Exploring New Digital Tools: Padlet & Blooket

I decided to explore two digital tools that I have never used before, Padlet and Blooket. Even though I had never used either one myself, I felt like I was constantly hearing about them. Many of my co-workers talk about them, I see them mentioned online, and they see to come up often in conversations about classroom technology and student engagement. Since they seem so popular, I wanted to check them out.

Going into this, I assumed both tools would be more difficult to use than they really turned out to be. After exploring them, I found that they were pretty easy to navigate and each had its own purpose. Padlet felt more focused on collaboration and sharing ideas, while Blooket seemed designed to make learning more interactive through games. 

Padlet Tutorial

After exploring Padlet I came to find that is basically an online collaborative board (similar to a website) where users can share ideas, resources, pictures, videos, and other content all in one place. I would describe it as a digital bulletin board where many people can add their contributions and interact. 

Step 1: Create an Account

• First, create an account and log in. This will allow you to access the Padlet homepage that has several templates and options to get started. 

Step 2: Create a Padlet

• Click on "Make a Padlet" to see different layout options. Examples include:
• Wall: displays all posts in a grid
• Stream: shows posts one after another
• Canvas: allows flexible organization/ ability to move things around
• Timeline: organizes information in order

Step 3: Add Content

• To add content, you must press the (+) button. This allows the user to upload text, images, videos, links, documents, or audio. This part is very similar to crafting a social media post.

Step 4: Share the Board

• After the board is created it can be shared through a link, QR code, or email invitation

Blooket Tutorial 

While still a useful tool, Blooket is a game-based learning platform that turns questions and quizzes into interactive games. This allows students to participate in games that make review activities more engageing, rather than simply answering questions on a worksheet or quiz.

Step 1: Create an Account

Step 2: Find or Create Questions

• Users can create their own question sets or use question sets that have already been created by others. These can be found by typing a topic into the search bar or browsing through pre-made categories (ex: Social Studies, Science, etc.)

Step 3: Preview the Questions

• Looking through question sets help to give an idea of what students can actually see during gameplay

Step 4: Choose a Game Mode

• After selecting a question set, click "Host," and different game mode options will appear.
• Different game modes like Gold Quest, Cafe, Factory, Racing, and Classic Quiz-style games will come up. Each game looks different and has a different theme, but the content stays the same.

Step 5: Adjust Game Settings

• After starting the game, there are several settings that can be changed. Settings include:
• Time limits
• Number of questions
• Randomizing Questions
• Showing student names
• Homework mode vs. live play

Step 6: Host and Join the Game

• Once "Host" is clicked, Blooket generates a game code that participants can use to join on their own devices. 

Final Thoughts

After exploring both tools for the first time, I am glad I finally have a better understanding of what they are and why I hear people talk about them so often. I can definitely envision using both in my classroom, but I was especially drawn to Padlet because of how collaborative and flexible it feels. Padlet seems to be a great contender for my Final Project, in which I hope to create a space that is more collaborative and personal for students. I can see students using it to brainstorm solutions to community issues, share perspectives on current events, collaborate on covoc action projects, or organize ideas for larger class discussions. While Blooket seems like a fun way to increase engagement and review content, Padlet stood out because I could immediately see connections to the types of collaborative and project-based work that happens in Civics.