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Technology In Practice

Tips For Teaching w/Technology

We'll Support You In Class!

Do you want help introducing a tech tool to your students?

Aidan, Kris & myself are more than happy to help introduce tech (remote, or IRL) to your class. We can also spend time, or an entire Digital Essentials class period helping your students, or supplementing an existing project in your curriculum!

If it makes sense for one of us to come in more than other (ex: Do you want Kris' database, or Sora expertise? Aidan's website building skills?) We can come into your class even if we don't regularly teach Digital Essentials in that grade. 

Just let us know as a team in advance, & we will work out the logistics.

We are also as excited as you are to help in a more significant way with interdisciplinary projects. Let's collaborate!

Manuela Aronofsky

Padlet

About Padlet:

Padlet is a website, and app that allows students to contribute asynchronously to a prompt, or discussion board. Students can answer posed questions, or contribute responses by:
  • Writing;
  • Uploading photos;
  • Attaching links, files, or other embedded media from the Internet
You might think of Padlet as an asynchronous discussion platform, with more response options available than Flipgrid (which is best used for video responses specifically).
When you begin to set up your Padlet, you will be prompted to choose from numerous styles (including 'Walls,' 'Streams', 'Canvases', 'Maps', 'Timelines' & more). These are generally very similar as far as response capability, but vary in their layout.
Play around with the different Padlet styles to see which one works best for your specific assignment.

Technology Requirements:

Teachers can create 'Padlets' (the term used for any new discussion board, timeline, stream, etc.) from any device.
Students can post responses to Padlets from any device (iPad, or Chromebook). There is a Padlet app available (for iPads), but students can also navigate, and contribute to a specific Padlet via web browser (Safari, or Chrome), once the Padlet link has been shared with them.
Here is a link with the browser & device requirements for Padlet listed!
The video below provides a brief introduction to Padlet:

Creating a Padlet Account

Berkeley Carroll now has a school, or "Backpack" account, providing a premium Padlet account to all teachers. This means you will have access to creating an unlimited number of Padlets using your BC account.
Just visit berkeleycarroll.padlet.org and sign in with your Google account.
Next, send an email to helpdesk@berkeleycarroll.org asking to have your Padlet account verified, and we'll change it from a student account to a teacher account. 

Two Padlet Accounts: Basic & The Berkeley Carroll School

If you've used Padlet before, you should be signed in to your free account and your BC account at the same time. You can navigate back and forth with the links at the top of the page: Padlet Basic and The Berkeley Carroll School. Once you import any padlets you need to your BC account you should be able to just use the BC account (this is preferable, because you have unlimited Padlets!)

Signing Into Padlet:

Once your account has been created, you can sign into your account by:
  • Navigating to padlet.com & Clicking "Log In."

  • Make sure you Click on "Sign In With Google," and sign in with your Berkeley Carroll email address.
Tip: When you log in, it does not take you automatically to the screen that shows you all of the Padlets you have created. They may appear on the "Recents" view, but make sure you are on the "Made" view, if you would like to view of all of the Padlets you have created.

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Creating & Customizing Your Padlet:

The video below shows you how to create & customize your first Padlet (discussion board), including a brief rundown of the default 'Settings' you may want to change before sharing your Padlet with a class.
Tip: Before sharing your Padlet, make sure that you have:
  • Added a name & description to your Padlet
  • Customized the Padlet Settings such as:
    • The ability of students to comment, or "like" each other's posts
    • Attribution (do you want students' names to appear on their contributions?)
    • Moderation (do you want your students' posts to remain invisible until you approve them?)
You can watch this Tutorial as a video, or view it at your own pace as a scrollable list of steps (Select "View it - List" and scroll down on the dropdown menu for this option.)

1. Log into your Padlet account. It will automatically pull up your Padlet Basic account. We also now have a Padlet school account! You'll see both at the top of your Home Page.

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2. Click The Berkeley Carroll School to start creating unlimited Padlets on our school (Backpack) account. For instructions on how to activate your Backpack account, see "Account Requirements" on this LibGuide.

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3. Click Make a Padlet to create your Padlet.

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4. Select which style of Padlet you want to create. The main functionality remains the same, regardless of template, however one may work better based on what your needs are!
I'll use the "Wall" layout for this example.

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5. Type in the Title field to name your Padlet. You might choose to have one ongoing Padlet, and name it with the name of your class, or maybe you want a Padlet for one unit, or project!

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6. Type in the Description field, to describe the purpose of your Padlet. This description will appear below the title of your Padlet.

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7. If you want, Click on Icon to select an emoji that corresponds to your Padlet (optional).

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8. You can choose to customize the unique link to your Padlet. Click on the editable half of the link to do this. This is optional, and not totally necessary because you can just invite students to your Padlet by posting the link in Google Classroom.

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9. Click on Wallpaper to change the background of your Padlet. Sometimes the ones that show up automatically are hard to look at!

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10. You can also change the color scheme to light, or dark by Clicking Color Scheme.

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11. Click a different Font to change the font style.

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12. You probably want to toggle ON attribution, so that you will know who is posting. Students will log onto Padlet with their Berkeley Carroll email addresses.

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13. You also probably want to toggle ON comments. That way students can both respond to the questions you pose on the Padlet, as well as on other student's posts.

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14. Customize your Reactions by clicking on Reactions - it is automatically set to None. 

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15. Reaction settings will determine whether students can Like, Vote, Star, or Grade each other's responses.

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16. If you want to require approval for students to post on the Padlet, Toggle this On. If you turn on approval, then you will have to moderate every post before it becomes public to the class.

