Celebrate Learning! Winter 2014 (Vol 6, Issue 1) | Page 8

What is Padlet? Full-time Faculty Honored for Excellence! By Dorothy Minor Associate Professor Liberal Arts Northeast Campus The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced its 2013 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning at the annual conference in Chicago. To be named to the 2013 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning, the sites must “foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.” In the 2013 list, Padlet is included with sites such as Flipsnack, Pinterest, and WorkFlowy. Padlet is free and does encourage “innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration.” Padlet, an online bulletin board, allows users to add notes, videos, images, documents, questions, and/or comments onto the wall. Think of Padlet as a blank wall where users can add whatever they like. Users may create as many walls as they like. Congratulations to (Pictured from left) Terry McDevitt Carolyn Bednar Mark Swanson Francoise Sullivan Dr. Allen Culpepper Lu Ann Thompson Fran French Ease of use is a Padlet hallmark. Users can simply drag and drop documents and images from the desktop, copy and paste links to Websites or videos, and type their own notes. Collaboration is also easy by sending the link to other users, or share the link through various social media. Once the wall is established and users have access to it through the URL, they can begin posting images, pictures, documents, videos, and text. All users see the changes immediately; the page does not need to reload or refresh, so communication is instant. The user who sets up the wall can invite participants, limiting the access to the wall to invitees only, or make the wall public and open to others. for your dedication to Teaching Excellence! 8 Watch this short video for some exciting events planned for the Spring! (http://youtu.be/1WOGl5TrA6s) Users can customize the wall so it looks like a cork bulletin board, or choose from a variety of other backgrounds or wall paper. Padlet also allows the users to upload their own pictures to create a unique background. The layout of the added objects such as the notes, videos, and documents is flexible. Leave the items in freeform on the wall or use the new stream feature to create an organizational pattern. room. Padlet lends itself to group discussions. After giving a lecture, the teacher can post a few questions based on the lecture, give students the URL, and have them post responses. The teacher can then gauge what students have learned and what may still be confusing. Use Padlet as an exit ticket to discover if students have questions about the day’s work. As the one who set up the wall, the teacher can switch on “moderate” so students cannot see each other’s posts. Students can post individual work or groups can post work on Padlet walls to display an assignment. Other uses include gathering feedback from individuals, share successes on a task completed, and write book reviews or reviews of scholarly articles and/or Websites. Padlet offers a multitude of advantages to teachers and students. Access the Web 2.0 tool at padlet.com and start creating. Padlet is available on phones, tablets, TV, and desktop computers. The Padlet creators are amusing; on the site, Padlet is advertised as “Mobile: your phone, your tablet, your TV, your fridge—Padlet works on everything (Note: may not work on the fridge).” Users can embed the Padlet wall into a blog or Website such as Blackboard. Some uses for Padlet include the following ideas from teachers e fW'