Pinterest, the newest social media phenomenon to make a splash, is often touted as a fantastic resource for people who want to organize their fashion, cooking and decorating ideas.

But creative users are pinning everything from infographics on environmental sustainability to math equation riddles, from historical photographs to recycled-art projects!

Basically, Pinterest is a website filled with amazing lesson ideas and resources – just waiting to be found!

And if the search results for ‘lesson ideas’ are any indication, there are a growing number of educators using Pinterest to find new ways to engage students in lessons and share their successes and projects with others on the site.

Follow us!

SMART is on Pinterest too – we love browsing other pinners’ ideas for using SMART products in the classroom, and sharing resources we come across on the site, from SMART Exchange and of course, the blog!

We’ve just started pinning, but we hope that when you follow us, our pinboards like The Joy of Learning and Amazing Resources for SMART educators will inspire you and give you more options for teaching and learning.

Pinterest 101

If you are Pin-curious or you’ve just signed up for the site, here are a few things to know to make the most of your experience!

Joining
There are two ways to join Pinterest – you can request an invite from the site or get invited by a friend who is already using it. The latter is the faster way to join.

Getting started
Pinterest will ask you what your interests are, and then provide some Ppnners to follow. You can also find your friends though Facebook or Twitter and start following them.

Pinning
Pinning is easy, fun and somewhat addictive! Simply scroll through your page and start pinning or liking the images you find from your friends, recommended pinners or by using the search tool. You can create pinboards to categorize and organize your pinned images.

Sharing
You can upload photos from your computer to the site – a great way to share your most recent class project or photos from a recent field trip! And to make the experience more collaborative, you can allow others to contribute to your pinboards by editing your settings.

Happy pinning!

Are you using Pinterest for lesson inspiration? Tell us in the comments section below!