Padlet.com is a site I’ve started using for collaboration. Imagine a big poster on the wall and everyone is throwing sticky notes onto it. This site uses the same concept, but digitally. Many sites share this concept, but I prefer padlet.com because it’s easy to use and doesn’t require logins from anyone. We can all operate this site from whatever tech I can get my hands on that day – in a lab, on laptops, personal smartphones, iPads, or iPads. (In my school, it’s easiest to let them use phones, but have a school set of iPods on hand for anyone who needs it).
Open the site and create a board. Copy the link (or click the share button to get a QR code) and share it with the class. They go to the link, click anywhere on the board, and write.
With no login required, you can opt to let students post anonymously or tell them to title each post with their name, initials, or numbers you’ve assigned. Alternatively, if you have a class that may post unwanted material, you can create an account and require each participant to sign in with a name.
Uses I’ve enjoyed in class:
- Group or class brainstorming: The group throws their posts on the board then reads all of them to get idea of what to write. There can be a class board or small groups can each have their own board.
- Feedback: During skits and performances, the audience submits positive feedback for the performers or general statements about the characters (Marcos es muy consentido).
- FAQ’s: I particularly like using this one when I am explaining a project. When I stop to answer questions as I am explaining, it takes so much longer and I lose their attention. I tell them to post questions as I go along, then I address the questions at the end. By the time I get to the questions, they’ve usually already deleted their question if I answered it in my explanation or if they see someone else already asked it.
- Predictions: During a movie in class, stop it periodically to ask a prediction question and allow time for them to post before moving on.
- Comprehension check: After introducing a new concept, ask them to try it on their own and read the responses. If they’re anonymous, this gives them opportunity to find out if they are getting it right without exposing their possible errors to the class.
- Redaction:
My most recent use, allowing me to correct their statements in real time before they have to say them out loud for an activity. We were about to conduct celebrity interviews and they had to create questions using “ser” and “estar”. I wanted their questions to be correct beforehand – I didn’t want to correct them during the interviews. One option was to have them turn their questions in and make corrections during my abundant free time. I chose instead to create a board and had them post their questions for redaction. We created a system in which I would move it to the right once it was correct so they could copy it on paper and delete it.
The interviews went very well. Four people had to come to the front of the room (join the panel), acting as the celebrities and answering questions from the “audience”. We then switched the celebrities out two more times during the activity, giving more students opportunity to do the answering. We used Enrique Iglesias, Manny Ramirez, Jennifer Lopez, and Sofia Vergara (because there is a page in our text that starts the activity out with brief bios of these people). We followed up the next class with 3-5 minutes (real) interviews of these four people. The students said they like the “real-time” feedback and knowing the questions were correct before starting the interviews.
Post a comment with other ideas you can think of for a digital collaboration board.
Adventurous Educators 