Trends in Technology #2: Lino

As part of my EEND 675 Module 3 assignment, Collaborative Technologies in the Classroom, I used Lino for the first time. It's similar in some ways to Padlet, a collaborative technology tool that I've used regularly in my classroom, but Lino has some differences that make it a bit more versatile.

You can access Lino at http://en.linoit.com/. Lino is a sticky note and photosharing site that displays everything on a canvas posting board. Here's a screenshot of my sandbox Lino below. You add sticky notes in the upper right corner of the canvas. The base colors are yellow, green, blue, and pink, but there are 10 colors to choose from. In the bottom right corner you see the calendar for the canvas displayed. The lower left corner displays all of the user's canvases.

A user or collaborative group of users can post ideas, draft plans, add photos, create lists, upload documents, set reminders, add due dates, and add videos from YouTube or Vimeo. Some of the benefits of Lino include:

• The size of the sticky note can be altered, the color of the sticky can be changed, the font size can be big or small, and emoji icons can be added for a dash of creativity.
• Tagging posts allows a user to create their own personal library of resources and it can be searched relatively quickly. The tags are displayed right on the sticky (see above).
• The calendar and assigning of due dates is useful. This could help scaffold larger projects for students and break it down into smaller parts with due dates attached. Lino automatically sends reminder emails.
• A user can switch between canvases with relative ease and move or copy sticky notes between canvases. The sticky can also be emailed to an individual for a quick shareout.
• Lino canvases can be shared to Twitter or Facebook. This gives the user an opportunity to share out to a larger audience, get some feedback on a project and/or increase collaboration among a PLN (right upper sidebar).

I find both Padlet and Lino to be user-friendly and intuitive. Here is a comparative table analyzing the features of Lino and Padlet.

As with any collaborative tool, it's beneficial for the user to find something that works for them. As a classroom teacher, I see the benefits of both web tools mentioned in the table above. I had never used Lino until recently and I'm excited to incorporate it into my classroom activities. Students get bored when teachers use the same tech tools repeatedly. This versatile platform has some bells and whistles that I'm confident will grab student's attention and get them working collaboratively.