A Social and Mobile Learning Tool for the Win

Meet Padlet

One of my favorite modern, Web 2.0 apps is Padlet . It is a social learning tool for brainstorming, sharing knowledge, creating ideas together, and so much more! I used this as a teacher to facilitate asynchronous conversations and end-of-class reflections between students across all periods. I've also used this in a corporate setting to brainstorm ideas and to collect feedback/questions before and after training. Many Learning Management Systems (LMSs) do not have strong social-sharing tools, so Padlet is a great addition to your Instructional Design toolbelt.

As an example, I created a Padlet wall here that you can contribute to with images, links, thoughts, and more! It's a flexible app that allows you to structure the canvas how you want with different formats, from staggered posts to a timeline view.

Benefits of tools like Padlet

Grow community

Tools like Padlet are not only great for social learning, but they also help grow "Communities of Practice," where learners share and grow knowledge with a common goal (Giacumo & Breman, 2021, p. 137).?For example, let's say your employees express they need more just-in-time resources and knowledge about the product. Rather than having one expert employee write loads of documentation on their own, the whole team can contribute to a body of knowledge with personalized examples, links, resources, and more to help each other grow. The benefit of this approach is that it empowers the employees through authentic interaction. Since they're working towards a common goal, it will spark natural comments. Padlet allows commenting, liking, upvoting, and more to encourage interaction like this.

The benefit of this approach is that it empowers the employees through authentic interaction.

Grow connection

Padlet also promotes facilitator-to-learner and learner-to-learner interactions. Ilie (2014) presents an extended version of Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction with two more which surround the learning experience with conversation, connection, and feedback on the learners' interactions and performance (p. 783).?A tool like Padlet can help facilitate these important connections in the learning environment, especially in asynchronous contexts.

Prioritize mobile-first design

Tools like Padlet promote social learning, mobile-first learning, and microlearning. Mery (2022) argues we should create our learning experiences with a "mobile-first" mindset and execution (p. 7). This means our design tools should output our eLearning, images, text, interactions, job aids, and other modalities in a responsive format made for mobile screens.

we should create our learning experiences with a "mobile-first" mindset and execution

Unfortunately, some of the most common design tools output in rigid formats which do not respond well to mobile screens. I believe this is why we've seen an increase in responsive design tools like Evolve Authoring, Rise 360, and others which output in HTML5. Thankfully, Padlet can be embedded into any LMS using iFrame code and is responsive on all screen sizes. This makes it a flexible tool for mobile-first social learning and when you want to deliver short bursts of review, pre-training, and discussion. Thus, a tool like Padlet is an easy choice for microlearning.

Is it more than a tool?

Padlet does have some limitations. It will require a user login if you want to confirm who's posting what (this may not play with your organization's API or IT security). However, it does allow public, anonymous posting.

Are modern tools like Padlet the silver-bullet for all of your social, micro, and mobile-first learning needs?

Nah.

Rather, it's a fun and efficient tool to have at the ready. In the end, it's all about serving our learners with the best tools available to meet their needs.

References

• Giacumo, L. A., & Breman, J. (2021). Trends and implications of models, frameworks, and approaches used by instructional designers in workplace learning and performance improvement. 34, 131–170. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings.
• Ilie, M. D. (2014). An adaption of Gagné’s instructional model to increase the teaching effectiveness in the classroom: the impact in Romanian Universities. Educational Technology Research and Development, 62(6), 767–794. JSTOR Journals.
• Mery, Y. (2022). Chapter 1: Design trends and approaches. _Library Technology Reports, 58(5), 5–9. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text.