TaskCards - Padlet Alternatives

Implementation:

Digital pinboards such as TaskCards (a Padlet alternative) are versatile teaching tools that go far beyond simply collecting ideas. They are suitable for structuring learning processes, consolidating results after group work, providing tasks and materials as well as for collaborative work in real time. Teachers can prepare a pinboard so that it maps the entire sequence of a unit, from the task formulation to open questions through to the presentation of results, all in one place, clearly organised and accessible to everyone.

In practice, it is recommended to structure the pinboard with prepared columns, for example ‘Task’, ‘Questions’ and ‘Results’, so that children immediately know where they can contribute and where to look when they get stuck. This reduces queries and gives the lesson a clear digital structure that would be harder to implement in an analogue way.

Implementation ideas

• Group work: Each group receives its own column and enters their results directly. The class sees all results at a glance at the end
• Station work: Each station contains a card with the task, material and expectations. Children navigate independently, without queries.
• Collecting questions: An open column ‘My Questions’ gives learners the opportunity to post uncertainties without interrupting the lesson.
• Activating prior knowledge: At the beginning of a unit, everyone enters what they already know. The teacher immediately gets an overview of the class’s level of knowledge.
• Securing results: After projects, groups present their work directly via the pinboard, with photos, texts or links, collected and accessible to everyone.
• Inclusion: Tasks can be provided at different levels on the same pinboard, for example with simplified texts, picture cards or audio recordings. In this way, everyone works on the same topic but with appropriate materials. Even children who find it difficult to contribute orally can participate visibly via the pinboard.

Regarding data protection, TaskCards is the safe choice for the Swiss school context: it is fully GDPR-compliant and usable without parental consent.

Tool

TaskCards : taskcards.de (for free, based on browser)

References:

After: Selin Güler, primary school teacher and Translationmanager at BeLEARN

Source: Helmke, A. (2022). Unterrichtsqualität und Lehrerprofessionalität. Klett-Kallmeyer. (particularly the chapter on classroom management and structural clarity)