Padlet vs. Flipgrid

With so many web tools that promote collaboration, I chose to take a deeper dive into two tools I hear many teachers talking about and using with their students.  I admit that I have used both of these tools, but only at a surface level and not on a consistent basis. Since both tools seemed sort of similar to me, I wanted to see the benefits of each. I created and used the following rubric to evaluate each tool.

     

Padlet has been around for quite a while, as web collaboration tools go.  Padlet is a digital bulletin board where students or teachers can easily curate and organize information in the form of text, images, drawings or video.  Teachers can activate filters and moderate posts. What I really like about this tool is that there is such a variety in the products that you can post to the Padlet wall.  Since multiple students can add to the wall, this tool allows for collaboration, commenting and reflection. With many sharing options, each Padlet wall can share student content and creations beyond the walls of the classroom or school and allows co-collaborators.  Tech support is robust through Padlet and social media. Using the free version of Padlet allows students to access all of the features Padlet has to offer. Purchasing Padlet Backpack ($8.25 a month - ouch!) allows teachers additional management supports through LMS, unlimited number of walls, security and privacy features, and student portfolios.  It is a highly intuitive, powerful tool for curation and collaboration with many creative options for students to personalize their learning.

Students making a prediction for an inquiry-based project in PE.

Flipgrid is an app and website tool that allows teachers a forum for video discussions based on a variety of topics.  Students can respond in the form of short (15 second - 5 minute) video responses. Each grid can be shared with an unlimited number of participants within the class, a small group or others you want to invite into the discussion.  Students have the ability to respond to others’ videos. Teachers have options to moderate student posts and invite other teachers as co-collaborators and even has a way to connect teachers with other teachers seeking to collaborate.  Flipgrid has online tech support through their website and various social media. The platform is fun and engaging for students, but may be intimidating for camera shy students. Since partnering with Microsoft, Flipgrid is now completely free to educators.

At first glance, Flipgrid seemed much like Padlet, but the deeper I dove into my investigation showed that Padlet is a far superior collaborative web tool.  Among the safety considerations, Padlet has superior controls over collaboration and sharing with others - classmates, other schools, or even allowing parents easier access to student work.  One downfall of both of the platforms is that if parents have access, they have access to all students’ work - not just their own child’s work. I like Padlet’s ability to moderate individual posts and the entire wall’s accessibility.  Padlet allows each wall to be customizable in its look and organization which creates greater student engagement. It also allows a greater variety of products that can be posted to the wall. Flipgrid only allows videos, but Padlet allows just about anything - links, documents, drawings, images, etc.  I think that would appeal to more learning styles and allow for greater creativity and engagement. Both tools seem equally intuitive and easy for students to both use and navigate. In my opinion, Padlet allows for greater depth of collaboration. With Flipgrid, students can post videos and comment on each other’s videos.  Padlet allows students to collaborative build their wall of resources - adding notes, drafts of products, links to additional resources. They could divide the wall into sections and each adds to a section. Students can comment on each other’s work. They can share ideas and work together to create a wall that reflects the entire team.  Both tools allow sharing within a small group, with the class, across a school or district, or more globally with other schools or family members - depending on the share settings which can be changed depending on the stage of the project. To me, Padlet seemed to have easier share and control settings than Flipgrid. For many users, which product they use may come down to cost.  Flipgrid, now merged with Mircosoft, will remain free for educators. Padlet Basic allows teachers to create up to 18 Padlet walls for free. Considering all of these criteria, I would choose to use Padlet Basic over Flipgrid because of the greater range of capability, creativity, and controls it offers as a web-based collaboration tool.