Pinterest and Exit Slips

If someone would have told me last year that Pinterest would be one of my frequently visited websites as an instructional coach, I would have laughed. Sure, I completely understand that Edutopia, the Teaching Channel, and YouTube are bookmarked websites... but Pinterest?

It turns out that Pinterest can be a valuable tool for educators. It is a great place to go to find new ideas for the classroom. During a recent perusing of Pinterest, I found some pins on how to quickly assess student learning during the last few minutes of class (aka- exit slips). Below are just a few of the pins that are creative, informative, and fun.

• Hashtag Mania: Students summarize their learnings as a hashtag. 
• Tweeting: Using no more than 140 characters, like a tweet on Twitter, students answer a question or describe what they learned in class.
• Instagram Photo: Students take a photo they believe best reflects the learning that took place and post it to a class Instagram account.
• Vine Blog: Students create a video that captures the most important six seconds of class. 
• Exit Slip Poster: Create a poster with pockets. Number the pockets, and assign students a number. Students answer a question on a small piece of paper and place it in their assigned pocket.

WILLPower

It is the middle of December, almost halfway through the school year, and the time of year when teachers feel the most frustration and failure. It is a time when we are bitter and complain endlessly about the job. It is a time when we want to throw in the towel and say we will start anew in January.

It is precisely at this time that we can all learn from Willie Burton. Born two months premature with cerebral palsy, he cannot walk unassisted, has limited use of his right hand, and struggles with speech. Yet, Willie has more gumption and drive than most people. Despite having the odds stacked against him, Willie went out for wrestling in ninth grade and never quit. His perseverance inspires us all.

At a time when we feel the negativity overpowering us, I implore you to watch this video. It may give you the motivation you need to push through until Winter Break.

WILLPower- ESPN Video