Padlet Post #1: A Dynamic Formative Assessment Dropbox

This is first of a three-part blog post series on the use of Padlet during distance learning. I have written about Padlet extensively in the past and these posts continue on from my past success in leveraging the tool for online instruction. Keeping this in mind, Padlet has proved to be an invaluable resource in my formative assessment toolbox.

While Zoom provides a central place for relaying task instructions, providing individualized assistance, and general live communication, a class period rarely goes by where I do not push out a link to a Padlet board in the chat and ask students to submit images of their work, videos they have created or found, links to documents they have created, and and a myriad of other artifacts they create during class that help me better understand their progress.

Moreover, by sharing a Padlet board during a live class Zoom, all student work is easily visible in a clean, accessible way, and students can speak about their work without having to share their individual screen, while I, and other students comment and provide feedback live on the Padlet board.

I used separate boards for examples of static electricity, molecular geometry models built from household products, and drawings of protein chains.

These aboeve examples are just a few of the many ways Padlet allows me, and more importantly, all of the class, the opportunity to quickly view work as it is being created from a distance in a fashion that is easy to view, and powerful in its ability to provided immediate feedback.

Click here for screencast of a Padlet board as submission of molecular models are arriving in real time. I can immediately provide feedback, address common errors, and quickly visualize all students work before moving on to the next class activity.