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Affordances of Padlet

Bower (2008) broadly describes that educational affordances are resources that contributes in some way to achieve an educational goal: the perceived and actual properties of that resource or tool - what it offers and could possibly offer - that are used to get to the intended outcome in a specific task.

Different categories of e-learning technology affordances are presented by Bower with sub-categories to further define the educational and collaborative means to achieve different goals and outcomes.

The following list aims to identify the different affordances of Padlet according to the classification system introduced by Bower by listing the abilities and thereby the actionable properties that Padlet offers. 

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Media affordances
  • ✅ read-ability > Padlet offers the ability to type with text as an output form and that text can be read by others.
  • ✅ write-ability > text can be typed and published from the designated space.
  • ✅ view-ability > images can be uploaded from a device or sourced from the internet.
  • ✅ draw-ability > drawings can be created within Padlet and posted to a board.
  • ✅ listen-ability > audio (recordings, Spotify) and videos can be listened to as they are posted. 
  • ✅ speak-ability > audio and video recordings can be made and shared.
  • ✅ watch-ability > videos and video recordings can be watched. The usability of the video player is lacking compared to available software.
  • ✅ video-produce-ability > Padlet offers the creation of videos to share by using the available device camera. 
Spatial affordances
  • ⍻ resize-ability > one cannot resize the posted Padlet items, but it offers the ability to change the size of the board/wall and how items will appear.
  • ❌ move-ability > the posted items cannot be moved after being posted. 
Temporal affordances
  • ✅ accessibility > Padlet as service can be accessed anytime from most devices with internet access. 
  • ⍻ record-ability > screen recording software can be used to scroll through the Padlet and record it in that manner. If one argues that the downsave in a format like PDF is also "recording" the Padlet it has this ability as well. 
  • ⍻ playback-ability > the abovementioned 'record-ability' can be viewed if the screen recording is played back or the PDF is opened. 
  • ✅ synchronicity > depending on the internet speed, Padlet reacts in a synchronous manner where all comments and likes are being recorded and displayed instantly. 
Navigation affordances
  • ✅ browse-ability > since there are no other sections the only way to browse is to open the posted images/videos/recordings/links and then navigate back with ease. 
  • ⍻ link-ability > one cannot link to other posted Padlet items, but links to other websites and elements can be posted. 
  • ❌ search-ability > you cannot search from the posted items on the wall.
  • ❌ data-manipulation-ability > Padlet does not offer the ability to sort and sequence from the posted items.
Emphasis affordances
  • ⍻ highlight-ability > you cannot highlight in the traditional sense of the word, but you can place emphasis on an item with the more reactions it has or by changing the background colour to clash with the Padlet wall. 
  • ❌ focus-ability > you cannot explicitly direct attention to a posted Padlet since each one can be unique. 
Synthesis affordances
  • ✅ combine-ability > all the different media affordances that Padlet offers makes it a mixed media environment.
  • ⍻ integrate-ability > tools cannot be integrated into Padlet but elements like videos and audio from Youtube and Spotify respectively are well-integrated into the interface.
Access-control affordances
  • ✅ permission-ability > the creator of the Padlet can select when setting the properties of the Padlet, the properties of who can post and how it will be posted and displayed. When a Padlet is shared, the permissions can be set of what people with the link can do, whether it be edit on the Padlet or just post. 
  • ✅ share-ability > depending on who has access to the Padlet, different capacities of who can share contributions and collaborate. Internet speed did permit, and we could as quite a few people post simultaneously on the wall and it refreshed rather quickly to reflect synchronous input from others. 
Technical affordances
  • ✅ Contributions to Padlet can be made on various devices with access to the internet and a web browser. Contributions to and response from the Padlet greatly depends on internet speed, so if a device has a slow connectivity speed the Padlet response speed is affected. 
Usability
  • ✅ The usability of a Padlet is intuitive and easily learnt. After a few minutes of orientating yourself, it is self-explanatory on how to add and what to add to effectively contribute various media elements. 
Aesthetics
  • ✅ Padlet's general design, the website from before creating it, the different templates it offers, the ability to change the background and how content appears on the wall is aesthetically pleasing. The menus are not cluttered and it provides information on what it offers fast so it holds attention. 
Reliability
  • ✅ Padlet's reliability of up-time is ensured by their servers. Since it's a big-name tool, it is reliable that it will always connect and continue being a robust platform without bugs. 

Verdict:

Padlet offers every type of media affordance which makes it an excellent mixed media interface. It also represents abilities in almost all of the other categories. It is a robust, aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-use tool which makes it excellent to use in various ways to achieve educational goals.

Resources:

Educational Ways to Use Padlet
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32 Interesting Ways to Use Padlet in the Classroom
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How to Use Padlet in the Classroom
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Educational World: Five Ways to Use Padlet in Class
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Padlet Teaching Examples
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Teacher’s Guide to Using Padlet in Class
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Padlet Tutorial for Teachers
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Padlet’s Many Uses for the Classroom
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Teacher Tutorial for Setting Up Padlet
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How to Use Padlet in the Classroom
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20 Useful Ways to Use Padlet in Class
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