Tag: Online Learning

Padlet, What is It, and How It Will Improve Student Engagement?

Ari Crossby

Decorative

Have you worked within a discussion board and wished it was more engaging? Hoped for a platform that had a visually appealing user experience? Have you longed for an intuitive space that allowed intuitive posting across all devices? Padlet may be the tool you are looking for.

Padlet is a digital notice board that allows users to post media, documents and links and collaborate with a “wall” based environment. An online platform that describes itself as “somewhere between a doc and a full-fledged website builder”, Padlet allows open dialogue from all users, instructors or students.

The interactive nature of Padlet is generally described as easy to use and engaging. Users can collaborate on real-time, shared boards by adding and editing posts. Users can add rich multimedia, such as images, links, and documents. Posts can be arranged in various formats to best suit the content, including whiteboards, grids, timelines, and maps. Padlet offers a range of interactive features such as anonymous contributions, comments, and reactions.

An example of how a Padlet wall can be organized.

 

Padlet is a highly versatile tool, limited only by our imagination. Some of the benefits of using Padlet to improve student engagement include:

  • Allows brainstorming and live question bank.
  • Ease of collaboration and organization.
  • Create a gallery of student work.
  • Get feedback from students with exit tickets.
  • Anonymous posting allows for inclusive participation and can empower students to share ideas.
  • Makes learning visible to the instructor and the students.
  • Allows the instructor to adjust their level of instruction to fit with students’ current level of learning.
  • Responses remain on the Padlet board for future reference while being shared in real-time with the whole class.
  • The Padlet walls can be embedded into the Langara learning management system (Brightspace).
Screenshot of a Padlet wall embedded within a Brightspace course.

Padlet can be used to:

  • Assess
  • Collaborate
  • Communicate
  • Create
  • Engage
  • Reflect

We will explore specific features of Padlet in future posts. If you are interested in triallingPadlet, please email EdTech to request a license. Afterwards, visit the Langara Padlet login page to login with your Langara account. This tool is centrally supported by Langara EdTech, and detailed help is available on our EdTech website or through the Padlet Help website.

Primary photograph by Keira Burton from Pexels used under Pexels License.

References and Additional Reading

Edwards, L. (2020, October 19). What is Padlet and how does it work for education? Retrieved January 11, 2022, from Tech Teaching website.

Meyer, K. A. (2014). Student engagement in online learning: What works and why. In Student Engagement Online: What Works and Why (pp. 1–14). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI link.

Norman, M. (2017). Synchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging Students. Faculty Focus. Faculty Focus website.

Padlet Features. (n.d.). Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://padlet.com/features.

Simon, E. (2018). 10 Tips for Effective Online Discussions. EDUCAUSE Review. EduCause website.

Stake, J. (2021, January 22). Padlet For teachers: The best tips, tricks, and ideas for your classroom. We Are Teachers. We Are Teachers website.

Podcast Playlist – Podcast recommendations from your Ed Tech team

Ari Crossby

Looking for inspiration? Podcasts are a convenient and approachable way to pick up some new tools for your teaching toolkit. In this new feature, we’ll share a few of our favorite episodes with a teaching and learning focus.

Maybe It Doesn’t Need to be a Video

In this episode of Think UDL Clea and host Lillian Nave talk about multiple ways of representing information in online classes, customizing the display of information, offering alternatives for text or auditory information, and guiding information processing and visualization for students

In this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed, Dan Levy, faculty director of the Public Leadership Credential, the Harvard Kennedy School’s flagship online learning initiative, talks about his book, Teaching Effectively with Zoom.

Talking Tech

In this episode of tea for teaching Michelle Miller, author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology, examines how we can talk to students about technology in ways that will help them become more efficient in their learning and professional lives.

How to Use Audio Lessons in Your Course to Engage Students and Improve Learning

In this episode of Lecture Breakers Yehoshua Zlotogorski the power of audio for learning, especially when the audio lesson or audio course is intentionally designed based on cognitive science and pedagogy.

Equity-Enhancing Data Tools

In this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed Viji Sathy, award-winning Professor of the Practice in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Kelly Hogan, Teaching Professor of Biology and Associate Dean of Instructional Innovation at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, share two equity-enhancing data tools.

Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) – Synchronous

Ari Crossby

To help educators in B.C. become effective facilitators of learning online, we have developed a family of courses designed to expand and enhance your online facilitation skills.

The next offering is FLO Synchronous, a 3-week immersion into planning and facilitating live online learning sessions.

When? February 25 – March 15, 2019 

Cost? $150 ($100 for first 3 registrants)

Who is this for? Everyone who runs live online sessions, meetings, or webinars! This event has no pre-requisites.

This offering of FLO Synchronous is being co-facilitated by dream team: Ross McKerlich, Education Technology Coordinator at Okanagan College and Clint Lalonde, faculty member at Royal Roads University and Manager, Educational Technology at BCcampus.

Register