The Power of Padlet
Padlet is a tool for creating virtual bulletin boards. It’s a simple tool that can enable collaboration toward many different kinds of instructional goals. Here are some of the ways in which I’ve used Padlet in the past year:
Asynchronous Introductions
I convened a group of twenty people who first met via Zoom. I set up a Padlet and asked everyone to add a post with a brief introduction about themselves. The Padlet served as a way for everyone to get to know each other a bit before we joined the Zoom meeting. It also gave people the time and space to craft an introduction ahead of time, rather than on the spot.
Collaborative Brainstorming
I’ve used Padlet a few times as a tool for collaborative brainstorming. At the beginning of a workshop about effective PowerPoint design, I asked students to make an anonymous post on a Padlet about what they thought were effective design elements of a PowerPoint presentation.
Dot Voting
Dot voting is a way to identify a group’s preferences around a specific topic. Padlets can be setup to enable reactions to posts, such as grade, star, upvote or like. Dot voting after a brainstorming session can help a group identify topics that are most important to the group.
Curated Collections
Images and other media can be embedded in the posts on a Padlet, resulting in aesthetically pleasing bulletin boards (sort of like Pinterest, but without advertisements). I have worked with a faculty member who created a Padlet to present news articles as a way to pique students’ interests about topics for their research papers. They opted for Padlet because it made for a more interesting collection than sharing a list of hyperlinks in a document.
Other Ideas
Dr. Lindsay Masland shares some other uses for Padlet in the Twitter thread below.
Interested in Using Padlet?
A free Padlet account allows you to create 3 Padlets (or bulletin boards). If you think you may need more Padlets, apply for a Teaching and Learning with Technology Microgrant to receive funding for a paid Padlet account (which allows you to create 20 or more Padlets).
I’m available to consult with faculty, students or staff who are interested in using Padlet for an assignment, a course project, or for team collaboration. Please reach out at cmoskell@colgate.edu.
