Pebble Learning Limited

PebblePad

PebblePad is used to support learning, from onboarding, through graduation, and into professional life. It helps learners plan for, make sense of, evidence and showcase their learning - wherever that happens. Grades, feedback and validation are easily provided by teachers, externals and employers using our comprehensive assessment and reporting features.

Features

• Portfolio: users create and share beautiful single or multi-page eportfolios
• Digital Workbooks/Structured Portfolios: flexible feature-rich workbooks to scaffold learning
• Templates: promote planning, reflection and effective evidencing of achievement
• Assessment Management: robust flexible tools to support authentic assessment
• PebblePocket: reflection and evidencing on the go, online or offline
• Tagging: tags help aggregate artefacts into collections, blogs or activity-logs
• Reporting - comprehensive graphical reporting and data export
• Learners can upload large files or link/embed distributed assets
• Integrated: with the LMS, SIS and through its API

Benefits

• Support learning over time, and across contexts
• Support learners through complex learning processes
• Surface those processes making them amenable to authentic assessment
• Easily organise users into appropriately sized groups and sets
• Engage multiple stakeholders in assessment, including peers
• Authentic recording and reflection promoted by robust security and confidentiality
• Learners can work anytime, anywhere including offline
• Electronic signatures can be gathered in placement or off-campus settings
• Flexible: Used across any subject, department, or institution-wide

£14.00 a user

• Education pricing available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

• Modern Slavery statement

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at tenders@pebblepad.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

