DigCompEdu Competence area

3.3 Collaborative learning

Progression Level

Integrator (B1)

Minimum digital skills level of Students

A1

Minimum digital skills level of Educators

B1

Learning/Teaching situation

Any classroom or non classroom setting, an interactive activity using the internet.

Target group

All ages.

Ingredients

  • PC/laptop/smartphome
  • Internet connection

Description

Padlet is a free web-based application that enables you to create virtual notice boards or ‘walls’ where users can post comments and multimedia: images, videos, sound files, weblinks, texts in Word, PDF format, spreadsheets and presentations.

Padlet walls can be used for a variety of purposes for pre-class, in-class, post-class activities in different learning contexts. The following are just a few suggestions:

  • brainstorming an idea,
  • starting a group discussion,
  • researching a topic,
  • showcasing students’ work,
  • group projects,
  • posting feedback,
  • creating a multimedia glossary,
  • sharing resources,
  • curating websites links, etc.

As Padlet walls can be saved, shared and embedded they can serve as a repository of class work and used as a revision tool.

How to do it (step by step)

Step 1

Create a Padlet account

Step 2

Create a Padlet board (add some content to help get your students started).

Step 3

Share the board with your students.

Step 4

Encourage students to add content to the boards.

Step 5

Review the board at the end of a session or at a later date.

Suggestions for using Padlet with students

  • To collect questions from students during a live lecture or teaching session, where you can respond to these in order to clarify key learning points.
  • To gather feedback from students about a session in order to gain an idea of how they are experiencing learning on your module or programme.
  • Create a series of boards which are then used by groups to collate and present information they have gathered during a research task.
  • Get students to create a digital poster featuring key information, videos and clickable links for formative or summative assessment.

 

There is no steep learning curve before one can use Padlet, no training of students required, once you’ve logged on to padlet.com, creating a wall could not be any easier, and its intuitive click, drop and drag interface makes it really simple to post contributions. Padlet is one of the many collaboration tools available for T&L, should be included in digital toolbox!

There is more…

An Examples: Using Padlet live in class with groups of French language learners to practice writing and translation skills. The procedure is quite simple: once the wall was created, and students given its url address, they accessed it on their mobile phone or laptop; the students worked on a task in groups and posted their contribution to the Padlet wall which appeared in real time on the class monitor. Texts displayed were then commented on and edited immediately. Creating texts for a ‘live audience’ made students pay more attention to content and form. Also, as students were typing, they were able to observe their classmates’ posts and if necessary readjust and improve their own productions. Padlet facilitated the inter-group collaboration, it increased students’ engagement with the task, encouraged them to self-evaluate, and helped them to support each other’s learning.

Despite some ‘freezing’ issues due to the classroom internet connection, students found the use of Padlet extremely easy, highly enjoyable, motivating and beneficial for the task.

 If you are in a Group everyone could see your profile activities and would know about it.

Helps to tutors engage with their audience and post interesting content.

Only administrators of Pages can post to the account, while those who like the Page can comment on any posts and pictures.

Your personal profile is what you use to engage with other users of Pages and Groups.

 

Advanced benefit: possibility use the tool and check the progress  from the mobile phone. It let people come together around a common cause, issue or activity to organize, express objectives, discuss issues, post works, photos, and share related content.

 

See Also