In Praise of Pinterest (and the Power of Synergy)

 


One of the articles included in this week's reading (the Hu article about math teachers and their use of Pinterest) had me thinking about the Power of Synergy and how Web 2.0 platforms can help foster these relationships.

I never considered Pinterest as a platform for math teachers to help them acquire and share classroom resources. It was interesting to read about the use of Pinterest as an emergent, "bottom-up" phenomenon and how content cut across geographical and political spectrums.

It was also interesting to see how trust continues to serve as an important component in building this digital relationship.

Many of the features of good synergy (coordination, trust, complimentary strengths, etc.) are directly related to good, productive use of socialized knowledge communities (SKC) and can have the same positive results by increasing the power (or professional capital) of an individual instructor.

The analogy helps me frame the role of Web 2.0 tools to serve as a partner, not a substitute, for sharing knowledge and facilitating the bridge from "cloud to class".



Hu, S., Torphy, K. T., Opperman, A., Jansen, K., & Lo, Y. J. (2018). What do teachers share within socialized knowledge communities: A case of PinterestLinks to an external site.. Journal of Professional Capital and Community.

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