864339387389301

Contact

Vikki Kenny
01952 288300
tenders@pebblepad.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: Our service does not have any constraints that buyers should be aware of.
• System requirements: Requires a web browser supporting HTML 5 functions.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our Help Desk provides second tier support for resolving queries. Named contacts can escalate queries and ask for further assistance in resolving issues or reporting problems. ; We aim to provide you with a first response within: 12 hours for enhanced support customers & 48 hours for basic support customers. ; All issues deemed priority 1, for example the platform is entirely down, will be responded to within 4 hours. As we have active monitoring on our servers, we would be the first to know and will inform named contacts of how we’ll resolve the issue.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: It is likely your users will need to be supported to get started with PebblePad and it will be your internal trainers who will provide this help. To support them to do so, we provide train-the-trainer training. ; ; We offer two levels of support packages: ; 1. Basic support package, included free of charge with licenses. ; 2. Enhanced support package (additional cost), designed specifically for those who intend to deploy and use PebblePad across the full University and at large scale. ; The packages include: ; • 24/7/365 support on urgent priority 1 issues - via telephone, email & webform.; • 24/5 support on priority 2-4 issues – via telephone, email, webform & *online chat.; ; Enhanced Support: 12-hour response target – 4 hours target for priority 1 issues.; Basic support: 48-hour response target – 4 hours target for priority 1 issues. ; ; Enhanced Support: Up to 5 named contacts (or 3 shared team accounts). ; Basic support: Up to 3 named contacts (or 1 shared team account). ; ; *As part of our Enhanced Support service online chat will be available in Q4 2022. ; ; Within PebblePad itself there is extensive online system Help that is designed to provide immediate support for all users.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: For platform administrators our getting started service includes initial training as part of our onboarding process to ensure the wealth of features and functionality are well explained and understood. For academics, we have developed an implementation toolkit so that whatever the use, and whatever the scale, the right resources and workflows are designed and built to suit the learning and assessment needs. For all other users, our Learning Centre is built directly into the dashboard giving access to a range of videos and articles. Inline help is also included throughout the platform to coach and guide on the go.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: For data held within Pebble+, users have the option to either export their assets to PDF or convert their accounts into Alumni accounts. Converting their account will make their assets available to them via our personal service and is independent of their institutional account. ; ; In support of our commitment to lifelong and life-wide learning, students and all learners have the option to either export their assets as PDFs or convert their accounts to free Alumni accounts upon graduating (depending on license type). Converting their account will make their assets available to them via a personal PebblePad account which is independent of their institutional one. The alumni account has all the tools of the institution account and learners can continue to edit and add to their existing assets as well as creating new ones. ; ; They will have access to this Personal Account for free for as long as the institution licenses PebblePad and for three years thereafter. At this point they can choose to retain their Personal Account for a low annual fee. A notification will be sent to the user detailing this if a decision is required.
• End-of-contract process: In the rare situation that a customer decides to leave we would work in partnership to make the process as smooth as possible. Once we receive a formal notice of the decision decided to terminate, customers they will have 30 days from the contract end date to export any required data. After a further 60 days all data will be removed from our system. ; PebblePad is divided into two areas: 1. Assessment (ATLAS), and 2. Personal learning space (Pebble+). For data held within ATLAS assessment data tutors have the option to export any required submissions to PDF. For data held within Pebble+ users have the option to either export their assets to PDF or convert their accounts into Alumni accounts. Converting their account will make their assets available to them via our personal service and is independent of their institutional account. Alumni Accounts are free to all higher education customers during the lifetime of the contract, and for 3 years after end of the contract.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: PebblePad allows full access to mobile devices through the main application which provides a responsive layout appropriate to the device in use. In addition to the responsive web version, PebblePad also has a mobile app for iOS and Android based smartphones. The App is designed to work offline so that users in remote locations can still record and reflect upon their activities, or video/photograph them, and then synchronise them to their personal space when they have an internet connection available.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 A
• Description of service interface: The main user interface to PebblePad is a HTML 5 single page application which provides access to core product features. Offline mobile access to perform some template filling tasks is available using an Android/iOS app. Programmatic access to admin functionality is provided via a JSON API to allow integration with customer systems.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 A
• Accessibility testing: PebblePad has always been designed to meet the needs of the widest possible range of users including those who may require assistance. To that end PebblePad has been designed to use assistive technologies and to support alternative approaches to system use over a standard keyboard and mouse approach. ; ; Several of our existing customers using assistive technology have worked with us to refine the accessibility support. We are also working with external specialists to audit the system and improve accessibility to a higher level.; ; We strive to make PebblePad an intuitive system for all users through our clean and simple approach to interface and workflow design. ; ; We test PebblePad’s compatibility with assistive technologies as a routine part of our development life cycle ensuring that as technology evolves our support remains consistent. ; ; Our commitment to providing the best possible accessibility support is through an ongoing process of improvement and refinement, always adhering to the most current publication of the WCAG guidelines. We actively work with many of our customers to enhance PebblePad’s usability and WCAG 2.1 specific improvements feature in every major system update.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: The PebblePad API supports the following:; - Register & sign on for PebblePocket our mobile app.; - Search for users who have not logged in.; - Searchable/Synchronised Pebble Groups i n Pebble+.; - User management/account handling - Creating/managing users and their contact details, maintaining group membership and handling account housekeeping. ; - Allocate workspaces creator from external systems (regions only).; - Import of content into user’s accounts for the purposes of service migration and workflows requiring ongoing content import.; ATLAS API service: ; - Create and manage default Regions.; - Create and manage default Workspaces.; - Create and manage default Assignments, including AIS (Assessor Initiated Submissions).; - Create and manage default ATLAS sets.; ; We also support SSO via Oauth and SAML2.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Administration: The architecture of PebblePad can be designed for the individual customer including roles & permissions for students, faculty & external assessors; creating bespoke Assessment workflows, integrating with an LMS/VLE. ; ; Structured portfolios: PebblePad is able to support individual learner journeys using forms, templates and workbooks within the system and the simple but powerful template builder tool which is available to all users. Users can edit their own forms and templates and distribute them to other users of the system. ; ; Individual users have the freedom to create and customise the appearance of portfolio presentations using graphics, audio, video, embedding & textual design elements.; ; Our customers personalise PebblePad to support:; Portfolios & Portfolio-Practice (including showcase, development assessment).; Assessment & feedback (including authentic & programmatic assessment).; Apprenticeships.; Healthcare (including medical, dentistry, pharmacy, para-medicine, nursing, midwifery, veterinary, health sciences).; Careers & employability.; Personal academic tutoring, mentor programmes & meeting preparation.; Competency & standards.; Digital workbooks & templates.; Internships, placements, practice-learning & working abroad projects.; Professional development & staff development (CPD).; Research & projects based learning.; Orientation & wellbeing programmes.; Reflective practice.; Mobile, offline & app-based learning.; Extra/co-curricular activities.; Flipped classrooms, blended learning & hybrid learning.; Student led co-created learning courses.; Supporting revision & self-study.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Resource intensive operations are queued and managed to ensure users are not impacted upon by concurrent operations.; ; Service monitoring and manual intervention is also in place for unexpected resource usage.; ; PebblePad can scale horizontally and vertically to accommodate short and long-term variations in workload.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: A wide range of metrics are available including:; Number of users.; Number of logins.; Number of uploaded files.; Type of files with count.; Number of submitted items.; Number of published items.; Number of comments.; Number of logins in last 24 hours.
• Reporting types: API access

