Getting Started
To use this resource I first created an account with Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/emmarothwell/ ). I then quickly figured out that it would be useful in finding crafts and activities to use in the classroom. There is a search bar in the top where I looked up craft ideas that would have been useful in the camps I led this past summer. To save a craft idea that you like you 'pin' it to a board, where you will keep all of your similar ideas. I named my board "HSF Camp Ideas" so that it would be easy to find what I liked. You can create as many boards as you'd like, so I then made one called "Kindergarten" where I pinned a few ideas for writing activities for kindergarten.
Checking Credibility
It is important to check your sources for credibility when using Pinterest, as anybody can add a post to the site to be seen by anyone. When you click on an idea that you like it will open a new tab with the website that the idea came from. Some of these websites will be credible sources, whereas some will be ads or plagiarized pages. To figure out if your source is not an ad or a scam, at the top of the website that the pin directs you to you can typically find the name of the person who posted the idea. If you can click on this name and it takes you to a blog or a page with many other posts by this person, then your source is most likely credible. However, if it brings you to a website trying to sell you something or promote something, it is most likely not a credible source.
Reflecting
During this task I learned that Pinterest is a great way to find and share classroom ideas, activities, and crafts. It is a way to connect with other educators through 'pins' and 'boards', however, you have to be careful and look into the ideas you find, as anyone can post anything to this site. As a teacher, elementary specifically, I could see myself using Pinterest all the time to find crafts, activities, and classroom setup ideas, because there are so many posts to get inspiration from ! It would be so helpful in lesson planning too! For example, if you had a book you really liked but were struggling with coming up with a craft or activity, you could just type the books title into the search bar and hundreds of ideas will come up to help you get started. Another way you could use it is to find ways to set up your classroom that will be most effective. Overall, I think that Pinterest is a great tool that I will be using throughout my time as a teacher, and would recommend to anybody looking for a better way to come up with ideas for their classroom!