Padlet
Padlet is an innovative platform that facilitates communication between teachers and students and works as an online notice board or an assessment tool.
Faculty have the ability to customize their own platforms and add numerous media resources like videos, images, helpful links, a classroom newsletter, fun classroom updates, lesson material, answers to questions, and more. As a classroom bulletin board, students can use it as a reference for a topic or look back at content, keep up to date with school events, or access it as a class document hub.
It is a one-stop sharing platform between students and faculty; offering cooperative creation, high levels of security and privacy, and plenty of sharing options.
Looking for more inspiration? See The Pedagogical Possibilities of Padlet.
James, S.D. & Crandall, B.R. (2023). Padding a professional friendship to cultivate writers with diverse mentor texts. Writing and Pedagogy. 15(2).
https://doi.org/10/1558/2ap.24293
Feature Highlight – Updated Screen Recorder!
The updated Screen Recorder allows you to record your screen in any web browser directly into Padlet, with captions added automatically and the ability to trim your videos as well. Learn more about the updated Screen Recorder features in this article.
Make space for every student to speak up — with video, voice, or whatever works best for them, including screen recordings or written posts. Learn more about how the Screen Recorder can be used for video discussions in this article.
Logging into Padlet for the First Time
Navigate to fairfielduniversity.padlet.org (NOT padlet.com) or the specific Padlet link you’ve been provided. (If you see the You shall not pass! message, click Log in and retry to get to the login screen.)
At the Login to Fairfield University screen, choose Log in with Microsoft.
Enter your Fairfield University email address and click Next. You will be redirected to the Fairfield University Single Sign On page. Enter your username and password and click Sign In.
For this first login only, you will be asked to give permission for Microsoft to provide information to Padlet. Click XXX to Accept this permission.
You may also see a message from Microsoft asking if you want to Stay signed in. You will want to check the Don’t show this again box and click Yes, especially if you plan to embed Padlets into Blackboard.You will now find yourself at your Padlet Dashboard.
Creating and Sharing a Padlet
Creating a Padlet
You can now add content directly from Padlet to your Blackboard courses.
Choose Make a Padlet to create a new board.
Select a template as a starting point. If you select Blank Board, you will then have the option to choose a Format. Wall is a popular choice among faculty here at Fairfield.
On the right-hand side of the screen a window will appear that will allow you to set - among other things - your Padlet title, description, (and if you scroll down further) wallpaper/background, font, and whether you want to allow comments on each posting.
Once you close the Modify window, you’re ready to create the first post on your new Padlet. Just click the pink + sign button and a note will appear.
Sharing Your Padlet
Setting Permissions for Your Padlet
By default, all new Padlets are set to be private and require the creator to either share them with specific individuals or set institution-wide privileges that allow others to interact them. Once you create a Padlet, you can set permissions in the following way.
Click on the Share button in the upper right-hand side of your Padlet.
From the menu that appears, you will first want to look at the Privacy settings and decide what you want viewers to be able to do with this Padlet. Scroll down to Privacy Options to see the settings that are available to you.
Show in school dashboard. This is turned off at the administrator level and cannot be turned on.
Require password. This allows you to turn on the password option and set a password for your Padlet.
Require visitors to log in. Requires that users are logged into a Padlet account before they can access the content. This is ‘on’ by default.
Publish profile and web. This option publishes the Padlet for all to see!
You can also change visitor permissions. By clicking the drop-down menu to the right of Visitors with a link at the top of Share panel, you will set the level of access your visitors will have to this Padlet.
No access: Only collaborator can access this board.
Reader: Can access the board and read posts. Cannot edit or add new posts.
Commenter: Can view and comment on posts. Cannot edit and add new posts.
Writer: Can write new posts and comment on other’s posts.
Moderator. Can write, edit, and approve posts.
Sharing Your Padlet Link
At this point, you DO NOT have to do anything else besides choosing these permissions and saving your settings.
Click on the Share button in the upper right-hand side of your Padlet.
From the panel that appears, under the Links section, click the Copy link to board button, then paste the link where you want to share it - email, Blackboard, etc.
Sharing to Blackboard
If you are sharing this Padlet in Blackboard, consider using the Padlet LTI.
Embedding a Padlet into Blackboard
Navigate to the Course Content. Hover over the Purple Plus and choose Content Market.
You will be taken to Content Market. Search alphabetically for Padlet and click on it.
3. You will be taken to Padlet and see your collection of Padlets. Choose the one that you wish to embed.
You will be returned to Blackboard and see a notice to close the current window and refresh the previous (folder) page.
Once completed, you’ll see your Padlet appearing in Blackboard. Students can simply click on the link and have it open the Padlet, where they can add their own posts. (If you’ve turned Attribution on in the Padlet settings, students’ names will automatically appear on their posts.)
Enabling Padlet Gradebook for Recording Grades in Blackboard
Grade student posts from your Padlet and sync grades to Blackboard. To enable the Gradebook in a Padlet:
Add a Padlet to the Course Content list via the Content Market in your Blackboard course.
Then open the Padlet in the Course Content list and then select "open in new tab” on the top-right of the screen.
In the Padlet, click the 3 dots button in the right column, which will open the ‘Additional Options’ area.
Scroll down to and select ‘Gradebook.’
Click on ‘Sync grades to LMS' to turn on the feature.
Change the ‘Max Score’ and ‘Grade Calculation’ options if necessary.
Select ‘Submit' on the top-right of the window.
Close the Gradebook pane.
The Gradebook won't sync for users in the Teacher, Admin, or Owner role in Padlet. It only works for posts by Students.
Additional Training
Padlet YouTube Channel: Lots of short videos on Padlet features.
Padlet Privacy and Permission Settings: Explanation of privacy settings.
Related Articles
Contact the ITS Help Desk in the Library Room 230 or at (203) 254-4069 for assistance.