A string of forthcoming regional PebblePad User Group Meetings will take place in September and October. The meetings will take place:

• Midlands - 21 September 2010, Aston University
• Scotland & NE - 27 September 2010, University of Edinburgh
• North West - 26 October 2010, University of Central Lancashire
• London & SE - 28 October 2010, TBC

These informal meetings are offered to anyone supporting the use of PebblePad. In them we will have a whizz through the new features in version 2.5, preview of PP3,  and seek your thoughts and suggestions for its future ‘shape’.  Of course a really important feature of the meetings is just to catch-up with us and with each other.

There’ll be at least two of the PebblePad team at each meeting so you’ll also have chance to seek advice on how you’re using PP and to show off anything that you would like us (and the assembled throng) to see.

We look forward to seeing you somewhere in the UK soon.

For more information plase visit this link

Resources from the PebbleBash 2010 conference are now available here: http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/conference.asp.

Resources include presentations, themes and comments, case studies, the conference publication and even the resume video clip.

Hopefully some of those resources will be of use to you for your work or studies. Enjoy!

Anyone who is interested in the conference publication "Effective use of PebblePad: A collection of case studies from PebbleBash 2010" can purchase a copy by following this link. The book is available both in digital format (pdf) as well as a hard copy. Individual case studies can be found here.

About the book: "These case studies begin to capture some of the unique affordances of the personal learning system, PebblePad. It is a tool wholly founded on improving learning and we believe it to be without equal. However, it is just a tool – albeit one which is based on sound educational principles and borne out of extensive pedagogical practice. As a tool it relies on the people who use it to use it knowingly, insightfully and deliberatively. Just as there is an art and a science to teaching so there is both capacity and understanding associated with the best uses of PebblePad."

A BIG thank you to all of the delegates who attended the recent PebbleBash 2010 conference at Shifnal, Shropshire, UK.

With over 80 delegates from 3 continents the conference boasted a wide range of educational professionals and students who all contributed their personal experiences of working with eportfolios in their respective disciplines.

There were some amazing insights into the various ways PebblePad is being used to plan, evaluate and reflect. We had some outstanding keynote speakers (and performances) as well as over 25 case-based presentations ranging in subject from Learning, Teaching & Assessment over Work-based Learning to some excellent Student Perspectives. More on this soon.

For anyone who is interested in the case studies as well as the conference publication "Effective use of PebblePad: A collection of case studies from PebbleBash 2010" please visit this link.

We’d like to interrupt your normal reading with this very special newsflash...

At the IMS Global Learning Impact Awards held in Long Beach, California last week Pebble Learning and the University of Wolverhampton were selected by an international panel of judges for a Platinum Award - the highest award available.

The judging process was exhaustive starting with a 30 page submission about how your software has had an impact on learning on a named institution.

The shortlisted entrants were then asked to complete a 5-minute online presentation – we’re very proud of ours and you can view it here!

28 finalists were then invited to the IMS Global Conference at Long Beach where judges had the chance to ask any final questions and we presented our case to 14 ‘delegate panels’ whose cumulative vote was added to that of the judges and a decision arrived at.

Obviously we’re thrilled to receive this international recognition which helps validate what we’ve been doing; and your decision to work with us.

If the judges thought this version of PebblePad was good - wait until PP3 is in the wild! You can find out more about our Platinum Award and PP3 at PebbleBash 9-10 June 2010.

The official IMS Global Awards press release is available online.

PebblePad in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton has won the Platinum Award for Global Learning Excellence of the prestigious IMS Learning Impact Recognition and Awards Program.

The Learning Impact Awards (LIA) are designed to recognise and honor the use of new and influential technology in the support of learning worldwide.

Shane Sutherland, Development Director at Pebble Learning said:
"From its roots as a tool to support learners new to university, PebblePad now supports learning well beyond the traditional university reach. Its impact on learning starts from when learners prepare for university through their early experiences and their later research projects. Ultimately it supports their transition from university into employment and their ongoing professional development."

The award has recognised the outstanding and innovative ways in which PebblePad helps students, teachers and professionals to develop their learning, reflective skills and personal development planning

To find out more about the award please visit these links:

Learning Impact Award Showcase

Award presentation

Issue No. 8 of Paddling Around, the PebblePad newsletter has just been published with some interesting articles about the forthcoming PebblePad Conference, the PebblePad Practitioner Survey, the REfLECT iPhone App & Moodle Block, Interoperability Projects, forthcoming Australian events and much more.

Get your copy here

Are you using PebblePad with groups of students, staff, or members? If so, we would like to invite you to complete the PebblePad Practitioner Survey.
The purpose of the survey is two-fold:

Summary results will be distributed to all participating institutions. Results will include discipline specific information about the use of eportfolios and PebblePad, as well as comparisons in practice between the UK and Australia.

