Welcome to Backpack for teachers!

Welcome to your new Backpack account!

Prefer to watch a video? This covers everything below.

What is Padlet?

Padlet is a software that allows you to create, use, and share padlets. A padlet is a visual board that allows you to share and organize thoughts. If you want to see what a beautiful padlet looks like in action, check out our gallery.

What is Padlet Backpack?

Padlet Backpack is a closed ecosystem. Your school controls who can be a member and what permissions each member has. You will log in through a unique link that grants you access to a private space where padlets can be created and shared.

To see Padlet Backpack in action, check out our Backpack demo.

Accessing your Padlet Backpack account

You will access your Padlet Backpack account through your organization's unique link. This link will be in the format of <yourschoolsubdomain>.padlet.org. For instance, if you teach at the School of Rock, you might log in at schoolofrock.padlet.org. This link will be provided to you by your account’s administrator.

Your administrator will choose the log-in option that you’ll use. The options include password log-in and single sign-on through Google or Microsoft.

Managing the account’s members

The administrator of your Backpack account will manage members by adding and removing students and teachers, but admins can grant these responsibilities to teachers. Consult your organization's admins to see if you'll be tasked with adding or managing members.

I already have a Padlet account. How do I import my content to Backpack?

To import padlets from an existing account, log into your Backpack account, select the three-dot ellipsis (...) on your dashboard, and select import.

Follow the instructions on the following screen and enjoy your new Backpack account.

Find detailed instructions on how to import your padlets here.

Using padlets

Choosing a format

The first decision you make when you create a padlet is deciding on a format. A padlet's format dictates how its posts will be arranged. The wall, grid, and canvas formats allow you to see many of your posts at once on one large canvas. Timeline and stream allow you to order posts sequentially, and the map format allows you to place posts geographically.

Each format, except canvas, allows you to group posts by sections. Sections are especially useful on the wall format, where the sections form vertical columns that are great for organization.

We encourage you to check out our gallery, which is organized by format. You can also see some examples of classroom padlets at the bottom of this document.

Posting on a padlet

Post text and files: A padlet is a visual board that allows you to share and organize thoughts. In addition to text, you can post any kind of media file on a padlet, and it will always be available in a beautiful and usable format.

You can post YouTube links to a padlet and they will be playable. Documents will be readable. Tweets will be visible. You can draw images by hand, record your screen, or search for a GIF.

Author and timestamp, comments, and reactions

In the ‘Posting’ section of a padlet’s Settings tab, you can toggle comments, display author name, and reactions.

Author and timestamp: If you toggle on author and timestamp, the name of the person who contributes to a padlet will be displayed above their post. This is also known as post attribution. The timestamp of their post will also appear. This is only useful if contributors are logged into accounts. If this setting is on and someone who is not logged in contributes, their post will be anonymous.

Comments: If comments are on, anyone with access to the padlet will be able to leave a comment below any post. This is a good way to allow students to raise concerns and provide feedback on the information on a padlet without modifying any of the posts.

Reactions: These settings are fun and allow the users of a padlet to interact and provide one another feedback in a different way. The reaction types include star ratings, thumbs up or down, grading, and likes.

Content moderation

In the ‘Content’ section of your settings tab, you are also able to ask Padlet to automatically filter profanity and to require new posts to be approved by you.

Require approval allows you to see every post before it shows up on your padlet and decide manually whether it should be allowed. You can also use ‘Require approval’ to ensure students answer a question without seeing any other answers.

Filter profanity is an easy way to keep curse words out of your padlet.

Adding students and deciding their permissions

Your school may choose to give accounts to students. If your school gives students accounts, you will be able to turn on post attribution in any of your padlet’s settings. In this case, you will be able to see which student made which post on your padlet. Otherwise, the posts will show up as anonymous, and you will need to ask students to identify themselves in the post to see who posted what.

If students have accounts and post attribution is turned on, posts will appear like this:

If students don’t have accounts, you’ll need them to identify themselves before posting if you want to know who made what post. Like this:

Your school may allow students to make padlets themselves. In this case, you may perform activities in which students create and submit their own padlets. For instance, instead of asking students to introduce themselves with just a post on a shared padlet, you could have each student create an introduction of their own and then post their padlet on a shared padlet. This way students can build comprehensive introductions with all the possibilities a padlet provides

Consult your account’s administrators to see if your students will have accounts and if they will be allowed to make padlets.

