Profiles provide a framework of questions or competency statements that users can use to rate and/or evidence their ability. They are used in many disciplines, for example, National Teaching Standards for PGCE and PGCAP (formerly LTHE).
For Tutors…
Creating a Profile
In order to create a Profile you will need to get the ‘Profile Builder’ Administration Tool from Martin Walter in the Web Team. This also allows you to edit and manage existing ones. Ready-made profiles can be imported from the PebblePad website and edited for your own use.
You can add hints and resources (e.g. Word docs/ video) to a complete Profile and/or to individual questions. Feedback Statements can also be added so that evidence submitted by a user on a given competence can be validated quickly.
You can also include a Rating Scale so that users can assess their confidence/ experience, etc…
A Feedback Box can be added to all Sets of questions enabling a lecturer to enter feedback directly onto the Profile page.
Profiles can be created and edited by multiple authors (they need to be within PebblePad system).
When ready, Profiles can then be published to a Gateway or sent to individual users, for completion.
Giving Feedback on a Profile (Response)
Profiles, like any other asset in PebblePad, can be shared and commented on. The ‘Quick Validate’ option enables you to respond and add feedback on individual questions.
You can also give feedback on the whole Profile by clicking on the ‘speech bubble’ at the top of the page (underneath the PebblePad logo). You can upload your own feedback form or type directly into the Comment box. If you do this be sure to select ‘Feedback’ under ‘Comment Type’(see below) as students can remove comments!
See the Profile Builder Tipsheet for more detailed information.
For Students…
Completing a Profile (Response)
How to Complete a Profile (video)
Students will receive an email notifying them that they have a Profile published to them. It must be opened in ‘Edit’ mode in order for them to be able to respond, particularly if rating has been used. Profiles can be completed over time – either by attaching existing evidence or through creating an action plan to work towards a particular competency. You can create a new record, attach an existing asset, or upload, e.g. a Word document to evidence a statement. Either way you are prompted to write a reflection about how this evidence has helped you meet the competency. You can easily see which questions you need to revisit through a ‘traffic light’ icon attached to each question. Red indicates you haven’t added any evidence, amber that you have created an action plan, and green shows that you have evidenced a statement. You can add multiple pieces of evidence if appropriate.
The ‘Evidence Tree’ view is particularly helpful as it enables you to see your entire Profile with live links to attached evidence.
You can use profiles in your teaching practice by talking to your local learning technologist who will set you up with a gateway of your own or by contacting us at tel@plymouth.ac.uk. Once you have a gateway you can create any number of gateways to use in your courses and activities.
