PebblePad is a portfolio tool used by students who undertake placements as part of their studies. Within PebblePad, students will be given access to 'workbooks' which will contain course-specific material, while incorporating records of events, reflections, and evidence from placement scenarios. The workbooks are submitted for assessment and can be shared with assessors to review development and progress and provide feedback at various points along the learning journey.
Key Features
You can log in to PebblePad from any internet-connected device (computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone). The link to PebblePad is at the bottom of this section. We recommend using the Google Chrome browser.
If you forget your password, you can reset it from the login page. Once the password reset has been emailed to you, check your junk mail or spam folder in case the reset link is there.
If you are a returning student who previously had a PebblePad account, you may find that your account is dormant. If so, please follow the guidance in the link below.
When you login to PebblePad, you will find yourself on the Pebble+ Dashboard. To find out what each of the areas of the dashboard are, as well as how to use them, please select the link below.
There is also a navigation bar along the top of your screen to provide quick access to menus and dashboards. To find out more, please use the link below.
The third menu is called the burger menu, which gives quick access to some of the features you will be using in PebblePad. To find out more, please use the link below.
Your academic assessors will make your workbooks available to you in PebblePad via the RESOURCE STORE which you can access from below your name on the dashboard, or from the burger menu.
Once you have located your workbook, you can open it by clicking on the title. Once open, you will be prompted to auto-share. By agreeing to this, you will be submitting your work for assessment. Once submitted, your UON academic assessors will have access to your workbook as you progress through it.
For more information on using the resource store and accessing workbooks, please use the links below.
If you are accessing your workbook for the first time, please go to this section: 'finding and submitting your workbook for assessment'.
If you have already located your workbook and it has been auto shared for assessment, then you will find it in your ASSET STORE which you can access from below your name on the dashboard, or from the burger menu.
Your asset store will contain any workbooks that you have opened and saved along with any templates that you use as part of your workbook. You can also upload documents directly into your asset store, along with any completed PebblePocket templates.
For information about your workbook including who has access to it, you can use the information side bar.
For workbooks that you open and work on regularly, you can use 'favourites' so that your workbook can be accessed from the favourites area of your dashboard. Please use the link in the list below to find out more.
Although your workbook will have already been shared with your UON tutors for assessment purposes, you will need to manually share your workbook with your practice assessor/supervisor so that they can sign off competencies and provide feedback on your work.
Once you share your workbook, your assessors will also have access to any completed templates (such as worked hours sheets) if you have linked them within your workbook. Please use the links at the bottom of this section for more information.
Before you share your workbook with your practice assessor/supervisor, please ensure that...
If your practice assessor/supervisor does not have a PebblePad account, please see the instructions in the link below.
If your practice assessor/supervisor does have a PebblePad account then please carefully follow the instructions in the link below:
It is important that you log out of your PebblePad account before your mentor logs in to access your workbook. If you are both logged in and looking at your workbook at the same time, it is possible that work will be lost.
Your workbook will be made up of areas for you to add text: such as text boxes and tables; and areas that are only able to be completed by your assessors. There will also be parts of your workbook where you will need to add further evidence and parts of your workbook where you may need to complete templates.
Evidence can be attached on a page anywhere there is an +Add button.
For further information on how to add evidence and the types of evidence that can be added, please use the links below.
A capability is used in a template to let you self-rate your skills, knowledge and behaviours and attach evidence to confirm your claims. The blocks look similar to other content blocks but have additional features. Please use the link below to find out more about capability blocks and how you use them.
Within your workbook there are various ways check approvals, feedback and grades added to assets by an assessor. Please use the links below to find out more.
A template is a page containing fields you are able to complete by typing information, ticking options or attaching assets. Please use the link below for more information on templates.
In your workbook you may find a page that collects templates, these might be to collect your worked hours or to collect patient feedback for example. In many workbooks, your tutor will have pre-tagged the templates to then enable them to be linked to the collection page.
Example of a collection page with a pre-tagged template (dynamic):
Open the template page, from the link on the collection page as in the example above.
Enter a unique title in the 'save as' box to name the individual template, you must follow the naming convention set by your tutors. Complete the other boxes, then save and close.
(Templates are pre-tagged by the tutor - in this example, the tag is 'collection1')
To enable the templates to then be visible on your workbook page, you will need to select the toggle switch to the ON position. Everything from your assets, with the relevant tag, will show up on the page.
If your tutor has asked you to add your files to a 'collection' then you will need to manually add the 'tag' to your assets.
Assets can include images, documents or templates uploaded from PebblePocket. Use the link below for more information about tagging assets in PebblePocket.
PebblePocket is an app to accompany PebblePad, for smartphones and tablets, so you can use PebblePad templates offline. This means you can get signed off even where you have no internet connection. The template is saved onto your phone/tablet and you must send it to PebblePad as soon as you are able. The app will only store 10 items, so make a regular habit of always sending to PebblePad as soon as you have internet access.
You are under no obligation to download the app to your personal device and will be able to find and use the templates in PebblePad if you choose not to use PebblePocket.
Currently, Paramedic Science, Nursing and Midwifery students using the eMORA, have specific templates accessible via the app.
Log in to the app using the same login details you use for PebblePad. Then you will find your templates grouped by subject. Midwifery students' templates are in the eMORA section, Nursing templates are under the M,Y,NE+E PLG section and Paramedic Science students will find theirs by pressing the university logo.
In most cases, the templates will lock after they've been signed. So, if you have been asked to add any hours, points or tags, you should do so before you get a signature.
You may need to add hours to a timesheet. Or you may need to add tags so a template will be added to the relevant page of your workbook. The majority of templates are already tagged for you, so DO NOT REMOVE any tags from the templates.
Warning: You must send your templates from the app to PebblePad. Templates (or other assets) are stored on your phone/tablet, so if anything happens to your device your templates will be lost.
After you graduate from your course you will lose access to the University of Northampton systems. Normally, your access to University systems is revoked thirty days after the date on which the exam board confirmed that you completed and passed your course.
However, with PebblePad you are entitled to a Personal PebblePad Alumni Account. This is provided by PebblePad, so that you can take your PebblePad assets with you when you leave. You can continue to use PebblePad for your personal learning and professional development as you move on to the next stage of your career.
You will have free access to this Personal PebblePad alumni account, for as long as the university licenses PebblePad, and for three years after that. After which, you can choose to retain your alumni account for a low annual fee. You will receive notification of this and have plenty of time to make a decision.
As a UON alumnus your assets will be stored in a separate tab within your asset store called The University of Northampton - alongside Assets, Resources and Deleted. From there, you will be able to continue to access and manage any assets that you had previously. However, any new assets that you create will be stored in your default assets tab, separate from the University tab.
If you can't find the information that you need in the guides above then you may find our FAQ's helpful. PebblePad also provide their own guidance which you may find useful.
For further support with how to use PebblePad or with how complete specific areas of your workbook, please get in touch with your academic assessors. They will be able to provide guidance and will have a working knowledge of the workbooks that you complete.
If you require technical support with PebblePad, please use the PebblePad Contact Form and please include as much information as possible; include screenshots where necessary.
PebblePad is not tied in with any of the other university systems, therefore you will need to use the PebblePad Contact Form to request any changes to your name or email address.