SBS Technology Enhanced Learning

Have you ever wanted to turn your classroom into a marketplace where students can pitch their entrepreneurial ideas? If the answer is ‘Yes’, then SANDPIT Crowdfund Campus may be the tool you are looking for.

SANDPIT is an online platform that helps students to commercialise entrepreneurial ideas. It gives them experience of crowdfunding, but more importantly it gives them an experiential method to test and validate their ideas.

In 2016/17 Dr Shinga Masango used SANDPIT on her International Entrepreneurship module.

She talks about her experience in the video below:

Benefits of SANDPIT:

• Structures the process of idea generation, pitch creation and virtual crowdfunding
• A safe place for students to test their ideas
• Practical and engaging for students
• Pitch ideas which include a video, images and text on a multimedia online platform
• Variety of assessment method
• Staff have an online record of student progress through the 3 structured exercises (Idea builder/ Sales Simulation/ Investment Simulation).

Challenges of SANDPIT:

• New software and process that requires learning for students and staff
• Students were concerned about protecting their ideas, which were public within the student group so that they take part in the ‘Investment Simulation’ ^{(Exercise 3, see below)}
• Assessment: students wanted acknowledgement for each exercise they undertook.

There are 3 exercises that can be used sequentially:

1. Idea builder – students build their idea by identifying and researching:

• their customer
• the ‘problem’ or gap in the market that their idea will address
• current solutions
• the end goal
• and their own solution.

Once they have gone through the reflection and research required for this process, students can ‘reflect, pivot or persevere’ with their idea.

2) Sales Simulation – Students develop an online pitch or ‘campaign’. For the campaign they include:

• A short video featuring the team and promoting their idea.
• A brief description
• A long description
• Images – which may include the product, the team and e.g The Venture Matrix ‘Value Proposition Canvas’
• Develop a ‘rewards’ system for different levels of virtual currency backing.

3) Investment Simulation –  Students invest with virtual currency (‘campus coins’) in the ‘campaigns’ of other teams, leaving scores and constructive feedback on desirability and feasibility. 70% of the campaigns will not meet their investment target – this is to reflect ‘reality’ and build resilience and learning.

SANDPIT aims to give students the confidence to be ‘effective, employable and entrepreneurial’ graduates.

Sandpit Crowdfund Campus Introduction Demo by Henry Jinman, CEO of Crowdfund Campus:

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.