# data[].attributes.body
Submitted by Sophie Taber

I have never used Padlet before. One downside is that it appears free for only 3 “bulletin boards” and then it looks like you have to pay. Besides that, I can tell it would be a wonderful resource to enhance distance learning. In my classroom, we make a lot of anchor charts and Graphic organizers. Padlet could be used to create these same charts digitally. One perfect example is at the end of each month, we complete a written monthly reflection for our memory books. I write the name of the previous month in the middle of a chart. Then, I give each student a few Post-It notes and they have to record everything we did that month. When we are finished brainstorming, students write a paragraph detailing what we did. We call these charts octopus charts (the head in the middle and the ideas are the tentacles) and Padlet would be perfect for this activity.

# data[].attributes.headline
Padlet - a great 21st century tool for various types of learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Padlet - a great 21st century tool for various types of learners

# data[].attributes.body
This is my first introduction to padlet and I love what I saw and how I was able to engage with the interface.  The concept of a virtual bulletin board seems straight forward but the variations in padlets really make it an awesome tool that will allow you to engage your learners in so many ways.  I immediately gravitated towards the map and the timeline padlet and thought how interesting and interactive it could make a lesson on infectious diseases and discussing the timeline of  progression of a pandemic like COVID-19 and seeing the geographic points/info on a map that would show it's progression.

I think this would be a fantastic tool for students working
in groups on project to allow them to communicate effectively with each other
but also to create and share together. As an instructor for quick drills it
would be a great tool to quickly hook students with an engaging interface and
get them ready for the lesson as well. It gives students the opportunity to
work with media they are used to - videos, gifs, or instant messaging through
the backchannel padlet. Students would naturally be able to engage with the
interface and navigate it intuitively. Giving students a dedicated place that
they are comfortable with to electronically store their work and projects is
great too!

submitted by: Otilio Baez, Jr.

# data[].attributes.body
I see where this is a wonderful tool for English language learners.  The post-it-note size is not overwhelming to someone who is dealing with so many new concepts. Activities on Padlet can be adjusted depending on the language level and age of the student. Students can work collaboratively and not feel intimidated by others.

Some of the activities that they could do are responding to questions or, the reverse, create questions for the given statements; matching exercises--like pairing a meaning with the word it defines or pairing the first half of a sentence with its completion; discussion forums;
creating a repository for study notes; study group sessions; connecting with the real world by listening to and reading news items that are designed for ELL students; doing dictation; and doing a variety of speaking exercises--like talking with a partner to discover details that are missing from the other's picture.

A great feature of this tool is that the teacher is invisible, therefore, putting the students in charge of their learning.

Joan

# data[].attributes.headline
Padlet: A 21st Century Tool for the 21st Century Learner

# data[].attributes.subject
Padlet: A 21st Century Tool for the 21st Century Learner

# data[].attributes.body
I was first introduced to Padlet in college when I was learning about different teaching tools to use the classroom. The name sounded familiar to me when I looked at this week’s 21st Century Tool and now I know why. After signing back in to my account I noticed a lot has changed and I’m very much in favor of the new layout!

Whereas before Padlet was a place to post writings against a few choice backgrounds, Padlet now allows you to do much more than write and offers an abundance of options to choose from to modify the appearance. It allows you to upload files as well. I love that the option to search images videos, gifs, audio and web content is embedded into the site and how you don’t need to open a separate tab to search. As a teacher, I love when things are quick and easy to use. Something else I find to be quick and easy is the unique link that is created with each new padlet that you make.

I could see how this would be really useful for upper grades to share their ideas and contribute to class discussions. If I were using this in my class, I would use it as a way to introduce information and engage with my students, seeing as how my students are too young to participate in online activities where they would be asked to work independently.
I really like the fact that it’s offered in 29 different languages, supports a variety of file types and is available as an app on multiple devices.

I could definitely see myself utilizing this tool within my classroom!

Written by AlexAnndria Henderson

# data[].attributes.headline
Padlet: What online learning looks like. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Padlet: What online learning looks like. 

# data[].attributes.body
I think Paldet is a great tool for the future of education. In this space you can have students answer questions, present ideas, share information, and many other things that you would want students to do collaboratively.

I can see this being used as a place to answer ice breaker questions, store group research, present written information, make a class scrapbook, or host of the things. The significance of having students practice on this kind of platform is that they will be trained in how to present information publicly, in a collaborative space, which may be very common for them in their work life. As we move into the future of work and global teams, it's not unfathomable that students will indeed use these kind of tools on a regular basis. The earlier they are introduced to proper use of these tools, the better equipped they will be when encountered in the real world.

