This product is no longer available. Check out top picks for more great tools.

Review by Leslie Crenna, Common Sense Education | Updated March 2013

Springpad

Innovative, image-rich app with focus on lifestyle, buying, sharing

Common Sense says

4

Rating Details

Teachers say (3 Reviews)

$avg_user_learning_rating

See 3 reviews

Grades

10-12 This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.

Great for:

See subjects & skills

Take a look inside

5 images

Main menu with a sneak peek at one notebook at right.

When adding a new item, users see productivity categories as well as lifestyle/commercial categories.

All "sprung" items are included in All My Stuff, where users can add to a notebook, add reminders or tags, and rate.

Users can explore existing notebooks and “springs” to follow or add items to their own notebooks.

Within the private (see lock icon) "Inspiring Movies" notebook, this Android user can choose to see notebook activity (Notifications), share with others (Collaboration), or filter the list by those liked or bookmarked.

Pros: Robust, clean design, integration between different genres.

Cons: Teens can easily view adult-oriented content, and the app has a strong commercial focus.

Bottom Line: Slick productivity app lets mature teens communicate and collaborate using technology.

Lesson & Activity Ideas

You might encourage teens to think about traditional methods of organizing school or social activities and compare them to Springpad, or to think about the ways an interest, like interior design, could be furthered using Springpad. Discussion might include ways in which technology like Facebook and Springpad have been used to accomplish goals beyond basic sharing.

Tool Overview

Editor's Note: Springpad has closed and is no longer available.

Springpad is a robust app that's Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest, and Google (somewhat) all rolled into one. Users "spring" –- that is, add Web-based items to notebooks via category-restricted searches or exploration of public notebooks. Teens can learn about concepts of presentation and organization –- using productivity functions like note, map, audio, event, photo, place, link, and tasks –- and produce their own content, perhaps to manage a school club, present a research project, or keep in touch with teachers. The app mines the current location if enabled. Users must create an account with an email for sharing and synchronization; they can also sign in via Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Yahoo.

At the My Notebooks page, users select the plus symbol to add an item or a new notebook, choosing title, background, color, and public or private setting. Users add items from a menu of 12 categories, a third or so being productivity-oriented. The browser-based version synchronizes perfectly with the app, though functionality is slightly different.

Learning Value

For ease, depth, and sophistication, this app is top-notch, although it occasionally crashes when users return to the app from retail sites. Users are asked to "Spring it!" to add items (not release them), which is, concept-wise, a bit confusing. It would be nice if "springs," or items listed in All My Stuff, linked to notebooks that included them. Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

Safety notes: Public notebooks can be cloud-shared easily, but only a double warning stands between you and sharing a private notebook. Aslo, Springpad is aimed at adult users but allows teens 13 or older to have an account. Because of potential access to mature commercial content, however, 16 is a safer age.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

4

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

4

Because teens drive the experience, they'll be able to tailor it to their own interests. Design is smooth, and images and text are optimized and scaled perfectly for devices.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

4

While the overall depth and breadth of content is lacking, the potential is huge. Teens are empowered, and they can learn a wide range of skills that transfer to their offline world.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

3

Depending on the platform, navigation isn't always intuitive, but there are several help notebooks under the "springpadtips" account.

Common Sense Reviewer

Leslie Crenna

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Teacher Reviews

3

(See all 3 reviews) (3 reviews)

Featured review by
Laura S. , Classroom teacher

Classroom teacher

Trinity Lutheran School
Joppa, MD

3

Love Springpad for organizational purposes. Similar to Pinterest.

I personally LOVE this website for my own use. It's like my own personal organization binder for home use. I mainly use it to organize recipes. I like that you can have notebooks for each topic you choose, and still apply "tags" to your various items so they can be found no matter what notebook they are in. I have yet to try this in the classroom, but I would like to pilot it with an older class to see how they adapt to it.

Read full review

© Common Sense Media Inc. 2017 All rights reserved. Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (FEIN 41-2024986) Teaching strategies and digital citizenship tools for educators.

Language
L.9-10: Knowledge of Language
L.9-10.3	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L.11-12: Knowledge of Language
L.11-12.3	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Reading Informational
RI.11-12: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RI.11-12.7	Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Speaking & Listening
SL.9-10: Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.9-10.2	Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.9-10.5	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
SL.11-12: Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.11-12.2	Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.11-12.5	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
Writing
W.9-10: Production and Distribution of Writing
W.9-10.6	Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W.11-12: Production and Distribution of Writing
W.11-12.6	Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

Springpad

Innovative, image-rich app with focus on lifestyle, buying, sharing

Subjects and Skills: Springpad

Take a look inside

Lesson & Activity Ideas

Tool Overview

Learning Value

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Key Standards Supported

Language

Reading Informational

Speaking & Listening

Writing

Teacher Reviews

Explore Our Favorite Tools

Get weekly updates on the latest digital tools and teaching strategies.

Please take a second to answer this question.

Thank you!