PebblePad

Health and Wellbeing (HWB) have been using PebblePad¹ for years for students on placement, as it is an industry tool used by health professionals.

Sheffield Business School (SBS) began using PebblePad in September 2016 as an E-Portfolio tool, (once version 5 was available and the user experience more streamlined). Taking advice from David Beasant in HWB, the SBS TEL Team keep the use of it straightforward:

• The PebblePad and ATLAS² tools are put on Blackboard.
• Creating the ATLAS workspace through the Blackboard site pulls all the students and staff through onto ATLAS. (TEL Team permissions are required for ATLAS workspace creation in SBS.)
• Staff design a Webfolio³ or Workbook⁴ template. This creates a consistent structure that ensures students add relevant content, and is easier to mark.
• The Webfolio/Workbook template are put onto ATLAS with ‘auto-submit’ settings, so when students save the template it is automatically submitted in their name. (Students need to be re-assured that they are submitting an empty template which creates a live link for staff to see, and which they can add content to until the deadline, when it will freeze for staff. It is different to Blackboard where only completed work is submitted).
• A standard column is created in Blackboard grade centre, and feedback and marks are added there. (Although feedback and marks can be added in ATLAS, it would mean another VLE for staff to learn, and it is a university requirement that feedback and marks are on Blackboard).

So, some set-up time for using PebblePad is required by both staff and the TEL Team. Management is also required for student extensions on ATLAS.

Students on the Tourism Industry Experience course found it useful to show their E-Portfolios to prospective employers. See the video below for Philip Goulding’s experience of using PebblePad Webfolios.

So far, both the staff and student experience has been positive, and requests for using PebblePad are increasing.

Degree Apprenticeship courses are using PebblePad workbooks for the end point assessment. The Nestle students have begun using workbooks this summer, and the expectation is for all Degree Apprenticeships to use PebblePad.

Students can convert their PebblePad university account into a free alumni account for life, so they can take anything they create with them, and continue using the tool throughout their careers.

1. PebblePad is a personal learning space. It includes tools like Blogs, Webfolios, and templates for reflection.
2. ATLAS is the institutional assessment space for PebblePad; where submissions can be accessed and managed.
3. A PebblePad ‘Webfolio’ (E-Portfolio) has a website structure with pages and drop-down menus. It is customisable by students and they can freely add content. (They can also delete content, although so far no student has deleted the Webfolio template structure created for them by staff.)
4. A Workbook is a website template that students cannot alter. They can add information in fillable fields and link to evidence. A workbook can contain assessor fields that students cannot alter.