eBooks

eBooks have recently become my passion. I honestly never thought that I would like reading books on a device. I wanted to 'feel' that paper when I turned each page...I wanted the weight of the book in my hands.

Well.......I have definitely changed my way of thinking about reading! I love borrowing books from The Tom Green Public Library out of San Angelo and from the Houston Public Library. If you want to know how to do this from central Texas, just let me know and I will be glad to send you the step-by-step instructions.

I also follow two websites, each of who send me a daily email on free and bargain ebooks of the day. They are BookBub and Digital Book Spot.

I just ran across this on Pinterest: http://www.livingfrugaltips.com/finance-and-tech/17-best-websites-to-download-free-ebooks/

I am definitely going to have to check it out!!!!

Pinners to Follow

If you are interested in educational pins, the best way to get started is by following some trusted 'educational' pinners. Once your home feed starts populating educational feeds, it is easy to find other pinners with the same interests.

Listed below are some great pinners to start your educational pinning:

Deb Henkes - http://pinterest.com/dhenkes/

Indiana eLearning - http://pinterest.com/INelearn/

Theresa Cullen - http://pinterest.com/theresaacullen/

Jon Samuelson - http://pinterest.com/ipadsammy/

Eric Sheninger - http://pinterest.com/esheninger/

and, of course, me!! LOL!!

Pam McGhee -  http://pinterest.com/DigitalDiva201/

For all you librarians out there...I just found a great pinner:
Zelia Carson -  http://pinterest.com/zmcarlson/


Want to add even more great pinners? Who are the people above following? Click on their "Following" tab to see if you want to add those to your following list.

Have you found a really great board or pin or pinner? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Remember: You don't have to follow every board of each person you follow!

Happy Pinning!!

Pinterest Basics

Pinterest

What is Pinterest?
     Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things that inspire you…kind of like an online bulletin board or scrapbook.

Why Pinterest?
     Organization
     New Ideas
     Tips, Tricks, Shortcuts
     Lesson Plans
     Collaboration

Pinterest Bascis
    Account – You must have one. Think about what you would like your Pin Pseudonym (name) to be. You can also use your current Facebook or Twitter
accounts.
     Pin - A pin starts with an image or video you add to Pinterest. Any pin on Pinterest can be repinned, and all pins link back to their source.
     Board –a place you organize your pins by topic. You could pin ideas for remodeling your bathroom to your House Projects board, for example.

Boards can be secret or public, and you can invite other people to pin with you on any of your boards.

How to
     How to create a board -  There are basically two ways to pin. If you are viewing your boards, simply click the ‘+’ sign above the words ‘Create a board.’ If you are actually on a pin (you clicked the PinIt button) and have found that you really don’t have a board that works with that pin, simply click on the pulldown menu and then choose  
     How do I pin? – It’s easy. If you are in Pinterest, you can add a pin from a website using the Pin It bookmarklet or upload an image right from your computer. If you are in your Home Feed on Pinterest, simply scroll over the picture you want to pin. Locate the red ‘PinIt’ button and click on it. From the pulldown menu, choose your board, add a comment and click ‘PinIt’ again.

Organizing
     Boards - Think of names that you can remember. Some pinners are quite creative with their board names. Others use very basic names.  Group them…alphabetically…subject…color?
     Home Feed -  Access your home feed by clicking on the word “Pinterest” that is located at the top of the browser page.
     Following – Follow an entire pinner or choose specific boards to follow.

Collaborating  
     You can allow others to pin to one or more of your boards and let them contribute ideas, information, opinion.

Public Boards – unless you designate your board as secret, each board will be public.

Secret Boards – only you and those you invite can see these boards and any content and comments connected to them.

Mobile apps – are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Pinterest has a blog! - http://blog.pinterest.com/

Pinterest Etiquette

Pinterest Etiquette

Be a good Pinterest citizen:
     Don’t just randomly pin. Look at the pin first and make sure it really exists and is appropriate.
     Change the description. Make it notable.
     Pin from the outside. Add more content into the community.
     Re-comment if you try it.

Be kind & respectful. There are real people on the other end of your comments
Be Yourself. Pinning things that interest you or express who you really are is more important than having lots of
     followers.
Give credit. If you pin someone else’s idea, give them credit.
Stay alert. If you see inappropriate content, report it back to Pinterest.
Pinterest is growing and changing. Let them know what works and what doesn’t or if you have an idea that might
     make Pinterest better.

Pinterest for Teachers and Students

The more I explore Pinterest for educational purposes, the more I am fascinated by all of the amazing, creative material that I find...and so much of it is free!

You can collaborate with other teachers, share boards, share ideas, develop lesson plans and so much more!

Check out this website by Wendy Piersall. She developed the Classroom Jr website and has filled it with so many teaching resources--information, ideas, crafts, etc., all for the classroom teacher.

Wait! But what about your students? Visit The Woo! Jr and The Woo! Jr Pinterest boards to involve your students in that creative journey!

ISTE 2013

Connie and I just got back from an amazing technology conference in San Antonio! And, of course, the Riverwalk just added to all of the fun!

Watch our blog for information on some of the great sessions we attended.

If you haven't found all of the great Pinterest posts on education, it is time to get started...and you can even collaborate on Pinterest!

Google Drive is simply awesome and we will be posting some basic 'how to's' so you can get started using this resource!

Naturally, we also attended several app presentations and have even more ideas on how to use these in your classroom!

Check back soon! I will begin posting as soon as I recover from all of the great food we had from those Riverwalk restaurants!

Pinterest and Education...especially using apps and iPads

Are you a Pinterest aficionado? I admit...I am completely addicted. I have lost track of how many boards I have and how many people I am following!

If you want to find out what Pinterest has for apps and iPads, be sure to follow this user: http://pinterest.com/techchef4u/ipad-lessons/

These two ladies really have some great ideas!

I have added several iPad apps and how to use them in the classroom to my board: Awesome Apps.

I have a few more ideas in this board: Educate.

If you have not discovered all the great tips for education, technology and classroom ideas, check it out soon!!!!