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
• Equipment disposal approach: In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Data may be exported as PDF files or transferred to a personal account.
• Data export formats: Other
• Other data export formats: PDF
• Data import formats: CSV

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: We are proud to offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Where in any annual period we fail to meet our availability commitment you will be entitled to a refund in the form of service credit. The amount of service credit due shall equate to 1% of license fees paid in the annual period for every 0.1% of unavailability, measured across the whole annual period. The annual period commences on the start date as set out in the organisation’s PebblePad license agreement and a new period will commence on the anniversary of the start date. The maximum refund in any annual period will be 20% of the license fees paid in the annual period.; ; This guarantee excludes circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including, without limitation, outages elsewhere on the Internet that hinder access to your service, unavailability of or interruption or delay in telecommunications or third party services not appointed by Pebble Learning, or other force majeure event issues outside the direct control of Pebble Learning or its appointed agents.; ; Clients must notify us indicating that they wish to pursue their rights as guaranteed by this SLA within 30 days the service exceeding the guaranteed level of operation.
• Approach to resilience: PebblePad is committed to protecting your data and your privacy. PebblePad is Headquartered in England and bound by UK GDPR legislation and European GDPR legislation, some of the strictest global privacy and security legislation. ; ; All data for the UK & EU is hosted in the European Economic Area. Primary hosting is provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Ireland. Our nightly backup hosting for disaster recovery purposes is provided by an alternative hosting partner, Google, and is also located within the EEA and in multiple locations providing enhanced geographic resilience. This adds another layer of resilience and redundancy, that of supplier diversity. ; ; Both hosting partners provide high levels of physical and network security as well as hosting provider diversity. They each maintain an audited security program, including SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance. These world-class server providers leverage the most advanced facilities such as power, networking, and security. ; ; Our support team are based within the UK, we do not outsource nor offshore any element of our support, engineering, product development nor Client Success functions. All employees are full-time PebblePad staff. In addition, all supporting technology platforms for the provision of client service are hosted within the EEA.
• Outage reporting: Service outages are reported by email to all key contacts and via our Twitter support page.; Details on uptime and service status are available at https://status.pebblepad.co.uk

