In this supportive guide you will find resources on how to use this tool in your teaching.
- For general information about Padlet, please see back to the tool's main page.
- For details on technical help with this tool, please refer to the support section on the main tool page.
Overview
Padlet is an interactive, online bulletin board that encourages collaboration and increases student engagement. It provides a common space for students and teachers to work together to share ideas and resources. In a remote setting, the use of this collaborative tool can help students feel like they are still part of a community.
Consider using Padlet for group projects, peer reviews, brainstorming, reflections or sharing student work. Padlet is very versatile and allows you to add files, text, audio, video and images.
Teaching examples
Enhance
- Have students respond to prompts designed by the instructor and read the work of their peers. There are a variety of templates and boards which allow for many ways of thinking to be expressed graphically.
- Save Padlets of activities so students can return to see their work later and review materials they might have missed beforehand.
Extend
- Have students use Padlet to have students collaborate on responding to prompts through a virtual think-pair-share.
Empower
- Use Padlet for activities where students will create and organize ideas in groups or as a class.
Padlet layouts and potential uses
Padlet has several layouts which help you control the arrangements of posts on the board. Whichever layout you choose, you have additional options including making posts anonymous, selecting whether new posts should be seen first or last, allowing students to add comments or react to each other’s posts.
As the creator of a Padlet you can determine who can view, write on or moderate your Padlet. Padlet boards can also be easily embedded into your Canvas courses.
This layout displays items in a brick-like format.
Consider using a wall layout when you want students to discuss topics, share files, create a photo album or generate a pinboard. This visual layout allows students to see everything but the content is not in any particular order.
This layout is very similar to the wall, where content is placed in rows of boxes and ordered.
Consider using this layout as an alternative to a discussion board to create a digital storyboard, or a noticeboard.
The stream layout can organize lessons and assignments, create video playlists, blog posts or reports.
Consider using this layout to share students work with each other or with people outside of the classroom. You can make your Padlet public so that the content reaches a wider audience.
This shelf layout organizes posts under labelled headings.
This layout would be useful when asking students to collate their ideas under specific topics. You can use this layout alongside breakout rooms asking each room to summarize their discussions.
The canvas layout is helpful for brainstorming or mind mapping sessions.
This layout allows students to make and see connections between ideas or concepts.
This layout option gives a map of the world on which you can pin posts.
Consider using this layout for introductions or ice-breaker exercises, as students can share where they are from.
A timeline layout can be used when you are considering time as a factor and when thinking of sequencing events.
Consider using this layout to discuss the stages of an experiment, or create a timeline of key concepts or theories.