Photo: You X Ventures by Unsplash
Padlet can be thought of as an online bulletin board that can be used for communication, interaction, and collaboration. You can create posts with text, pictures, links, or video by clicking on the Padlet surface and writing.
Different ways to use Padlet
Another reason why Padlet has become so popular is that it is so simple to create surfaces that can be adapted for different activities. It can be activities such as brainstorming, project work, blogging or a chat room. It is also possible to answer anonymously in Padlet, this can be useful when asking students about their understanding after a lecture or something similar.
Brainstorming
You can choose to start with a layout called Canvas (not to be confused with the teaching platform Canvas) where the students can brainstorm freely in the space regarding ideas or concepts and create connections with each other.
See Padlets own example for creating flowcharts: https://padlet.com/blog/postconnectors
Shelf – ask and answer questions in a structured way
You can also start with a more structured layout such as the layout Shelf. Here you can prepare a number of columns with questions, categories or something similar where the students can answer questions and see each other’s answers.
See Padlets own example about the layout for shelf: https://padlet.com/blog/shelf
Padley as an interactive chat space
Surprisingly, you can also use Padlet as a space for discussion via chat, which sometimes is used as a “back channel”. A back channel is a channel that the participants in a live event (for example a lecture via Zoom) can discuss ideas, ask questions, or share thoughts and reflections directly in the session.
See Padlets own example on Padlet back channels: https://padlet.com/blog/backchannels.
More Ideas
Watch a film on Padlet!
Layouts (How to sort posts): https://padlet.com/support/padlet_layouts
Padlet FAQ and documentation: https://padlet.help/l/en