Pebble Paddling

My overall responses to PebblePad have been mixed. I'm sure there are some really good examples of its use out there, and I would have liked to have had the time to look for them. In conclusion:

1. I think the attractiveness of the interface invites the user to get stuck in, and could be very appealing to visually-motivated people.

2. As an e-portfolio tool, I think it has the potential to work really well, especially for a student building up an evidence-based account of their learning. At some crucial points it deliberately invites the user to reflect on an experience or issue, in addition to describing it. It also encourages the user to approach projects in definite ways. By suggesting that a meeting needs to be written up, with specific outcomes identified, it pushes the user into some good practice.

3. In my own context, I think it could have a strong appeal at Foundation level and perhaps at Level I. I'm less convinced about it for portfolio based work at a higher level. It seems overkill for collaboration, given the number of websites out there that enable you to do that for free, though if you are using it anyway that aspect is perfectly usable, and permissions seem easy to manage.

4. It has the illusion of being whatever you want it to be. At the start that can be a bit scary - what do I want it to be? But as you get into it, it seems to be fairly prescriptive in the way it handles things. That can then be disappointing as you discover its limitations, or a relief as you uncover its positive aspects.

I think that a student encouraged to start using PebblePad for a well-structured project, and given clear instructions for managing the initial stages of its use, might well find that they began to explore it for a number of different purposes, and could find it useful.