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access to administration functions is managed using role based access control configured by the customer admin team. Access to manage areas of the systems can be granted using pre-defined or customised roles.; ; All users can access our support if required but only users with an administrator role have single sign-on access to help desk system. This allows them to see all open tickets from users in their organisation, some support requests such as e-discovery are limited to global administrators only.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: Between 6 months and 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: British Assessment Bureau
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 04/09/2023
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: The certificates cover our business and software offered in lot 2 and the support services offered in lot 3
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: No
• Security governance approach: Our security governance strategy aims to align all business practices to the key principles of the ISO 27001 standard that are appropriate to a business of our size, these are the principles that are embedded into the culture of our organisation. We have an information security standards team led by our Development Director and supported by our FD and CTO who meet 3 times a week to review progress on internal initiatives and a monthly security review management meeting to check our processes are effective and set new targets.
• Information security policies and processes: Pebble Learning Ltd has established an Information Security Management System (ISMS). ; ; The purpose of this system is to prevent information security breaches by effectively assessing the risks and impacts of a loss of information and implementing appropriate controls so that the risks are reduced to an acceptable level. ; ; The system is designed to ensure compliance with legal requirements, the requirements of ISO 27001:2013 and any other requirements relating to information security to which the company subscribes. ; ; The system has been authorised by the senior management of the company. Support for its implementation and compliance with its procedures is a condition of employment for all employees.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Any changes to the company’s Assets that may have an impact on information security are assessed and controlled in accordance with the Change Management Procedure which is aligned with ISO 27001. ; ; Where appropriate, the following forms may be completed: ; * Change Request Form, ; * Change Risk Assessment Form,; * Change Implementation Checklist,; * Test Results Log.; ; Assignment of new access privileges and changes to access privileges are assessed and authorised using an Asset and Access Control and Review Form in accordance with the Access Control Policy.; ; All Changes are recorded and reviewed.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: We monitor vendor and independent alert services to identify potential vulnerabilities. Any affecting our services are risk assessed to determine likelihood and impact of the vulnerability. Those requiring action will be patched as soon as practical. This may be immediately for high risk items or within 7 days for less significant items which require further system testing.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Server monitoring and unauthorised access monitoring provides immediate alerts for unexpected activity.; ; We follow our Security Incident Reporting and Investigation Procedure. The results of completed incident reports/investigations are recorded in a Security Incident Log. Preventive and corrective actions identified from an information security incident investigation are recorded and monitored using the Improvement Log.; ; Response times are dependent upon the severity of a compromise. In severe circumstances this would have a target time of less than 4 hours.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Pre-defined processes and procedures are in place to deal with minor incidents. A disaster recovery plan is in place for more major incidents. ; Users can report incidents via our support desk ticketing system by phone or email.; Reports are available upon request and to any customers affected.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  As an office-based organisation, the direct environmental impacts of Pebble Learning's operations arise from our use of: resources, energy, transport, our choice of products and services, and our disposal of waste. We are fully committed to playing our part in the preservation of natural resources and in preventing environmental pollution. Our policy is to carry out our business so that we take full account of the needs of the environment. ; ; Our policy is based on the following principles: ; Minimise the impact and maximise the benefits that our work has on the environment and people around us. ; Integrate our Corporate Social Responsibility considerations into all our business decisions. ; Comply with, and exceed where practicable, all applicable legislation, regulations and codes of practice. ; ; Policy objectives: ; Resource use - Minimise the use of materials and energy particularly those with a high impact on the environment. Promotional materials, administrative paperwork such as invoices and orders will be sent electronically where possible. ; ; Waste management - Reduce the production of waste, and dispose of unavoidable waste regarding Duty of Care and in a manner which minimises its environmental impact. ; ; Recycle – Wherever possible Pebble Learning will recycle items for disposal. ; ; Transport - Reduce transport by motor vehicles by offering remote work to all. Where practical, promote the use of public transport, cycling or walking and minimise the use of private or company vehicles for travelling to work and for business purposes. ; ; Procurement - Consider the environmental performance of companies in our supply chain, and wherever financially viable give preference to products and suppliers with least environmental impact.
• Covid-19 recovery:

