by Stefanie Schropp
| Stefanie Schropp is the Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator on her pre-K through 8th-grade campus. In addition to teaching pull-out classes for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade G/T students, she also “pushes in” to teach whole-class enrichment lessons in all elementary and pre-K classes. On top of that, she teaches a G/T middle school elective and offers other middle-school electives such as 3-D Printing and “Puzzler’s Paradise.” I am in awe of all she does in her role! I am so grateful that she agreed to share how she and her students keep parents updated and showcase work from ALL of those classes. |
I have such an amazing opportunity in my role as GTE Coordinator to promote critical and creative thinking across my campus. The students, from pre-K to 8th grade, never cease to amaze me with their wonderful work. However, throughout my time in this educational role, I’ve struggled to find the most meaningful way to keep parents updated and showcase student work for our parents…until last year!
In the past, I’ve spotlighted student work through class blogs and student-created portfolios. While I really enjoy those methods, the number of classes I had and the time needed to create posts or entries proved to be a real obstacle. And then…last year, I decided to give Padlet a try!
WHY PADLET PORFOLIOS?
- Most importantly, Padlet is extremely easy for students and teachers to use!
- It’s easy to create and organize Padlets. I have a Padlet Portfolio for each class that I teach, sometimes ten or more a year. The free version of Padlet allows you to have three Padlets at a time. Because I also use Padlets frequently for class activities, I requested that an upgraded version be included in my GTE budget. Luckily, it was approved, and I sure do put it to good use!
- Padlet makes it easy to share. Not only are there many different ways you can add to posts, I also love that Padlet allows my students and me to share a collaborative space. Instead of doing all the posting myself, I teach students at all levels how to post their work. This gives them ownership, and they take pride in sharing their work with an audience outside of the classroom.
Students most often share by uploading photos of their work. I’ve had students as young as first graders upload their own photos. This helps me so much!
When I create or add to class Padlets, I use a variety of tools including links from Google Apps for Education. Padlet just released my new best friend this summer…Google Drive integration! This allows me to add files directly from my Drive without having to leave a Padlet. I have yet to run into a moment where I couldn’t find an option that worked for a post.
Padlets can be organized in many ways. On the class Padlets, I create columns – one for each lesson or project throughout the year. Beneath each column heading, we add photos, videos, descriptions, and student work. The photo below shows part of our Kindergarten Enrichment Padlet from last year, and you can see that each column corresponds to one lesson or activity.
WAYS TO SHARE
When sharing the Padlet with our intended audience – most often parents – it couldn’t get any easier! Here are some of my favorite ways to share:
Share as a Link: To communicate with the parents of my 3rd through 5th-grade GTE students, I share links to the Padlets via email. I also share these links with the general ed classroom teachers so they can add them to their weekly classroom newsletters.
Share as a QR Code: At the end of every semester, my third through fifth-grade GTE students complete a Learning Progress Evaluation (shown here). I insert the QR code for their Class Padlet Portfolio at the top of the evaluation as another means for parents to have access to it.
Share as a Slideshow: I have used the slideshow link in Padlet during presentations about our GTE program. I usually set it on autoplay for parents and visitors to view while they wait for presentations to begin.
Share as an Image of PDF: I have printed Padlets as images or PDFs in order to showcase student work on my classroom walls.
Padlet is one of my new favorite tools in the classroom, especially as a means to communicate with parents and spotlight student work. I’d welcome your comments below about how you will be using Padlet in your classroom this year.
RELATED POST
This is a fantastic idea! I have also been searching for the best way to share student work with parents. Have you ever had your older students each manage their own Padlet as a portfolio? I would love to see examples of upper elementary class or individual Padlets. Thanks for sharing this!
FROM STEFANIE: Thanks for your comment! I have yet to have students manage their own individual portfolios in Padlet. The Padlets we’ve had so far are collaborative between the students and myself and are working really well, so I am going to continue them again this year. However, I think I am going to give personal portfolios a try this year too. I will most likely have students create their portfolios when we start class for the year, and they can add to it as they are fit. I am going to try dedicating some time at the end of every quarter so the students can reflect on their learning and select what they are most proud of, memorable, challenging, etc. If you are in the Big Ideas for Little Scholars Facebook group, I shared a link to the first Padlets created with my fifth graders a couple of years ago.