Pinterest

You might have already heard of Pinterest, a social media platform which is becoming more and more popular. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, where you can share images that you like. These can be from websites you like, or from your own collection, and link back to the website where they came from. You can create boards on any subject or theme you choose, or search through other people's boards which could be on subjects relevant and interesting to you. You can also re-pin other people's favourites to your own boards.

One of the most attractive things about Pinterest is that it's purely visual - you can't save text-only content, only material with images attached. The picture you 'pin' then acts as a link back to the main page that it came from. This means it's perfect for gathering items together like a scrapbook.

Some of the most popular collections are in themes like historical fashion and home design. There's also lots and lots of recipes on there too!

But if you spend a little more time (once you tear yourself away from the yummy looking food) and dig a little deeper you'll soon find some great teaching materials and activities (search in the Education category or look up your particular topic). You'll be able to find everything from historic photos of Victorian London or World War 1, to images of historical shoes or fashions, or wildlife and botanical drawings. You'll also find that Pinterest is a great image repository, link sharing community and an easy-to-use site for students or classes to quickly gather and assemble project materials on a huge range of topics.

New DVD: Waiting for Superman

All of you may remember Mr Brockhus mentioning, at the start of this term, that over the holidays he'd watched a documentary called Waiting for Superman and that he found it extremely interesting. Peter Krausz also sent out an email about the documentary, which he has reviewed in the latest IEU Magazine. We've just bought a copy of the DVD for the Library, which everyone is welcome to borrow. I had a chance to view it last night, and I must say it's a very eye opening and heartbreaking documentary. I had no idea the American education system was in such a bad state. I would usually be of the point of view that a good teacher makes for a good student, however this documentary opened my eyes to the fact that there's so much bureaucracy going on in the background that it's so hard for this to happen. It was also very motivational in a way too, as you could see there are people trying to help the student's become the best people they can, and it made me feel that our students are very lucky in comparison. I think it's definitely worth watching!

The description from the back of the DVD is as follows:
"From the Academy Award winning director of An Inconvenient Truth comes the groundbreaking feature film that provides an engaging and inspiring look at public education in the United States. Waiting for Superman has helped launched a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a Silicon Valley eighth-grader who is afraid of being labeled as unfit for college and Francisco, a Bronx first-grader whose mum will do anything to give him a shot at a better life. Waiting for Superman will leave a lasting and powerful impression that you will want to share with your friends and family."
Click here to view our v-Library record for Waiting for Superman. You will be able to see whether the copy we have is in, or reserve it if need be.