Scrutinising Padlet to Enhance Students’ Collaborative Writing in a Virtual Learning Environment

Abstract

This study examines the utilisation of Padlet as a collaborative writing platform to augment students’ collaborative writing skills within a Virtual Learning Environment (hereafter VLE). The study employs case studies involving observations, document analysis, and interviews to investigate the real-world implementation of Padlet in VLE. Evidence from research suggests that Padlet provides constructive feedback, involvement focused on assessing the Comments, is highly effective in fostering collaborative engagement through Padlet-facilitated writing sessions, Improvement in grammar, vocabulary, and coherence in writing, and enhances essay quality through collaborative engagement on Padlet. Nevertheless, there is still a requirement to exploit its potential further. The non-appearance of dedicated text highlighting and commenting functionalities on the platform impeded its capacity to offer focused feedback, thus constituting a noteworthy constraint. Despite certain limitations, Padlet significantly improves multiple aspects of students’ writing skills. Padlet’s collaborative platform enables the exchange of peer feedback, enhances grammar, vocabulary, and coherence, and increases student motivation in the learning process. However, students’ limited exploration of Padlet’s features emphasises the difference between its potential and how it is currently used in VLE settings. Additional research should prioritise addressing the functional limitations of Padlet by advocating for feature enhancements that enable more accurate and specific feedback.