App of the Week: drag-and-drop virtual bulletin boards

Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Click here to read the full app review.

Padlet

What’s It Like? 

Padlet is a website and app that allows kids to collect information from the internet and pin it onto virtual bulletin boards using a simple drag-and-drop system. Videos, text, links, images — basically anything — can be added to a board and organized there, like a page full of Post-it notes. There’s also the option to include rich text (Padlet provides a simple HTML guide in their Help sidebar). You can add as many notes to a wall as you like; it scrolls in all directions.

Price: Free, paid

Grades: K-5

Rating: 4/5

Pros: It’s beyond easy to use, the interface is intuitive, and help is available around every corner.

Cons: Walls are semi-private by default, meaning there’s an extra step involved in ensuring total privacy for student users.

Bottom line: Padlet gives students their own little corner of the internet to collect and save information in a simple, fun manner.