The survey will only take 5-10 minutes of your time. Just click here

This is going to be a busy year. Apart from the 1st PebbleBash conference on 9-10 June 2010 we will be present at a range of other events:

• 03 June 2010 - SOLSTICE 2010
• 08 - 10 June 2010 - PebblePad 2010
• 16 - 17 June 2010 - Blended Learning Conference 2010
• 08 - 09 July 2010 - PLE 2010
• 22 July 2010 - Australian PebblePad User Group Activity
• 07 - 09 September 2010 - ALT-C 2010
• 08 - 10 October 2010 - Radiotherapy in Practice 5 / Advanced Practice 2

To find out more about where you can meet us just visit this link.

The iREfLECT iPhone Application is now available for download from the iTunes store.

The application, available to download for free from the iTunes App Store, allows REfLECT users to create thoughts and abilities on their iPhone and save them directly to REfLECT.
Images and video on the device can be uploaded straight to REfLECT and any assets you create can be posted straight to any of your Blogs or CPD Records.

Download

We are seeking two gifted programmers who can work well within a team environment and have the discipline and skills to deliver individual projects. A good working knowledge of Microsoft technologies particularly .NET C# and SQL Server is highly desirable but is not essential providing you can demonstrate expertise in other programming languages and/or web technologies. Experience of working in Java and with mobile technologies is also highly desirable.

The final deadline for applications is Friday 30 April 2010.

More details can be found here.

Pebble Learning are running a series of workshops, supported by the IfL and aimed at helping members to make better sense and better use of REfLECT.

These workshops are not technical - though there will be answers for the most common technical questions. These workshops will not be hands on - though they will be interactive and what you will learn will make using REfLECT much easier.

Workshops running on:

• 21/04/2010 - Birmingham
• 22/04/2010 - London (Royal College of Nursing)
• 28/04/2010 - Sheffield (University of Sheffield)
• 29/04/2010 - Manchester (Manchester Met University)

To find out more or to book please visit this page.

We have been delighted by the range of submissions for our inaugural conference and are looking forward to an inspiring event in June.

However, from our first trawl it’s clear that the cost of this residential conference has precluded any student submissions. As veterans of the Telling Stories conferences we know how valuable it is to include the student voice and so we intend to ‘sponsor’ 4 student* places.

Student submissions should initially take the form of a 500 word ‘story’ describing how and why they use PebblePad. Of course we’re particularly interested in hearing from students who use PebblePad in a variety of ways and want to know what they think the benefits to their learning and personal/professional development are.

Proposals must be received by 08 March 2010 and should be sent to conference@pebblepad.co.uk

The 4 students submitting the best proposals will be invited to attend the conference on the 9th and 10th June with all conference fees and residential costs met by Pebble Learning. We will also contribute up to £100 towards the costs of travel.

*In this instance we intend ‘student’ to refer to any learner attending a full or part-time course who is not ordinarily employed in a teaching role.

PebblePad Conference http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/conference 8-10 June 2010

We have received a number of requests from our Australian colleagues for a slight extension to submit proposals to our PebblePad conference as they are only just returning to work after their summer holidays. Therefore the deadline for submissions is now extended until the 15th February 2010!

To submit a paper for the PebblePad 2010 Conference please follow this link.

PebblePad iPhone is an application for your Apple iPhone and iPod Touch (2nd generation) running firmware version 3 or higher which allows access to your PebblePad account.

It allows you to: View the last 50 assets you created, View any assets tagged with ''mobile'', Add new thoughts to your asset store, Upload images from your image library, Upload images from the iPhone''s camera and Post both thoughts and images directly to a PebblePad blog.

To find out more about the PebblePad iPhone App please visit http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/iphone.asp or get it directly from the iTunes store.

We are looking for a self motivated individual who can support the office administration of the company as it continues to grow. Experience in all areas of office administration is highly desirable.

The successful candidate will have relevant skills and qualifications to reflect the demands of the role. Excellent communication, planning and organising skills are essential, along with the ability to work on own initiative.

This is a Full/Part Time | Permanent Position. We are expecting a high number of applications for this post and would encourage early responses. The final deadline for applications is Friday 12 February 2010.

More details can be found here.

Issue No. 6 of Paddling Around, the PebblePad newsletter has just been published with some interesting articles about the forthcoming PebblePad Conference,the Ascilite 2009 conference in Auckland, New Zealand, Training Opportunities in 2010 as well as an introduction to the latest features in the new release of PebblePad.

Get your copy here