Padlet is an invaluable tool for teaching online courses and fostering online discussion. It’s a great (and free!) program that allows students to write on a “wall” that the rest of the class can see.  This is great for in-class (and out of class too!) discussions, because sometimes students are reticent to speak, but many more students will write, and we can see everyone’s input all together.  It’s also quite visually pleasing.  Another great feature is that, while instructors need to sign up for it, students do not!  You simply need to provide a link (it’s unique each time) and students can write

 HERE is a short video to show you how the program works

Review of the settings you need set to make Padlet work: 

• Set up your account, go to create padlet.
• I suggest you use the “wall” setting (at least at first).
• Make sure you go to “Share: Change Privacy: SECRET” (if it’s private, students won’t be able to get in!).
• Also on “Share: Change Privacy” change the settings to “Visitor Permissions: Can Edit” otherwise students won’t be able to write (or change what they’ve written).
• Also under “Share” Click: “Copy Link to Clipboard” and share the link with your students.  This changes every time you make a padlet– but once students get the link they can write and edit and see what their peers are writing.