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| So happy to discover Padlet that I decided to give the founder, Nitesh Goel, a piggy back ride! (2014) |
Last week, while at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the demise of Padlet as a free service. Folks are pretty devastated about this, as is evident from all the Twitter chatter. Going forward, you can have up to three free Padlet walls but this will not impact your pre-existing Padlet walls. If you currently have eight Padlet walls, then you are eligible for a total of eleven, without having to pay. Otherwise, it is $99/year or $8.95/month. I know one of the best features of Padlet is its ease of use. Now that we have some rules to follow, as can be imagined, people are disappointed. I completely understand why Padlet made the change but I understand the sadness too.
In the meantime, however, there are some alternatives to Padlet. Many of these alternatives have similar restrictions as to how many "walls" you can create. Some of the most commonly mentioned replacements are Lino (you can see my example here), Wakelet, Dotstorming, and Flipgrid (talk to me about this if you are interested in this one...it is awesome!). Another tool similar to Padlet that is useful is Sway by Microsoft. You can see my example here and edit it too. To use Sway, you do have to create a Microsoft account but I was able to use my Davis email address to do so. If you create your Sway so that anyone can edit (similar to a Google doc), then collaborators can add text, images, and links to videos. Our 4th grade team started using it this year and are really enjoying it.
As we mourn the loss of free Padlet, we are reminded that when one door closes, another one opens. Sometimes, we decide to roll with the changes and adjust accordingly. Perhaps some of us will continue to forge ahead using Padlet and others will be inspired to try something new. The good news: the choice is yours.
