How I integrated a pinterest board in my class

DrNufer
Community Coach
Community Coach

Hi all.  I am trying something this term that I thought I would share with you.  One of the courses that I teach is a graduate level class discussing instructional technology.  I periodically email the students relevant articles and blog posts in order to keep the material current.  We know that twitter integrates into canvas via the LTI tool, but pinterest does not have this option.  I thought it might be interesting to give pinterest a try.  Pinterest has an option to export a board to a website or blog.  So I tried a few approaches and will share the one that I implemented.

Within pinterest, you can create your board.  I created a new pinterest account specifically for my class(es); everything is related to academia.  I titled the pinterest board IO527 (https://www.pinterest.com/tech3238/io527/).​  I also invited the class to participate in contributing to the board - this involves me manually entering in their email addresses.  When I click on my pinterest board, there are options for sharing the content, including sending the board to someone, posting it on facebook, or creating a widget.  I am interested in that latter option.

widget.jpg

The widget options that I chose are:

  • Board
  • Size: create your own
  • Image width: 115
  • Board height: 275
  • Board width: 850

You'll want to play around with those dimensions in your instance to find a right fit for you.  There is no perfect size, and it will render differently given the resolution and size of the monitor (or mobile device), and the extent to which the individual's web browser is zoomed in.

At the bottom of the widget page, pinterest will spit out some code for you.  For me this code looked like:

<script async defer src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>

<a data-pin-do="embedBoard" data-pin-board-width="850" data-pin-scale-height="275" data-pin-scale-width="115" href="https://www.pinterest.com/tech3238/io527/"></a>

I pasted this into a plaintext editor (notepad, for me).  I titled the file "Class Pinterest Board.html".  Essentially I created a little webpage that consisted only of the pinterest board.  I uploaded the file into Canvas.  I created a content page within my Course Home section (we include this section in every course on the modules page - things like policies, library resources, introductory discussions, etc.) where I explained what the pinterest board is and why I am introducing it to the course.  I encourage students who would like to contribute to the board to create a dedicated pinterest account, I explain the difference between a pin and a repin, and I include instructions for pinning and provide guidelines.  I then embedded my pinterest board into each unit in the class.

board.jpg

To do this, I went to the modules page and for each unit I created a new file page.  Then I simply chose the html file that I had uploaded.  The result is not as seamless as a dedicted LTI tool, such as the twitter feeds, but it is functional and useful.

pinterest.jpg