The enthusiastic implementation of a plan to give all University of the Sunshine Coast students and staff access to their own ePortfolio by the end of 2016 has won a national award.

Dr Christine Slade and Priscilla Trahar, of USC’s Centre for the Support and Advancement of Learning and Teaching (C-SALT), will receive the Platinum award in the Best New Technology Implementation category at the LearnX Impact Awards 2015, to be held on 9 September in Sydney.

C-SALT Director Kylie Readman said it was an outstanding achievement for the project team and other staff and students involved in the adoption of ePortfolios using the PebblePad software platform.

“The LearnX Impact Awards are open to individuals, teams and organisations from corporate, education and public service sectors nationally, with over 200 entries received this year,” Ms Readman said.

“The focus of this category is on an eLearning project that has delivered across a large section or entire organisation, so it’s recognition at the highest level for USC.”

Dr Slade said PebblePad was a “one-stop shop” for creating, storing and sharing evidence of valuable experiences, knowledge and attributes in a reflective format, for study, work and professional development.

“In 2013, we started with only 150 students developing ePortfolios but this number has grown exponentially to around 3,500 students in Semester 1, 2015,” she said.

USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the exciting news reflected USC’s commitment to quality outcomes for students, to enhance their learning experiences and strengthen their graduate career opportunities.

— Julie Schomberg