Padlet
Padlet is a virtual notice board that can be used to share, collaborate, and reflect. It allows users to post mixed media, comment on notes asynchronously with the option for anonymity. It supports various teaching activities such as icebreakers, project ideation, and product development enhancing student engagement.
Padlet allows users to:
- Post multimedia resources to a virtual wall
- Collaborate with peers through comments on posts asynchronously
- Post anonymously (when set as anonymous)
AI elements
Padlet facilitates and enables the curation of resources, insights, and academic discourse in an easily accessible space. With an intuitive interface, and supported by over 40 languages, you can enhance the active learning experience for your students.
List of functions
Key features of Padlet are:
- Ability to share ideas on a virtual wall;
- Share a range of multimedia options;
- Co-create artefacts over time and with your peers;
- Ability to embed Padlet into any HTML page;
- Customisable interface; and
- Responsive across all devices.
Recommendations for using Padlet are:
- Collaborative projects: a digital space for students to contribute ideas, resources, and feedback for group projects.
- Portfolios: students can use Padlet to evidence their learning, track their progress and reflect on their achievements over time.
Support resources
Deakin Resources:
Padlet for Active Learning: a guide to why and how you can use Padlet to actively engage your students online.
Vendor Resources:
Padlet Help (external): a simple interface with how to use Padlet in teaching and learning.
Examples
The use cases below showcase some ways in which you can use Padlet in your practice:
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Prepare & Monitor
Icebreaker – student introductions and socialisation into a unit at trimester start
As a teacher I can encourage students to introduce themselves in novel ways, by posting text +/- media onto a ‘virtual wall’ to create a sense of connection among the student cohort.
My students can introduce themselves using text and media (e.g. a profile image or an image they feel represents them), and greet their peers with ‘likes’ and/or text replies.
Example design considerations when striving for student socialisation using Padlet:
- Provide brief and simple instructions to encourage opt-in.
- Consider a theme, for example, ask students to include an image of a hobby with their introductions, or to begin thinking towards the unit content e.g. a snippet from a favourite film in a screen studies unit.
- Consider using the map template in Padlet, allowing students to post a note to their location in the world (e.g. in disperse learning communities).
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Inquiry
Interactivity – students share ideas on key concepts, ready to investigate/inquire further
As a teacher I can promote active inquiry into key ideas and concepts by asking students to share material they have found while researching a topic, and to interact with others’ contributions related to the topic under inquiry.
My students can share and comment on content related to the inquiry under focus with their peers.
Example design considerations when striving for inquiry-based learning using Padlet:
- Prepare a semi-structured learning inquiry that your students need to purposefully find resources for (e.g. an authentic scenario or case study).
- Ask students to think critically about the detail they share and discuss, in response to the specific learning inquiry.
Example design considerations when striving for student socialisation using Padlet:
- Provide brief and simple instructions to encourage opt-in.
- Consider a theme, for example, ask students to include an image of a hobby with their introductions, or to begin thinking towards the unit content e.g. a snippet from a favourite film in a screen studies unit.
- Consider using the map template in Padlet, allowing students to post a note to their location in the world (e.g. in disperse learning communities).
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Collaboration
Project ideation – student teams brainstorm ideas for a project to then discuss and vote on the ideas shared
As a teacher I want a space where students can collaborate, to form a sense of connection and to get started on a collaborative learning project through the process of brainstorming ideas onto a virtual wall to get different perspectives from their peers.
My students can quickly and without judgement share ideas for subsequent collaborative examination and can discuss the merits and vote on ideas.
Example design considerations when establishing a collaborative learning environment using Padlet:
- Prepare semi-structured guidance, for example, to:
- post ideas in a non-judgmental way until ideas are exhausted
- collectively examine the ideas through discussion (e.g. comments on posts) and/or voting via liking or ranking to arrive at a shortlist of ideas
- collectively determine which idea or ideas the group will progress into the next stage of the project.
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Production
Product development processes – students use the timeline function in Padlet to plot out their product or artefact development plans
As a teacher I want a simple timeline space for students to document their product development process and receive feedback from others.
My students can simply and visually plot out or plan their product development, receive feedback from their peers and teacher/tutor, and visually adjust their planned approach.
Example design considerations when product planning using Padlet:
- Allow flexibility for creating a visual timeline (e.g. use columns or one of the timeline-related templates available in Padlet)
- Provide a clear purpose for creating a timeline artefact in Padlet, for example:
- use this artefact to guide the production process (or use it to as stimulus to build a formal project plan)
- revisit the timeline iteratively to visually revise and adapt, and to ultimately demonstrate the evolution of the process
- return to the timeline artefact at the end of the product development to reflect on the production processes (or to stimulate writing a narrative around how the product was generated and developed over time).
