Title: Creating virtual communities of practice with the visual social media platform Pinterest

Authors: Julie A. Delello; Rochell R. McWhorter

Addresses: School of Education, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, Texas 75799, USA ' Department of Human Resource Development and Technology, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, Texas 75799, USA

Abstract: This paper reports results of a mixed methods study on the use of the visual social media platform Pinterest in the higher education classroom. Research methods included data collection of pre-experience and post-experience student surveys from two disciplines, education and business, regarding students' experiences using Pinterest for learning. A total of 227 students (189 undergraduate and 38 graduate students) participated in the study. Findings included student attitudes regarding the usability of Pinterest in the classroom setting, student learning and development, and ways Pinterest facilitated the development of a VCoP. Recommendations for future classroom use are given.

Keywords: case studies; career development; communities of practice; Pinterest; social media; usability; visual technologies; visual literacy; Web 2.0; visual networks; virtual communities; online communities; web based communities; higher education; e-learning; electronic learning; student attitudes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMILE.2014.064205

International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2014 Vol.2 No.3, pp.216 - 236

Received: 01 Aug 2013
Accepted: 21 Nov 2013
Published online: 30 Aug 2014 *

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