PebblePAD

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Thoughts

…allows users to record thoughts and reflections on any event or experience of significance to them. Thinking about how, why and where you learn is an important aspect of learning which is why every record type has a section called reflecting on learning. Thoughts provides an input record which is wholly concerned with learning from experience. Many courses and professional vocations place great value in personal and professional reflection and the recording of thoughts may prove very useful later if users are required to provide evidence of their reflective practice.

Postings added to Blogs are also saved as Thoughts to allow them to be reused with WebFolios or linked to other assets.

Experiences

…allows users to record any event or experience which is significant to them. The experience recorded here does not have to relate only to academic courses as many experiences may be related to sporting, cultural or social pursuits. Because potential employers are interested in what people do outside of their academic courses users could record any experience which they think may be useful in the future as part of a WebFolio or CV.

Abilities

…allows users to record abilities, skills, competencies and other attributes which they feel are significant or which are required by an external agency for the purposes of assessment, accreditation or validation. Users can describe their ability, skill or competency in their own words or copy an official description of the attributes being recorded.

Achievements

…allows users to record any successful endeavour which is significant to them. The achievement recorded here does not have to relate to an academic course, indeed many achievements will be related to sporting, cultural or social pursuits. Because potential employers are interested in what people do outside of their academic courses users should record any achievement which they think may be useful in the future as part of a WebFolio or CV.

Action Plans

…allows users to create action plans designed to help them achieve a particular outcome or goal. Action plans should be written by learners to help them improve what they are currently able to do or as part of an activity planning process. The action plan tool includes a ‘steps to success’ function where larger goals can be broken down into smaller steps, and a SWOT analysis section.

Meetings

…allows users to record significant meetings they have had with other people such as module tutors, personal tutors, careers advisors or with fellow students working on projects. Like action plans, meetings includes a facility for recording the outcomes of meetings and for planning how and when the outcomes will be addressed.

Files

…allows users to upload significant files directly into their asset store. Uploaded files would normally exemplify a particular ability, experience or achievement that users may wish to share with others in the future as part of a WebFolio. PebblePad supports any kind of file including video, sound and animation.

Learning Profiles

PebblePad includes an ability profiling tool which allows users to assess their own confidence and competence at a range of pre-defined skills.

PebblePad is pre-populated with a learning skills profile, a graduate skills profile and a research student skills profile. The new Profile Builder provides the tools for institutions to tailor the existing profiles or to build new ones to suit the needs of different groups of users e.g. ‘Skills for Nursing’; ‘Fieldwork Skills’; or ‘Employability Profile’.

Proformas

PebblePad includes a form builder tool which allows institutions to build custom records to scaffold user entries. The resultant ‘proformas’ can be made available to specific users individually or presented as ‘form booklets’ using the WebFolio tools.

Proformas are being used where the generic records are not specific enough for certain requirements, particularly where PebblePad is being used to support professional courses or learners.

WebFolio

The WebFolio, which is as easy to create as all of the other assets, offers the user a wide choice of templates, colour schemes and image options to create their own evidence-based web site. Users can choose any number of pages which are named according to preference. Like all ‘assets’ the WebFolios can be shared, copied, duplicated and edited at will. This means that a student applying for several different jobs could create multiple custom WebFolios to meet the specific needs of the different potential employers.

The WebFolio tool can also be used to create online CVs which are enhanced through links to appropriate skill, experience or achievement assets.

Blogs

Blogs are single page websites which tend to contain a chronological account of a person’s experiences. We see Blogs as being valuable tools in someone’s learning journey and have built them in such a way that they can be created, published and shared in the same way as all other assets, or they can be added as integral parts of a WebFolio. Entries made to a Blog can also be saved as individual ‘Thoughts’ and entries made using the thoughts input can be published directly to a Blog.