  Covid-19 recovery

  We have worked really hard over the last few years to support both our employees and our customers during these difficult unprecedented times. ; ; Our customers: Pebble Learning supported organisations and businesses throughout Covid 19, providing its software to support distance learning and offering free licenses to businesses as they adapted to new ways of working. During the pandemic we released several free workbooks to support universities with remote teaching and onboarding new students. ; We continue to support these businesses with our team of learning consultants and learning success managers who are on hand to respond to our customers queries whether with face-to-face training or with our fully online implementation and training plans. ; ; Our staff: Pebble Learning has a flexible working model that offers all employees choice in work location. Working locations can be 100% remote working, 100% office based or mixed (hybrid) to support the COVID-19 recovery effort. This flexibility means employees can work in a social office space if it benefits their mental health. Likewise, employees who need to shield, or have ongoing concerns about COVID-19, can work 100% remote. ; ; Regular Health & Safety training and checks take place to ensure employees and contractors have access to equipment responding to individual needs e.g. noise cancelling headphones and additional lumbar support cushions. ; ; Employees can access a health care plan offering unlimited 24/7 counselling and advice services, video physiotherapy and online resources, reducing demand on health and care services. ; ; Internal communications remind people of support available to them for physical and mental health.
• Equal opportunity:

  Equal opportunity

  Our customers: PebblePad has always been designed to meet the needs of the widest possible range of users including those who may require assistance. To that end PebblePad has been designed to use assistive technologies and to support alternative approaches to system use over a standard keyboard and mouse approach. Our commitment to providing the best possible accessibility support is through an ongoing process of improvement and refinement, always adhering to the most current publication of the WCAG guidelines. We actively work with many of our customers to enhance PebblePad’s usability and WCAG 2.1 specific improvements feature in every major system update. ; ; Several members of our staff have also received training from our partner Anthropolicy, a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion educational non-profit. As part of this training we are currently developing D,E,&I templates which will be made available to our Global Partners. ; ; Our staff: Pebble Learning is committed to the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the abolition of modern slavery and human trafficking. As an equal-opportunities employer, Pebble Learning is committed to creating and ensuring a non-discriminatory and respectful working environment for its staff. ; ; Pebble Learning recruitment and people management processes are designed to ensure that all prospective employees are legally entitled to work in the UK (or relevant territory) and to safeguard employees from any abuse or coercion once in our employment. ; ; Pebble Learning partners with School of Code (coding bootcamp) to offer employment opportunities for people re-training in technical skills. This social enterprise offers free training prioritising people from disadvantaged or minority groups enabling Pebble Learning to support people to move into higher paid work. ; ; Pebble Learning has proven track record in promoting women in tech and has a male/female workforce ratio of 58/42, far higher than industry average of 19%.
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  Our customers: Our Customer vision guides our approach to partnership: ; “We will delight our customers by providing world class support, guidance and education through every stage of their journey with us from first enquiry, during implementation, when widening adoption across their business, and through to renewal and beyond. ; In this way we shall grow and nurture highly engaged local and global customer communities who grow with us and who actively advocate on our behalf.” ; The PebblePad Community is a vibrant and active one and across the Customer and Growth team we are always seeking to connect PebblePad users across customers and regions so that they can collaborate, learn from, and build on each other’s experiences. The Community Site is the portal for community sharing and provides a wealth of resources to inform and inspire new and expanding use of the platform. PebblePad Community events are conducted on a regular basis, both online and face-to-face, culminating in our biennial international PebbleBash conference.; ; Our staff: Pebble Learning is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of all staff. Our wellbeing policy and flexible working arrangements aim to support the overall physical and mental health of our team. Flexible working supports employees manage the demands of their lives, reducing stress and burn out. In addition, flexible working promotes a healthy work life balance, as does offering the choice of work location – reducing long commutes for some, providing social office spaces to meet the needs of others. ; ; Culturally, employees are offered opportunities to be listened to and regularly report that the culture is friendly and supportive helping to maintain their wellbeing. ; ; Pebble Learning offers access to reduced gym membership costs, 24/7 access to GP appointments, 24/7 access to counselling and online support.

Pricing

• Price: £14.00 a user
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: No

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

• Modern Slavery statement

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at tenders@pebblepad.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.