Refresh, Reshape, Redesign – this guiding vision encapsulated the spirit of PebbleBash 2024, our bi-annual conference held in the historic Surgeon’s Quarters of Edinburgh. Over three days, educators, practitioners, learning technologists and senior leaders from over 40 institutions worldwide came together to share pedagogy, practice, and build personal relationships united by a shared vision for advancing higher education.
Our attendees brought their passion and curiosity, transforming PebbleBash 2024 into a dynamic space for sharing ideas, challenging norms, and discovering innovative practices. Our Founder & CEO, Shane captured the essence of this year’s event beautifully, stating:
‘Whenever we approach a PebbleBash I worry that it couldn’t possibly be as good as the last one, but they always are. This year’s was particularly memorable with more international delegates than ever, more speakers demonstrating powerful impact with PebblePad, examples of wide-scale and deeply embedded use, and an absolutely mesmerising student panel. Above all, it was friendly, fun, and incredibly collaborative – watchwords of our wonderful community.’
Our Chief Customer Officer Alison Poot shared her thoughts on the international community event:
” PebbleBash is a wonderful celebration of our PebblePad community and gives us the opportunity to showcase the great practice and innovation of PebblePaddlers across the globe. We are always blown away by the diversity of ways in which PebblePad is used to support teaching and learning and love that everyone is so keen to share and collaborate …. and join in some ceilidh dancing too. A truly memorable three days.”
Watch the highlights
Our highlights video captures the essence of the conference, showcasing key moments and sessions. For those who couldn’t be there in person, this video is a great way to experience the energy from the event.
What people said about the event
The feedback has been outstanding, with many commenting on the rich discussions, collaborative atmosphere, and practical insights shared. Here are some of the top takeaways that stood out to our guests:
Key takeaways from PebbleBash 2024
1. Curriculum transformation
Dr. Jon Turner from the University of Edinburgh and Professor Jeff Grabill from The Universtiy of Leeds delivered inspiring keynotes on curriculum transformation and redesign. Dr. Turner highlighted the benefits of “embedding, surfacing, and articulating experiential learning and reflection” within curriculum frameworks.
Professor Grabill inspired attendees with bold, creative approaches to curriculum reform and the importance of meaningful assessment.
“As a leader guiding our institution through General Education Reform, these keynotes offered invaluable insights into diverse approaches and international perspectives.” Senior Leader, USA
2. Folding career-readiness into programmes
Gayle Brent from Griffith University led a workshop titled “Change is the Only Constant” and delivered a featured presentation, “Mission Possible: The DNA of a Bespoke Professional Development Program.” Her insights into integrating career-readiness skills into academic programs were particularly impactful
“Gayle Brent’s session helped me think about embedding employability in a new way, and her insights on using the data in PebblePad for student skill and confidence tracking over time was incredibly insightful.”
Academic Leader, UK
3. Student panel: A vision of possibilities
The student panel was a highlight of PebbleBash 2024, offering an illuminating glimpse into how PebblePad enhances learning experiences. Attendees were particularly impressed by how students articulated the benefits of PebblePad in reflecting on their progress and personal growth.
As one student shared, PebblePad offers a space to “learn to reflect, yes on the quality of the work, but also on my progress, how I make sense of my work, who I am and who I might want to become, not just in my professional but my personal life too.”
“The student panel was absolutely the most impressive, seeing what is possible down the road was very important for me.” Project Manager, Netherlands
4. Power of peer feedback
Discussions on peer feedback emerged as another key takeaway, sparking questions and thoughtful answers from the conference delegates. Attendees explored how structured approaches like rubrics and video feedback can enhance the effectiveness of peer reviews, emphasising the need to teach and scaffold constructive feedback practices.
“I especially enjoyed the dialog after the session from Ohio State University. The presentation sparked a discussion between delegates from Maastricht, Edinburgh, and Griffith, who noted that peer feedback can often be more direct and revealing than tutor feedback.” Programme Leader, Canada
5. Flexibility and broad applicability of PebblePad
Many new customers were impressed by PebblePad’s versatility, highlighting its ability to enhance academic processes, support student agency, and facilitate co-curricular learning. They noted that the platform’s potential extends far beyond initial expectations.
“There is way more you can do with the platform than I initially understood, it’s possible for different levels of feedback to attach to learning artifacts.” “One of the most important sparks for me was assessment and I came home with some simple but potentially powerful ideas.”
6. Alumni accounts and professional portfolios
Lifelong learning emerged as a key theme, with discussions on its importance in addressing higher education and global challenges. A key takeaway was the potential for using PebblePad to develop professional portfolios for alumni. Many attendees expressed interest in creating tools that help former students maintain and showcase their skills and achievements over time.
