Padlet

Padlet is a great collaborative tool somewhat similar to pinterest. While it is not typically something you would save a lot of chocolate cake variations to, it is similar in the idea of a bulletin board. Each member of the group is able to pin something to the wall and comment on it. 

In one of our classes last spring, the teacher had us use a padlet for introductions. We each pinned something that represented us to the board. It was fun to see what everyone else was posting. 

As you can see in the example below, that the background and text is customizable and people can pin pictures and words together. 

(Since I am not able to access my class from this spring for some reason, I pulled a picture from a google image.)

Image result for padlet

I can see using padlet in a cooperative class project. Maybe sharing a favorite quote from the book they were assigned, questions they have after reading assigned chapters, one insight they had into the character, the species they will research for a Chesapeake Bay project with links so each student can peruse other's presentation at their individual pace. I like that the teacher has the ultimate control over this board, since inappropriate content could definitely be a concern in real life middle and high schools. 

Ultimately, I feel that padlet is a great way to brainstorm in a cooperative environment. Since it is online, it is a great way to carry learning from one class to the next. For cross curricular projects, several teachers could create a board together that students could then pin to with project ideas or intents. 

This page has a lot of great information about the security of using padlet in a school. One really convenient feature is Google integration, so students can use their google logins to access padlet instead of having to create and remember a new login. It can also be used on ipads, androids, and regular computers or laptops. It can be added as an app on chromebooks, which makes it a versatile and useful program for my school. 

For a teacher to use padlet, it would cost $99 a year with unlimited student accounts. I feel that would be hugely beneficial for a school librarian, since they often deal with every student in the school. For an entire school, you can recieve unlimited student and teacher accounts for $1499. I think having the school librarian start to use padlet will give other teachers the opportunity to get familiar with it before the school purchases the more expensive full school account. 

All in all, I will be recommending padlet to my administration as a new program for the following school year and trying to create projects that I can later showcase to teachers as examples of what padlet can do. 

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