I used to teach Contextual Studies at the Carmarthenshire School of the Arts. I found a fairly simple way to utilise TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) through working with Pinterest* as a 21st century equivalent of a visual diary/reflective journal/ sketchbook. In a Level 4 Visual and Material Culture module for Contextual Studies I teamed up with the tutors leading practical modules to create a joint task. Each tutor (theoretical and practical) set up a Pinterest account that demonstrated their aesthetic interests.
Stage one of the tasks was that students reviewed staff sites in order to identify contemporary trends and to evaluate the components of each staff member’s aesthetic (formal elements such as colour palette and conceptual concerns).
Stage two was to create their own boards relating to their own concerns and at least two elements from the lecture programme. The title function on the image can be used to capture short, critical and reflective writing on their selections.
Throughout the module students were expected to share pins and form a ‘visual dialogue’ with each other. They also had to write a short reflection on the development of their aesthetic across the term. The boards, pins, notes, visual dialogue and reflective account then became part of their assessment at the end of the module*1
What is nice about Pinterest is that you can Pin any 2D or moving image so I have also used this in an education context because you can create snapshots of texts, review books, share video case studies etc and comment on them.
*Please note that Pinterest is not a University supported tool and so no targetted staff development training is available. However, it has an extremely user friendly interface and is easy to self-teach.
*1 Due to the fact that Pinterest is an external provider you cannot put students in a position where they would be disadvantaged if they did not use it. My way round this was to allow alternative modes of responding to the task (e.g. the more traditional sketchbook or reflective journal)
