Core area 4: Communication and working with others
Good communication, including listening skills, is at the heart of providing effective support and successful collaboration with others. As part of working collaboratively with the PebblePad developers and furthering my own development, I attend regular PebblePad events such as the Regional Users Group and the PebbleBash annual conference. The video on the right shows my first presentation of a paper at PebbleBash 2016. These events provide me with opportunity to liaise in person with the system developers, and to benefit from lively discussions and exchanging of ideas with colleagues from other institutions. For example the idea for the LTI block linking PebblePad and the Blackboard VLE came from a suggestion from a colleague at Sheffield Hallam University.
In contrast, when I needed to roll out the launch of the new HTML5 version of PebblePad in September 2016, I knew that I needed to utilise a communication strategy that would reach thousands of users quickly. I also needed to ensure that a consistent message about the changes to the system was clearly communicated. My aim was to minimise and ideally avoid disruption to teaching and assessment for users. I used various channels including the team blog, website, announcements via the VLE, emails sent to practice partners, mentor newsletters, posters and Prezi presentations displayed in the Department reception area. I also updated the guidance on the PebblePad website so it referenced the new version and provided updates in classroom based training sessions for all students.
It is important to consider the best method of communication to convey information. Our large number of system users (4000 mentors, 800 students and 70 academic staff) meant I used a blanket approach that utilised all available communication channels to share the details of the update. Although I feel that the strategy worked and there was a high level of awareness that PepplePad was changing, I feel that a more effective approach would be to route the different channels of communication to a single source. This would mean that users know where to go to find this information and an online source of information can be shared via a hyperlink using the various channels. I have tried to filter our guidance and information through the team website but there is still opportunity to improve this. Condensing the mentor newsletter and team blog to a single news source would be a good example of how I can achieve this.
In considering this, I reflected upon a project in a previous role in which I implemented the approach of collecting information into a central resource. I collaborated with the Admissions and Marketing Teams to develop the Department’s Preparing to Study site delivered via Blackboard VLE (screen shots from the site can be viewed below). Preparing to Study provided introductory information for our undergraduate nurses and midwives who had not yet started their programme. I was responsible for collecting the required information, the construction and maintenance of the site and coordinating a welcome discussion using the Blackboard collaborative blog tool. By promoting the site as the central point for communication, it was widely used with positive feedback (see right) and I hope to adopt this approach with PepplePad.