Sharing padlets

There are many different options. The simplest way to share a padlet is to simply copy, paste, and distribute the padlet's URL. You can also share via QR code, email, or several other ways. All share options can be found by selecting the share button in the padlet's action bar.

Find a more detailed guide on how to share and publish padlets here.

Sharing padlets via LMS

In addition to sharing your padlet via URL or embed code, we offer integration for several major LMSes, like Canvas and Moodle. If your school or district has integrated Padlet into your LMS, you should be able to add padlets as assignments directly from your LMS. If your school has not integrated Padlet into your LMS, you can still share your padlets there. For more on adding padlets to your LMS, read this article.

Privacy and access information about padlets

Whenever you create a padlet for use in the classroom, you need to establish its privacy settings. The administrator of a Backpack account can establish default privacy settings for new padlets, so if you prefer a specific setting, you can request that your administrator make it the default. Your administrator will also be able to restrict privacy settings, but in most cases, you will be able to determine the privacy settings of your padlets. Here are all possible privacy options:

Private – Only you and the people invited can access this padlet.

• This option provides the most privacy: only you and those you’ve invited will have access to the padlet. If you want to share the padlet with others, they will need a license under your Backpack account, and you will need to invite them individually.

Password – Visitors are required to enter a password to access this padlet. Visitors are not restricted to members of your Backpack account. Anyone with the link and the password can access the padlet.

• This option is great for padlets with potentially sensitive information.

Secret – Accessible to anyone who has the link. Padlets with this privacy setting are hidden from Google and public areas of Padlet such as individual and organizational dashboards.

• This is the standard privacy setting for most padlets. Anyone with the link can access the padlet but no one will stumble upon it. Simple and easy.

Org-only- The padlet is only accessible to logged-in members of your organization.

• This privacy option is perfect if you want anyone and everyone in your organization to be able to find your padlet.

You also control visitor permissions to your padlet. You control whether visitors can read, write on, edit, or administer your padlet, which will determine how they're able to engage with the padlet.

Can read is perfect if your padlet is designed to present stagnant information. If you set visitor permissions to can read, users will be able to see everything on the padlet but can’t change the material.

Can write is ideal for padlets that you want your students to collaborate on and contribute to.

Can edit/administer are good options if you are working on a padlet with other teachers or administrators and want them to have more control over the entire padlet.

Note: When you invite users to your padlet you can apply these permissions to their accounts individually.

Organizational tools

Padlet also offers a few tools that will be valuable if organization is important to you.

Bookmarks: If you see a padlet that you want to keep track of it you can bookmark it to save on your profile. You can also manage your bookmarked padlets with folders.

Embedding padlets: You can also manage padlets you're interested in by posting the padlets on a padlet. This concept is called a central wall and it allows you to share collections of padlets. Here's what it looks like.

Classroom examples

Padlet is a flexible tool that can be used to facilitate an unlimited range of exercises, activities, and lessons. Here are a few of the most popular use cases for Padlet in the classroom.

KWL chart: Create a wall with three sections to make a KWL chart to map the learning process.

→ Example

Group discussion: Use a shared wall or grid padlet to gather and address student thoughts in an organized fashion.

→ Example

Study guide: You can post any file type on a padlet. Take advantage of this fact to build comprehensive study guides that gather pdf files, images, text, and video all in one place.

→ Example

Lecture presentation with Slideshow: Padlet offers a feature called Slideshow, which allows you to build beautiful presentations with just one click. Slideshow is an easy way for students to build and present slideshows for the class and a great option for teachers that are sick of PowerPoint. Learn more here.

→ Example

Pre/post assessment: Use a wall with two sections to visualize the knowledge gap before and after a lesson.

→ Example

Daily schedule: Start the day off right by using a timeline or stream padlet to visualize your daily schedule.

→ Example

Where you’ve been: Use a map padlet to visualize the travel histories of everyone in your classroom.

→ Example

Classroom bulletin board: Collect miscellaneous thoughts and ideas on a long-term shared class padlet.

→ Example

Advanced organization - Central padlet: A great way to keep your padlets organized is with a central padlet. By posting all your favorite padlets in one central padlet you can keep track of them. You can even nest central padlets within other central padlets. This rabbit hole goes all the way down!

→ Example