I also like the fact that user interface is extremely easy to use on the front and back end. It takes little effort to set up or participate.

It is also a great tool because of the ease of sharing, storing, and accessing information for the group. It is unique in the fact that unlike email or documents saved to a public drive, all of the individual updates are seen on the same screen-- makes reading and using it so much easier.

Aaron H.

# data[].attributes.body
I have never heard of Padlet, a virtual bulletin board! I was pleasantly surprised to learn about its simplicity and practical uses. With limited bulletin board space in my classroom, I thought it would be an excellent way to showcase student projects, classwork samples, or anything I or my students wished to showcase to parents, other students and administrators.

Padlet presents many opportunities for collecting, organizing, grading, and showcasing student work in one location. Many times, during distance learning, parents had to take pictures of their student projects and email them to me. In addition, some parents chose to   uploaded pictures on our class dojo.  Either way, it was challenging for me to locate student pictures in different places and keep track of them. I also wanted to showcase their work in one place, and I could not think of a convenient way to do that. I creates a google slide presentation of their poems, but it was time consuming retrieving their slides separately from google classroom.

Padlet would make it easier to collect and present. I also liked the Parent Padlet you tube video which parents could watch and learn how to get started. Finally, I could use Padlet to share information and reminders to students. A “What to Do when I am Done” section would list various links of activities that students could click on and do when they have completed their work.
Antoinette J.

# data[].attributes.body
I really enjoyed experimenting with Padlet, and as a reading teacher, I was thrilled to find several ways I can use it with my classes.  It will certainly be useful for at-home reading assignments and practice.  I can easily link passages and stories for independent reading practice, and can also record myself reading these stories which is great for some of my students to practice choral and echo reading at home.  Padlet will also be useful for students to respond to writing prompts and questions about a story.  I was impressed by the various template options for Padlet.  The Shelf and Canvas templates could be made into useful graphic organizers for students to fill in story elements and text connections.   The Wall template could be useful for students’ comments or reactions to stories, and I also liked the Backchannel template for its chat-like format which could be great for story discussion.  Students could answer other students’ questions about the story and then pose their own. In my classes, we locate the settings of our stories on maps, and the Map template would be a fun way to keep track of all the places our stories have taken us over the course of the school year.

As I was experimenting with Padlet, I could not help but think about how this could be used with Distance Learning.  At the beginning of each school year, I have my students write their “Hope and Dreams” for what they would like to learn and accomplish in the year ahead  and the writings are on display for the first PTA Open House where parents can read them.  Since in-person Open Houses are most likely not happening anytime soon, Padlet would be a great way for some of the older students (who can type) to write their “Hopes and Dreams” and then I could share the link with parents to view them.  Padlet could also be a great way for students to share (and for teachers to gauge) their own feelings and thoughts if they are continuing distance learning at home.

Melanie Sheldon

# data[].attributes.body
Submitted by: Abegail Prado
I have used this website this year. It was shared by one of my colleagues and I have used it with the primary grades. It made my work easier when having to get their opinion. It was hard to get each student's opinion especially if I only have them for 30 minutes in my class. So what I did, after our lesson, I shared our Padlet link to our Google Classroom where they could click it. Each student posted their response to a question and I love that I can save all their responses for grading purposes.

When we had our lesson about facts and opinions, I was able to get all my students' answers using this app. Each student typed their answer and even the ELL learners who are usually the quiet ones and would not participate in group discussions or raise their hands to answer the questions...actually shared something on Padlet. And that was a great change  in my class. I was able to hear the voice of those students whom I seldom see participating.

I have also used this app for getting information from my students on what books they would like to recommend. It's very interactive and collaborative and I would use this app again next school year!

# data[].attributes.body
Submitted by: Bessy Albaugh
I have never used Padlet before in my classes, but really enjoyed exploring the capabilities of the program. In an everyday setting, I could see myself using Padlet as a way of collecting student thoughts at the beginning of a lesson, during “warm-ups” or an exit ticket. It could also serve as a parking lot for student questions that I could address the next day.

One of my favorite capabilities that I explored was the Shelf Padlet Option. It allows you to make columns and this could be used to collect student opinions. One could make “Agree” and “Disagree” columns and ask students to post their opinion and why they have that opinion under the appropriate column. This option could also be used to allow the students to link to articles or other types of media they have found that helped them formulate their opinion.

Additionally, I encourage my IB Biology students to make concept maps, which is a way of organizing our vocabulary and seeing connection between concepts. The Canvas Padlet option would allow us to make a concept map, as a whole class. However, one concern I had was that it was not quite straightforward on how to use the Canvas tools. I would try to explore it on my own before introducing it to the class.