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17. When you're done setting up, and customizing your Padlet, Click Next on the top of the menu.

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18. Click Start Posting to set up your first post, or prompt on Padlet.

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19. Now click the pencil icon on the bottom of the screen, to create your first post on Padlet. This might be a question for students to answer!

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20. Type inside Title to name your post, or ask your question. If you've enabled commenting, and want students to respond to it directly, then they can respond directly with their own answers.

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21. Click the pencil icon again to keep adding posts to your Padlet.

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22. You can post as many things on your Padlet as you'd like. Remember, student responses can include images, links, or other media!

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23. Click the three horizontal dots on your post if you want to customize your individual post.

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24. You can change the color of your post from here, copy the post, or edit it.

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25. When you're done setting up your Padlet, you can share it with your class. Watch the next video on how to do this!

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Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/1702155/Padlet---How-to-Create-a-Padlet

Sharing Your Padlet With a Class:

Sharing your Padlet with a class is relatively easy, but you want to make sure the Sharing settings are correct, so that students can both access & add to your Padlet even if they have not set up, or registered a Padlet account.
The following video shows you how to:
  • Double-check these Sharing settings,
  • Double-check your visitor permissions (what students can do on the Padlet - such as view, add, or modify)
  •  Share your Padlet directly to a class on Google Classroom
Tip: Keep the Padlet on the "Secret" sharing settings - this setting allows anyone with the Padlet link to view & add to your Padlet. You can also choose "Org Wide" to lock the Padlet to only users with a Berkeley Carroll email address. "Private" on Padlet means that only the Padlet creator will be able to access the Padlet.
You can watch this Tutorial as a video, or view it at your own pace as a scrollable list of steps (Select "View it - List" and scroll down on the dropdown menu for this option.)

1. When you're ready to share your Padlet with your class, Click Share at the top of the screen.

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2. Scroll down and Click Change Privacy. This is important!

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3. What you DO NOT want is to keep your Padlet private, because then nobody will be able to access it (even after you share the link).

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4. The two most helpful privacy settings are probably Secret, and Org wide. If your Padlet is secret, students will be able to access it once you share the link. Since we have a school account, the other option would be to keep it public to just BC.

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5. Select either Secret, or Org wide to share your Padlet most effectively.

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6. Then make sure your Visitor Permissions are correct. What you DON'T want is to share your Padlet as "Can Read" only.

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7. Click the menu to change the visitor permissions.

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8. Click Can write to create a Padlet that students can just respond to, or add posts to. This is probably the most helpful option for you as a teacher, as students will be able to interact with your Padlet, but not modify it.

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9. If you did want a Padlet that students have more control over, you could select Can edit. But for most purposes, Can write will do!

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10. Click Save when you're sure your settings are correct. If students are having trouble accessing, viewing, or editing your Padlet you can always go back to these Share settings to make sure they're correct.

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11. Click Back to access the Share link, so you can send it to your students.

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12. There are a few different ways to share a Padlet with students. I would recommend SKIPPING over the "Add Members" option This asks you to add students manually, and you may run into issues if students don't have their accounts set up.

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13. You have a few sharing options. I think the most helpful ways are to Click Copy link to clipboard. This way you can paste it into Google Classroom directly.

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14. Or, Click Share on Google Classroom to open up Google Classroom from here, and automatically post an assignment to the right class.

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15. Select your class.

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16. Click Create assignment.

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17. Then Click Go to customize your assignment, and post it to Classroom. As soon as you've done this, your students will be able to interact with your Padlet. 

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Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/1702195/Padlet---How-to-Share-Your-Padlet

Below are a few more "Frequently Asked Questions" that may help you use Padlet in your teaching practice:

1. How do I duplicate a Padlet?
If you teach more than one section of the same class, and want to re-use the content for each section's Padlet, you can duplicate your Padlet.
  • On the Padlet you wish to duplicate, Click "Remake."

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  • You can then rename your Padlet, and choose whether to copy only the design, or the design & all existing posts.
  • Make sure to Click "Submit" for the copied Padlet to be generated. You can then share the copy of the Padlet to your other section(s). Remember, each Padlet you create (including copies) will have a unique Sharing link.

Here are a few ways you might use Padlet. Ask students to...

  • Respond to a posted question, idea, or prompt with a written answer
  • Introduce themselves to you, or the class by adding their own "block" to the Padlet with personal fun facts, or a photo
  • Comment on, or "like" their classmate's responses in order to create an asynchronous conversation, or discussion
  • Attach photos, videos, links, or other media to their responses in order to make a multimedia Padlet
  • Contribute to a "Gallery" of artwork - then "critique" other art on the Padlet
  • Create a "Thank You" wall for a teacher, or person at the school
  • Generate a Q&A wall - post public questions about a class, project, or unit; students can then visibly see these FAQ's & responses

Below are examples of Padlet in practice at Berkeley Carroll:

And here are a few examples not from Berkeley Carroll:

Here are more resources from the Padlet support pages:

​Do you have a specific Padlet question that you can't find the answer to?
Email Help Desk: helpdesk@berkeleycarroll.org with "App Request" in the Subject Line.

Do you want to see how other educators are using Padlet? Interested in updates, or how they're approaching Remote Learning? Browse their Twitter feed!

Below is a recording of the Padlet Teaching and Learning Session. Content in the video includes: 

  • Activating your Pro (Backpack) Account
  • Setting up & customizing a Padlet
  • Creating a post on a Padlet for students to respond to
  • Setting your Padlet's visibility & sharing a Padlet with your class
  • Examples of how to use Padlet