PebblePad university-wide implementation

As mentioned at the end of Achieving SFHEA and SCMALT, I am now very much in the refinement stage of developing my Principal Fellowship material.  With the aim of submitting for February 2025.  I've a lot of strategic examples to use, which was a challenge to narrow these down.  In that process I had realised I have never documented my strategic work on implementing the university-wide application of PebblePad.  However, as I have already selected my three examples for my case studies, I thought I'd write the very drafty piece below to recall my role and contribution in this and publish here along with my previous PebblePad work.  Therefore this will remain an outtake, unless I change my view and use it as a base should I want to replace one of my current case studies.

Case study: Supporting the strategic implementation of PebblePad for university-wide application

When I commenced my previous role as a Digital Practice Adviser from 2017-2021.  I was immediately involved in the piloting of PebblePad to support the strategic response, of the remit to explore a new digital technology that would enable wider opportunities to support formative, summative and synoptic assessment as well as continuing CPD and Degree Apprenticeships.  I assisted in the institutional implementation of PebblePad and lead on staff pedagogical support (Scott, 2020).  The aim was for to scope purchasing the system and having the appropriate infrastructure in place.  From October 2017 and throughout 2018 I assisted a one-year university-wide pilot to full scale implementation of PebblePad.  With the overall aim to ensure that the system is understood, used effectively with staff and students for the intended purpose and has ongoing effective pedagogical and technical support.  Agreed at a senior level, this involved working with pilot academic staff groups such as Nottingham Business School (NBS) and Art and Design.  I later conducted stakeholder analysis of current/previous and super PebblePad users, to bring people together to share practice as part of a steering group.  It was at this point I earned membership to the PebblePad Operations Group that consisted of membership of business owner colleagues (Library) and product owner (Digital Technologies).  I went onto reviewing key documentation such as '18-19 Service Overview', 'Benefits for Academic Staff ' and 'Business Continuity Plan December 2019', I specifically contributed and was acknowledged to 'Summative Assessment Guidelines using PebblePad (July 2018)'.  As with H5P, I remain a key advisor of our PebblePad business account through my long-term advocacy of the system.

I predominantly led on the design of staff pedagogical support utilising evidence-based frameworks (Scott, 2019c).  The Library are the business owner, and agreed to pick up technical issues and provide student support.  Myself and my colleague picked up staff development and pedagogical support.  I designed and delivered a range of introductory and advanced PebblePad workshops on the system, learning design, assessment and CPD, including associated central pedagogical and technical guidance repository accessible via NOW.  My colleague and I also designed and delivered a bespoke workshop for the East Midlands Ambulance Service partnership in August 2018.  Later offering a PebblePad breakfast 28th March 2019 with my colleague, a librarian and a technician.  A main output from the activity was to collate ideas and good practice and to help us inform future staff development opportunities, the direction and structure these could take.  There were four tables with four individual themes, each facilitated by one of us.

Throughout this process, the NTU PebblePad user community was largely built by myself and my then colleague.  This was supported by a community of practice through the online group Yammer.  Later evolving to a Teams group in 2021.  A TILT group was also formed as a way to share practice and inform future initiatives and direction.  Around the pandemic time this fell quiet, however in 2022 I initiated discussion to reboot this.  To be recognised and invited to chair it via Rachel Challen (Learning and Teaching Manager) and Sanjay Gupta (Product Owner).  However, I had to decline to my own TILT group previously mentioned.

By April 2018, it was clear that PebblePad was the preferred tool to support NTU’s innovative learning and teaching ambitions and it was announced that NTU would move from pilot to service.  From September 2018 onwards, PebblePad has been rolled out institution-wide, offering a self-service option for all NTU staff and students to access via the Virtual Learning Environment.

On the 12 December 2018, me and my colleague delivered the following webinar for the Association for Learning Technology Winter Conference 2018; ‘PebblePad - pedagogy, positives and pitfalls: A DIY approach to creating Workbooks’ (Scott, 2018).  We shared our journey and included an overview of three case studies focusing on NTU colleagues who created three very different PebblePad Workbooks for their students.  We explained what worked well, what didn’t and what could be improved as a result of positive experimentation.

Overall, I made a positive strategic contribution and influence to ensuring effective system integration and developing appropriate pedagogical, technical and community infrastructure and support.  To support and enhance the experience of ePortfolio-using students. PebblePad was implemented to support and improve the student experience.  I have remained a key practitioner, advisor and stakeholder in PebblePad, up to my present role.  Therefore, adhering and fulfilling strategic objectives.

