Padlet
VIDEO TO GO HERE
What is it?
Padlet is a little like a pinboard which can be used to create collages and posters.
How can I use it in my sessions?
Padlet can be used as a way of sharing information between groups and classes, it can also be good for creating posters by each student finding an image online for example relating to a topic and placing it on the Padlet it can create a collage of related images or ideas which can be printed and displayed. For example in an activism context you may ask students to post images of strikes. I have used Padlet in my own classes as a way of sharing useful links for different topics by creating a subtopic related to their assignment and asking students to place links to where they found their information to help those who struggled with research. Please note, I found this works better for Post 16 learners and upwards
Padlet does have a premium version made for schools which allows you to monitor activity on it more closely and creates a domain just for your school, this also takes away the sharing element of Padlet and allows larger files to be uploaded. I recommend trying the free version first with admin approval turned on to avoid any undesirable posts suddenly appearing on it for the whole class to see, remind students not to share any personal information on the free version such as their full name or photographs.
I'd like to try this out for myself, can I post?
Of course! Here are 2 links to show the different set ups you can have:
Link 1 will allow ANY post automatically, I've put up one example of how using Padlet like this with students can go wrong - please bare in mind since posting others may have also added their own less than appropriate posts to the padlet. My post to it is the video link titled:
Link 2 posts must be approved before appearing on the Padlet - this is the recommended set up. Your post may take several days or more to appear as it will only appear once approved.
I'm in, take me to Padlet.com
Quizlet
VIDEO TO GO HERE
What is it?
Quizlet is a fantastic educational tool with lots of options to create learning materials. Personally I've found it to be particularly good for revision purposes in class.
How can I use it in my sessions?
You can use it to create tests, flashcards and matching activities to use within your lesson. This site is particularly good for SEND learners as it has options for students to increase the text sizes and listen to audio clips which read out the information on the screen. In an activism context you can use Quizlet to test your students knowledge or ask them to revise it on topics such as Trade Unions or Democracy. You can even track individual students progress on premium accounts, if you don't want to go for premium however it is still a fun easy tool to use within lessons. It works quite well as a plenary tool and is an engaging way to round off a lesson, you could nominate individual students to come up to the board to answer, take a vote from the class on each question or nominate each group from a previous activity to answer a question.
I'd like to see how this works, can I take a quiz?
Of course! Check out this example quiz by clicking here.
I'm in, take me to Quizlet.com
Online tools for creating your own resources
Hammer and wrench falling down out of the black next to a static computer
Survey Monkey
VIDEO TO GO HERE
What is it?
Surveymonkey is an online tool for creating surveys and storing their results.
How can I use it in my sessions?
SurveyMonkey is fantastic for gauging opinions on all sorts of topics. In an activism context you could use surveymonkey to find out what your students think about an issue with both open ended and closed questions, you can even create scale questions for example: On a scale of 1-10 10 being most, how much do you agree with the statement: Something needs to be done about climate change? You could even use it as a form of assessment for learning, asking students to fill in what they know already about a topic in an open question in order to help you plan your lessons. Another use is to use it to find out how much a student enjoyed a lesson, new educational tool you've used within the lesson or how much they feel they've learnt, this use may be particularly useful for NQTs and teachers in training and survey results over could be used to show your development as a teacher or help with reflexive tasks set on many education programmes. I used this method myself when undertaking a ProfGCE.
I'd like to see how this works, can I take a survey?
Of course! Check out this example survey by clicking here.
I'm in, take me to SurveyMonkey.co.uk
Do you have another online tool you find useful?
Tell us!
Use the contact email button at the bottom of any page, click here, or copy and paste this email address into the 'to' field: ActivismEducation@gmail.com and put 'online tool' in the email subject. If you would like yourself and/or your school to be credited please write in this format: 'online tool name/link' - Name, School. Please only include details you wish to be displayed on the website in your email.
Looking for ideas for what online tools you could use in your lessons? You've come to the right place, below are some suggested tools, including references to the creator of this website's own experience in using these teaching tools in her lessons. You can even try out the tools as if you were a student using the pre-made examples to see how your students, or youths who attend your centre will experience these tools and if they will be appropriate your young people.