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

Springpad

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

Subjects & skills
Subjects
N/A
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Creativity
Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
10–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (3 Reviews)
Platforms:  Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire

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.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

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.

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Standards:

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.

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.

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

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?

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?

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.

Key Standards Supported

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.11-12.3

    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 Text

  • 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.9-10.2

    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

  • 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.11-12.2

    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.

  • 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.9-10.6

    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.11-12.6

    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.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 3 reviews) (3 reviews)
Featured review by
Laura S. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Trinity Lutheran School
Joppa, United States
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.
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