Padlet to the Rescue

Back in September, some of my classmates gave a presentation on a technology tool called Padlet.  Launching back into our Teaching with Technology was at first daunting for me - the idea of having to teach and learn about a whole new group of technology tools stressed me out.  The thought of it still stresses me out...  This is pretty much how I was feeling on our second day of class going into this presentation on the first of many new tech tools in use in education.  So it would be an understatement to say I was pleasantly surprised to find myself totally into Padlet.  Pretty much ever since that day, when my classmates taught me the nuts and bolts of the tool, I have been using Padlet for all my lesson and unit planning and it has become one of my primary tools for organization.

Padlet is so great for teachers, especially a budding teacher like me who isn't so great staying organized, or at least keeping everything in one place.  I am constantly finding things all over the Internet that I could use for lessons.  It's addicting and gets to the point where I will have 20 tabs open on my computer at one time because I just don't know what to do with it or where to put it all, and the thought of accidentally closing one tab makes me cringe.  I have also been experiencing these epiphanies in the shower where the perfect essential question or big idea for a unit will come to me and just which text to use for it.  And so, what to do with all these floating bits and pieces of lessons?  This is where Padlet comes in.  I can just throw it all right on there.  Webpages, pictures, videos, documents, presentations, notes, whatever.  It's like a digital bulletin board.  I am able to drag everything I want onto this board, and then, what I've found, is that instead of looking like complete chaos, it actually all starts to come together and make more sense, seeing everything at once like that.  And the best part: no more tab anxiety (most of the time).

It was super helpful seeing the various Padlets the presenters created to demonstrate how the tool can be used.  One of the presenters used Padlet to create a historical timeline, while another used it to create a collage of images.  I appreciated seeing their passions and personalities come through in what they designed, which made me think about how mine would look in comparison, according to my own style.  "Oh, well I would do it this way" or "What if I tried this?" kind of thing.  Aside from learning how to use Padlet, the biggest takeaway of this presentation for me was this idea of doing the assignment you are asking your students to do.  I felt more compelled to try out Padlet after seeing that my classmates, who were teaching me about it, had already tried it out and were able to show me how they used it to suit their interests and needs.  I think it says a lot about a teacher if she is able to put herself out there and say, "Hey I did this, and this is how I did it, and this is what's cool about it, and now you can do it too."