COLLABORATIVE WORKING TOOLS

ALTERNATIVES TO PADLET
Padlet has been a well-loved collaborative tool, but recently there have been concerns about
how accessible the tool is. Universities have started exploring and making use of alternative
online apps or programmes for collaborative working. These fall into five main categories:
• mind mapping
• content curation to stimulate discussion/collaboration
• whiteboarding
• sticky notes
• conversation
We introduce many of these tools below, with brief notes and recommendations.

Tools for mind mapping

Miro (miro.com)
Online mind mapping tool. Free sign-up (for up to 3 boards). Miro is intuitive to use, but
there are concerns about accessibility, and when there are a lot of entries or users, you
cannot see much on the screen. Very expensive for the registered option.
• Miro YouTube video

Ayoa (ayoa.com)
Online mind mapping/brainstorming (and task completion) tool to support collaboration. It is
quite versatile, containing a mind map tool, calendar, whiteboard, canvas, chat and workflow
and planner. Ayoa is limited to a free seven-day trial, then requires registration and a
premium payment.
• Ayoa YouTube video

Tools for content curation to stimulate discussion and

collaboration
Wakelet (wakelet.com)
Wakelet is a content curation tool that can be used to gather text, videos, links and images
into one ‘collection (place). It supports collaborative working however, with invitations to
collaborate by a hyperlink, or an e-mail address. It is simple to use and visually engaging.
Students can vote and comment on the Wakelet without an e-mail address. Collections can
be private, public or unlisted. It is free to use: education account available for additional
features at no cost.
• Sample Wakelet created for GetInMOOC

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Tools for whiteboarding

Lino (en.linoit.com)
Lino is quite similar to Padlet. It offers an interface to create digital walls or corkboards,
supporting text, images, videos or documents. Free to register and use with unlimited
‘canvases’.
Collaboration is supported through the creation of ‘private groups’ to which members are
invited by e-mail. Apps available for tablets and smartphones.
No sign-up required for students to use – share a link. There is a possibility if boards are
public that anybody could add to them anonymously.

Mural (mural.co)
Free sign up available for up to three mural boards and unlimited members, with premium
pricing after that. Similar to Padlet, Mural enables participants to add text, images etc. to a
collaborative board. Participants do not have to register to use the boards that are accessed
using a one-click hyperlink.
• Mural YouTube video
• Sample board for GetInMOOC (must sign up to access)

Example 1: GetInMOOC Mural Board

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Creately (creately.com)
An online tool for developing an education resource/course, or mind mapping and task
management. Free sign-up for up to 3 workspaces and 1 folder. The system supports
collaborative working through mind mapping, workflow and sticky notes. It includes a video
chat facility. Premium pricing available.

Lucidchart (lucidchart.com)
A web-based tool to enable collaboration on a canvas that supports the drawing, revising
and sharing of charts and diagrams, with the aim of improving on processes, systems, and
organisational structures. There are 3 editable boards included on the free account., with
the option of premium pricing plans.

WBO (wbo.ophir.dev)
A free and open source online whiteboard where multiple users can work together. There is a
public board that anyone can contribute to and get used to using WBO with and the facility to
create private boards. Invite collaborators by sharing the link to your private board. No sign-up
is required.

Tools for sticky notes

Dotstorming (dotstorming.com)
This is an online space to create and share sticky notes, then vote for the favourite. The
system is free to use for up to three topic boards, then incurs a small monthly charge.
Collaborators do not have to have e-mail addressed in order to vote on notes.

Easy to use and effective way for a quick poll. Cards are limited to text. Chat box available
for interaction on the board.

Lucidspark (lucidspark.com)
A web-based tool to enable collaboration through the use of sticky notes
on a canvas that supports the drawing, revising and sharing of charts and diagrams, with the
aim of improving on processes, systems, and organisational structures. There are 3 editable
boards included on the free account., with the option of premium pricing plans.

Scrumblr (scrumblr.ca)
This is an online sticky note service. You can create personal or shared boards, but it isn’t
very intuitive. I couldn’t see how to create a shared board. No sign up required. Easy to
create a board but how do you find it again? Insecure site.
• Sample test board

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Pinside (pinsi.de)
Pinside offers personal and shared spaces for creating online sticky notes. Shared Pinside
boards are designed for creating to-do lists. Does support images as well as text. Requires
sign-up.

Tools for conversation

Flipgrid (flipgrid.com)
Free space for video conversations. Requires sign-up. Collaborators are invited via a
hyperlink. Works by participants creating short videos as conversations. Probably has limited
application but may work well for small groups and focused conversations within a course.

***

There you have a roundup of alternatives to Padlet. However, if you still want to use Padlet,
here’s a useful video:
• Padlet YouTube video

Reem T. Atawia, B.Pharm, PhD

Tanya Andrewes, RGN. Lecturer (Academic) Adult Nursing, Bournemouth University
GetInMOOC Mentors

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