“We are now looking at developing ideas for students to set up a ‘professional’ portfolio to use as alumni.”
Connecting with institutions already successfully implementing alumni accounts provided valuable examples and inspiration for attendees looking to enhance their own practices.
“What was especially useful is connecting with institutions who are making great use of Alumni Accounts.”
7. Innovative impact and success stories
With over 40 presentations at PebbleBash 2024, it’s impossible to cover them all, but we’re excited to highlight three standout sessions that received particularly enthusiastic feedback:
Jennifer Lindley from Monash University showcased the profound impact of PebblePad on innovative assessment methods for clinical skills assessments (OSCEs). Her presentation provided “significant statistics and notable time and cost savings,” illustrating how PebblePad can streamline and enhance educational practices.
Louise Grisedale presented a compelling case for transforming the educational experience through PebblePad, focusing on cross-institutional supervision. Her approach demonstrated the platform’s versatility and its ability to foster collaborative and advanced educational practices.
RMIT Virtual EnGenius revealed the impressive scale of what can be achieved with PebblePad. The session sparked significant interest, and we are planning a follow-up webinar to delve deeper into this innovative approach.
8. Strategies for advancing practice
At PebbleBash 2024, the three-day event allowed participants to connect with peers and experts, sparking ideas and solutions to common challenges. The support from the PebblePad team, along with the invaluable learning design workshops and services are the best starting point for helping to widen adoption. The event highlighted how this support is widened and enriched by the customer community who excels in providing practical support and expert advice.
“What really struck home for me is the potential of this community. I now have access to experts and peers who are navigating the same challenges.”
These takeaways highlight the transformative power of PebblePad and the passionate collaborative community dedicated to advancing higher education. As we continue to innovate and support the ambitions of higher education, these insights will guide our efforts and inspire future initiatives.
Conference Resources
We’re thrilled to offer a range of resources from PebbleBash 2024. Our comprehensive conference book includes customer case studies providing a detailed overview of what was shared over the three days. You can download the Conference Book, a collection of case studies here.
For those who want to dive deeper into the insights shared at PebbleBash 2024, visit our updated conference website. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be updating the website with videos recorded during the conference, photos, presentations and individual case studies.
With our Product Director and Researcher present to gather valuable insights, we’ve made improvements to our UX testing process. Check out our new product blog on usability, which highlights the latest features and how you can get involved in our customer research initiatives.
Thank you for supporting the ambitions of higher education
PebbleBash 24 – Supporting the Ambitions of Higher Education was a resounding success, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and strategies among educators worldwide. Beyond the sessions and workshops, attendees enjoyed the conference dinner, highlighted by a wonderful after-dinner speech from Dr. Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal at the University of Edinburgh where she shared “A Journey Through the Stories Told by Wicca Data.” Which set us up perfectly for the lively Scottish ceilidh.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants, speakers, and facilitators for their contributions to making this event impactful and inspiring. The conference sparked exciting ideas for follow-up webinars, including a global session focused on SLICCs, featuring speakers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Waterloo, and a webinar on innovative assessment practices in medicine from Monash University to name just a few!
As we conclude our reflections on PebbleBash 2024, we’re reminded of the inspiring words delivered by Jodie Young, our Head of Customer Success, APAC. Jodie’s spoken word piece, Supporting the Ambitions of Higher Education, beautifully encapsulates the spirit of our conference and the shared journey we’re on in higher education:.
“Together we’re creating something bold. We are designing spaces, human experiences. Together, we’re designing our future.”
At PebbleBash, we came together as educators, practitioners, learning technologists, and leaders to refresh, reshape, and redesign our approaches to higher education. We explored new strategies, shared successes, and forged connections that will help us navigate the ever-evolving educational landscape.
“If it’s a stout and supportive rope to pull them through the quagmires, then we shall twist the strands of yarn to create that one unified strength.”
Our conference highlighted the power of collaboration and the importance of a supportive community. From curriculum transformation to career-readiness integration, from student perspectives to the versatility of PebblePad, we saw the impact of collective effort and shared vision.
“There are as many ways to play and create as stars in the heavens. Don’t be constrained by the size of your telescope. Discover your own constellations. Change. Adapt & Grow. Start over. Invent. Create. Embed. Surface. Articulate. Refresh. Reshape. Redesign.”
As we move forward, let’s carry the insights and inspiration from PebbleBash 2024 with us. Let’s continue to innovate, support each other, and share our possibilities. We’re here to celebrate our collective achievements and to support the ambitions of higher education.
Thank you to everyone who made PebbleBash 2024 a success. We look forward to seeing you at our next event and continuing this journey together.
