2013 VSTE Annual Conference

In this session, the presenters will share examples of using group Pinterest boards for student collaboration in their graduate teacher education classes. Pinterest is a Web-based tool that allows users to "pin" or save links to online resources, where the pin captures a user-selected image from the source page and a user-contributed annotation about the resource. In one class, students were tasked with researching C3 issues associated with cybersecurity, cyberethics, and cybersafety, and pinning resources identified on the Web on group Pinterest boards. This activity provides a good example of using Pinterest to collect and accumulate research findings and associated reflections. In another class taught via study abroad, students were tasked with pinning their own photos taken in the field and reflecting on how the items in the photos made them appreciate other cultures or their own culture. This activity provides a good example of using Pinterest to collect and accumulate student media and associated reflections. The presenters refer to Pinterest as a "mashup" tool, as it merges the best functions of several popular Web 2.0 tools in one space, including group-edited wikis or collaborating to build a shared Web space, social bookmarks or saving resources in a shared space for use by peers, and discussion boards or interacting around resources shared by peers in threaded comments. The presenters will share lessons learned from their initial work with group Pinterest boards, including how to set up group boards and invite users, how to appropriately prompt learners to solicit more meaningful reflections, and strategies for encouraging users to interact and respond to one another's shared resources. The presenters will also discuss other "mashup tools" that support similar collaborative functionality, including Google Plus.