beneficial for parents. You could also link your blog to your twitter. Just an idea and would need to be thoroughly thought out, but it is still a useful tool for your classroom.
When you have a few moments, just start browsing pinterest for some ideas. It would be great if you haven't already to start a classroom board where you can pin interesting things for your future classroom. You never know what you will find, and chances are if you go back later without pinning it you won't be able to find it again.
Oh, I am a huge fan of Pinterest! I have already found it so useful for teaching! You can probably find an activity for every lesson!
ReplyDeleteI've thought about Instagram for classroom use and am trying to figure out how to keep it safe for kids. I guess if I had a class account with no followers, and we followed things like the Interior Dept. (national parks), the White House, NASA, etc., we could check in each week and see what photos were there. I think there's a possibility here but I need to think about the procedures. Good post!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the idea of using instagram David. I think any way to bring technology into the classroom is a plus. As an extra bonus, students can experience the positive side of social media.
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