Padlet is a fantastic tool for collaboration in the classroom. Previously, group work was limited to physical meetings. With the use of Padlet, however, students can collaborate on a wall without having to meet. This tool kind of reminds me of digital sticky notes. Students can post questions or comments, and can add a colorful background, personalized pictures, and can edit the font of their post. This allows for individual design, but also much collaboration. In addition, there are many themes to choose from to help students organize their wall in the best way possible. Students can attach their name to their post, or they can leave it anonymous, which can prove to very helpful in certain situations. To share, a QR code can be scanned, or a link can be followed. Finally, a great feature for teachers allows the creator of the wall to select an option so that if any profanity is posted, it will be replaced with an emoji.
Padlet can also be a great tie-in into the Danielson Framework. For example, a teacher could use Padlet at the end of every exam to get student feedback on the lessons leading up to the exam. This would fit well with component 1e: Designing Coherent Instruction, as an important element of this is getting student feedback on lessons. Students could do this anonymously so that they could be honest in their feedback. Another use for Padlet could fit into component 2b: establishing a culture for learning. Teachers could create a Padlet for students to post ideas for classroom rules, so that students could help establish clear expectations for behavior. Another use for Padlet is in relation to component 4c: communicating with families. Teachers could open a Padlet for families in which they can post suggestions, homework questions, or teachers could post about activities done that day. Finally, Padlet could help teachers use component 3b: using questioning and discussion techniques, as it allows for students to post questions and responses. Padlet also fits with the create level of Bloom's Taxonomy, as it allows students to work together to create a wall or create discussions based on the wall. One thing I really like about this tool is the anonymous feature. For example, in one of my education classes, some students gave a presentation about LGBTQIA+ students. Throughout the presentation, we all had access to a Padlet, where we could post anonymous questions. This allowed us to get all of our questions answered without the fear of the presenters knowing who asked the question. I also really like the idea of using Padlet to get student feedback on lessons. It is crucial as teachers to get student feedback on our lessons, but many times students are fearful to give honest feedback. Therefore, an anonymous Padlet could eliminate this fear, and the feature that replaces profanity with emojis would allow for a g-rated space. Overall, I believe Padlet is an easy to use and inviting site that allows for communication between students, teacher, and parents.
Below is a sample wall that I created on test taking strategies, to see how it worked. Padlet is most effectively used as a communication tool, so my demonstration is not the best, but it gave me the ability to explore the tool.
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AuthorHello! My name is Kylee McLafferty and I am a pre-service elementary and special education teacher at Grove City College, near Pittsburgh, PA. Archives
January 2020
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