Lastly, when we have group projects, this could be a way for students to submit their work and showcase what they have done. Overall, I really like Padlet and could see myself using it in the future.
-Bessy

# data[].attributes.body
Submitted by: Stuart Albaugh

I think padlet could be used for so many things in my chemistry classes, but a few jump to my mind after looking into this format more. I think one of the main benefits of padlet is its ability to help create and facilitate discussions. I think one way I could be using this in my classes is to help with introducing a new concept or theme to my students. I am thinking I could post a video or article demonstrating a phenomenon (like with salting icy roads as mentioned in my forum post) and having students write out their thoughts. This could entail students discussing their interpretations, hypotheses, explanations, etc. regarding the science behind the phenomenon present and really allow the beginning of a thoughtful discussion to introduce a concept (as they reply to each other and we discuss as a whole class after).

I think another way I could use this tool effectively would be for a test or quiz review, or even as a lesson summarizer. This outlet allows students to not only post their own questions regarding the content, but also allows them to see other questions. By seeing other students’ questions this allows students to see and consider questions they had not yet thought of, but it also allows students to share their thoughts and help each other through their replies. Another benefit to using padlet as a form of review/summary is that it allows me to see where students are at and how to best adapt my instruction to meet their needs.

Stuart Albaugh

# data[].attributes.body
Submitted by : Audrienne Womack

I have not used Padlet, but I am anxious to use it. I can definitely incorporate Padlet into my classes on many levels. For starters, this tool could benefit my students by being more reflective, allowing them to enter pre & post comments before we begin an activity when engaging in  discussions and when they are participating in experiences that may be new or different to them

There are also numerous ways I could use Padlet to engage my students in ways that will excite and motivate them on a daily basis, so that they will attend class just to see how they will be challenged and inspired. For example. This tool can be used to brainstorm ideas, topics or activities so that students will have opportunities to voice their preferences. Padlet could also be a great tool for designing Exit Tickets in fresh new ways. It would also be an innovative way to start the class by posting icebreakers that they can complete independently or with a partner.

This tool could also motivate students in reading more by using it to form Book Clubs or Book Discussion Groups. In this way they would be able to share their thoughts and opinions and learn how similar or different their thoughts are as compared to others. Discussions can then continue based on what they learned. As a communication tool I see the advantage of using Padlet to share school events and classroom news ( Classroom Newsletter) so that collaboratively the students can have a direct connection to what is being created and what information they want to share.

Audrienne Womack

# data[].attributes.body
One way I think I could incorporate Padlet into my classroom would be for Test Review. I could use Padlet for students to post areas that they are still confused about when they are preparing so that I know what to go back and review with the students or I could use the Padlet to have students share tips, definitions, etc. to help their classmates prepare for a test.

I also think it could be used as a place for information gathering. In my post this week, I mentioned that I could extend and activity that I do in class to include more information literacy where students research more about Ancient Number systems. I think the Padlet would be a great place for students to post one thing they learned about the number system while completing their quick research. We could add to this once we learn more about each Ancient Number system so that students have a digital version of their notes.

Beth O'Reilly

# data[].attributes.body
StI have used Padlet in my other courses or in-school and off-site workshops but have never really used it in my lessons. I am not as tech savvy at the moment as I would have wanted but I am slowly learning.  I teach 1st grade ELLs and I think I should consider using this and incorporating this tool in my Google slides and some new tools that I went to training for over the last few weeks.

I could embed padlet in my lesson videos or in my google classroom as a question link to solicit background knowledge for a new lesson, for example a KWL. This could also be used as a quick exit ticket.

I could also use this as a census, a polling tool, a student interest survey, or even parent survey.

I can also use this as a tool for discussion groups during distance learning, I can break students up into groups via a link that they will click on to go to the group padlet they belong to.

I can also use this tool for writing tasks such as journals, etc. - I can differentiate according to ELP levels with appropriate scaffolds and supports.  Students can add photos, links and other media. Students can even retell stories from beginning to end. Students can also create a comic strip.
However, I think you are only limited to one type of uploaded file.

Students can also use this to create timelines. For example, the life cycles of butterflies, frogs, etc. and where they can embed photos from the internet.

I find that I can also use this a a lesson plan tool, too!

I can also use this as a short quiz.

I can also use this as a speaking assignment tool, where they can record their answers to a writing prompt or speaking prompt and they can also share their work to other classmates for them to respond to.

# data[].attributes.body
Add a post-it to share your ideas - be sure to put your name on the post!