The\nproject aimed to put into practice aspects of the University\u2019s Learning,\nTeaching and Assessment Strategy (2015-22) and the Strategic Framework\nCrosscutting Theme relating to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Supporting\nan integrated approach to\nemployability<\/li>
- Aiding\ntransition and retention<\/li>
- Producing\nflexible and responsive learning environments, employability<\/li>
- Educating\nthe whole person<\/li>
- Embedding\nTechnology Enhanced Learning.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
With\nthe help of Simon Starr, the Faculty Learning Technologist, the team decided to\nuse PebblePad with First Year students of the module \u201cProfessional Perspectives\nin the Creative Industries\u201d. They were a total of 66 students: 28 from the BA\n(Hons) Film, Radio and Television and 38 from the BA (Hons) Film Production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PebblePad\nreflective portfolio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\naim was to use PebblePad as an e-portfolio repository that students use for\ntheir ongoing career development, and to integrate its use with the first assessment\nfor this module. This module provides the platform for the programme\u2019s integrated\napproach to graduate employability as the Professional Perspectives theme will\nbe delivered as a core module in each year of the programme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
PebblePad\nprovides a flexible and responsive learning environment where the students can\ninteract with the staff to gain informal and formal feedback on their work. The\nmodule was set up with employability at its heart but this is underscored by the\nteam\u2019s desire to educate the whole person by offering space for the students to\nreflect upon their experiences of the first five weeks of Semester 1. The use\nof technology enhanced learning to provide this reflective space worked much\nmore effectively than first hoped and the students showed evidence of beginning\nto talk and think about how they learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\ntheir reflective writing task, students were asked to reflect on their\nexperience of the first five weeks in Semester 1. To enable students to write\nreflectively, not simply assume that they could write in this way, two sessions\non reflective writing and thinking, were set up, which were included in the\ntimetable. With the help of Learning Developers, all students had an\nopportunity to begin the reflective writing process during these sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nstudents\u2019 reflective writing proved very enlightening: as they were doing their\nwork the tutors could identify those students who were having difficulty. PebblePad\nenables tutors to give informal feedback on work as it is being written. The reflective\nwriting worked as another conduit for students\u2019 anxieties and a forum for tutors\nto share solutions and information about the highs and lows of their first five\nweeks. The prompts below were supplied for the students\u2019 reflective writing\nactivities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- How well have you settled in to the FRTV or Film Production programmes?<\/li>
- What has been the most difficult aspect of the settling in process?<\/li>
- What has been the most enjoyable?<\/li>
- Did you find out things about yourself and your ability to deal with new situations? Give an example or two.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/prism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/545\/2020\/02\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEvaluation of the\nuse of the PebblePad reflective portfolio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nfinal question enabled the students to reflect on their own learning process\nwith some very heartfelt and insightful responses, as the excerpts below show:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Student 1 (BAME)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nfirst found it hard to communicate with the people in my class because I was\nover thinking about what they would think of me, also the fact that my class\nhas a mixture of ages I thought as most of the people are older than me, my\nopinion and thoughts would not be taken seriously. Within the first two lessons,\nI didn\u2019t know that I had the ability to make friends so quickly, I didn\u2019t think\nthat I had it in me to be so trusting and open to people so early into my\ncourse, but I am glad I overcame and pushed passed the anti-social barrier.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Student 2 (Straight from College)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn\nthe past five weeks I’ve moved out of my family home to begin a new chapter of\nmy life at University. In this short amount of time, I’ve learnt that I am a\nlot more independent than I thought I was… Moving into halls was, and still\nis, a very big move for me. I was originally excited, but since arriving I’ve\nbecome very anxious and reserved. I’m trying my best to get used to my new\nhome, but it is definitely easier said than done. Looking back at my progress\nover the five weeks I can see that I was a lot more anxious at the beginning,\nbut now I’m finally getting somewhere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Student 3 (Returning to\nEducation)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn\nthe first five weeks of this semester, I have learnt a lot about myself. Before\njoining, I had spent a long time out of education. I was nervous about\nreturning to academic studying, and had no idea of what university life would\nbe like. I was blown away by how wrong my thoughts on university were. I was\nvery much stuck in the past and thought that university would be just like my\nprevious experiences in education. I have really enjoyed my time here so far,\nand very much enjoy the friendly relationships students can have with staff, it\nbreaks down the barriers that I felt came with a student\/teacher scenario.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The student feedback on the use of PebblePad\nin the module was very positive. Students seemed to take it in their digital\nstride. Tutors found the marking through Atlas a bit clunky at first, and there\nwere some issues on how to grant extensions when a student couldn\u2019t make the\ndeadline due to extenuating circumstances, but this was solved by the Faculty\nLearning Technologist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According\nto Helen Barrett, in her own life-long research on e-portfolios and their use\nas reflective tools (2018), the process of reflection through which learning\nexperiences are explored can lead to deeper levels of learning and help develop\na range of skills essential to lifelong and life-wide learning. There is ample\nevidence of this process getting underway in the reflective writing of the\nstudents using PebblePad as an e-portfolio. Not only did it enable them to\nwrite more freely on their first five-week experience but it provided tutors\nwith an early warning mechanism for retention and success issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research\nfrom the University of Portsmouth (2018) reaffirmed\nthe team\u2019s thinking that the students would only engage with a new digital platform\nif it was part of their assessment. The success of the use of PebblePad was also\nbecause of collaboration between learning technologists, employability leads,\nstudent academic support officers and academics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This work is innovative because it\nbrings together the use of digital technology as an aid for employability but\nalso as part of equipping the students with the necessary digital skills in\nreadiness for graduate and professional employment. The reflective writing as part of the first assessment allowed the\nstudents to respond with freedom and insight on their own learning and this\nenabled the tutors to be proactive in early intervention with students and\ntheir Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) to ensure retention was maximised and\nlearning success enhanced. This reflective process begins a journey for the\nprogramme and the students and as Baume & Scanlon (2018: 13) suggest: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026 in school, college or higher\neducation, we rarely talk much with our learners about learning. It would be\ngood to talk about it more. It would be good to talk about: what we mean by\nlearning, about the condition for learning, about our individual preference for\nlearning, and about what we know about how we learn and like to learn.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team considers this innovative use\nof PebblePad to offer space for continuing the conversations about learning\nwith students that will help them to \u201cremain effective and enthusiastic life-long\nlearners\u201d (Baume & Scanlan, 2018:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For further information, please contact kenneth.fox@canterbury.ac.uk<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bibliography<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrett, H. (2018) http:\/\/eportfoliosblog.blogspot.com\/p\/resources.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n