Following my promotion to the role of Digital Curriculum Support and Developer in IHAP (2021), I took initiative and created a IHAP Region to own and better manage and support our specific digital curriculum.  Supported through the creation of a digital curriculum design and quality assurance process (Scott, 2022a) for PebblePad workbook design and design of VLE online learning materials in the VLE.  That promotes effective digital, academic and learning design practices.  The student comment below reflects my strategic approach of this.

Learning Disabilities Nurse Apprentice - "I have to say you’ve got a glowing reputation amongst my nursing colleagues for your prompt attention to our issues and the positive way you resolve them. We can’t believe somebody working with PP could be this happy!!"

As my colleague left the university early 2021, and no one in the team volunteered to support me with PebblePad (not a one-person task).  Plus more change in remit direction of Organisational Development.  It was agreed that the team/department would no longer support PebblePad and it was pushed back to stakeholders.  Therefore, staff development, pedagogical support and community building has not been maintained well.  I moved on from my central role in August 2021.  At present, this is still the case resulting in little or no staff support infrastructure - a fragmented experience to say the least, however it highlights the my significant role and contribution in the implementation and shows that this is still required.  I remain a member of the PebblePad Operations Group and a key advisor and stakeholder on decisions related to the success and licence maintenance of the system, as well as contributing to the overall roadmap led by the Product Manager.  To help mitigate exceeding our license users, which I suggested, circa 2022/2023 that PebblePad now needs to become curriculum specialist, and not widely accessible to all, and wider considerations of the systems maturity in the university.  Eventually this led to a PebblePad renewal review, which was initially due to commence in 2022, then gained traction in 2024.  In October 2024, I was contacted by a Digital Technologies Business Analyst for two meetings 1) provide an introductory overview session of the system or how it works and its uses. 2) me and my Head to discuss our department uses and requirements to help build understanding of  the School’s perspective.

[Quotes to be used]

Adrian Clark, Learning and Teaching Librarian – "I had the pleasure of working with Dan Scott for several years at Nottingham Trent University.  Dan and I principally worked together on the implementation and roll out of an eportfolio solution that the university procured to support degree apprenticeships.  Dan is a natural collaborator and worked with me on a staff training program.  Dan’s initiative and sensitivity to the needs of the teaching community was evident in his setting up and curation of a staff training and communication channel: designing and delivering bespoke training to faculty both online and in person, as well as being instrumental in a launch and feedback event for the eportfolio system.  Throughout, Dan was not only an incredible colleague to work with but a consummate professional.

Teaching colleagues at NTU mentioned how informative and insightful they found the sessions.  In terms of Dan’s contribution, many attendees cited how he made the new system feel like something that was already a part of what they do rather than another thing they had to think about.  In terms of uptake we saw up to 500 new accounts created in the platform with little impact on support.  Dan went in to consult with various academic departments around the specific e-pedagogies related to their curricula, and Dan played a crucial role in not only the delivery of apprenticeships at NTU; but, digital transformation as a whole."

Sarah Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Continuous Professional Development Course Lead - "Delivering the student inductions together with the digital curriculum team works very well in supporting students on the CPD course."

Paula Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Student Nursing Associates Course Lead - "The use of PebblePad and support offered at the institute (IHAP) is more advanced than what is obtainable in contemporary institutions."

Reference List

Scott, D (2018) PebblePad - pedagogy, positives and pitfalls: A DIY approach to creating Workbooks [Online]. Available from: https://danielscott86.blogspot.com/2018/12/pebblepad-pedagogy-positives-and-pitfalls.html [Accessed 18 February 2024].

Scott, D (2019c) A quartette of PebblePad conceptual developments [Online]. Available from: https://danielscott86.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-quartette-of-pebblepad-conceptual-developments.html [Accessed 18 February 2024].

Scott, D (2020) PebblePad Review [Online]. Available from: https://danielscott86.blogspot.com/2020/06/pebblepad-review.html [Accessed 18 February 2024].

Scott, D (2022a) Digital curriculum - engaging colleagues in the process [Online]. Available from: https://danielscott86.blogspot.com/2022/08/digital-curriculum-engaging-colleagues-in-the-process.html [Accessed 18 February 2024].