Which tool when
NextPad brings together four tools. They pay off mostly where a group works at the same time and everyone should see the result.
At a glance
| Teaching situation | Tool | Group size | Time | Needed in the room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groups work out a result | Pad | 3 to 6 per pad | 15 to 45 minutes | one device per group |
| Taking notes together, minutes | Pad with the template “Minutes” | any | whole session | one device for writing |
| Collecting questions or ideas, taking a poll | Idea collection | any, lectures too | 5 to 15 minutes | projector, phones |
| Reviewing knowledge | Quiz grid | 2 to 6 teams | 15 to 30 minutes | projector, phones for the buzzer |
| Planning processes, storyboard, mind map | Drawing board | 2 to 5 | 15 to 30 minutes | one device per group, a mouse helps |
| Tracing a writing process | Pad with timeline | individuals or groups | 10 minutes to review | projector |
For fixed groups over several sessions, the activity in Moodle or ILIAS is the better choice. Then each group gets its own pad, and only course members get in.
Assignments to adopt
The assignments can go into a pad, onto a slide or into the question of an idea collection as they are.
Pad, group work
In groups of four, draft an interview guide with five open questions.
Each person writes at least one question. After 20 minutes, each group
presents its strongest question to the plenary.
Split the text into three sections. Each person summarises one section in
three sentences and then comments on a section by another person.
Pad, timeline
Compare the first draft with the result: which passage was rewritten the
most, and why?
Idea collection
What is still unclear after this session?
Which examples from your own practice fit the topic?
Quiz grid
Each team writes two questions with answers for the next session in advance.
The host collects them in the grid.
Drawing board
In groups, sketch a storyboard with six scenes: shot, sound, duration.
Preparation
- Ten minutes before the session, create the tool and check the QR code on the projector with one’s own phone.
- Put the board or quiz on the projector in a window of its own and keep the editing view on one’s own screen.
- Before a quiz with buzzer, measure the buzzer once if the room’s Wi-Fi is unknown.
- Keep a fallback in case the Wi-Fi fails: the link on a slide, the questions as a list.
Data protection: what students should know
- Pads and collections from the start page are open at first. Anyone who knows the name or link can read along. A pad can be protected with a password; the content stays readable for whoever runs the server.
- Without a name does not mean anonymous. NextPad shows no names on entries in the idea collection, but internally links every entry and every vote to a browser, and in a course activity to a signed-in person. The word “anonymous” therefore does not belong in the announcement.
- Personal data of third parties, grades or health information do not belong in a pad.
- Save at the end: pads as PDF or Markdown, idea collections as CSV. After that, a free pad can be deleted.
Accessibility: who might be left out
- The pad works best for accessible collaboration. Besides the colours, the name tag at the cursor and the timeline show who wrote what.
- The drawing board is hardly usable with screen readers. For mixed groups, an outline in the pad is the better choice.
- The buzzer rewards quick reactions. Anyone who is slower because of motor impairments or their device is at a disadvantage. Alternatives: set the countdown to 0 and let teams answer by raising hands, or let the teams take turns choosing a field.
- The board is meant for the back rows. Anyone with low vision can open the same content on their own device.