Australia, December 2015.

Monash University’s Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences received high praise from the judging panel for its winning entry in the higher education category at the annual eLearning Excellence Awards, hosted by the eLearning Industry Association. The awards, which recognise and applaud the industry’s achievements in innovation and excellence, have become a prestigious annual recognition of innovation and achievement in the eLearning industry. 

About the entry

“Moving radiography clinical studies into the digital age.”

 The Monash Bachelor of Radiography and Medical Imaging (Honours) is a 4-year integrated academic and clinical course. In each of the first three years learners undertake two clinical placements, with a six-month placement in the fourth year. Historically, students would receive large paper workbooks containing all placement material; however, this approach proved to be expensive and inflexible, and the team started to consider whether an online approach would be better. After searching the market for robust and flexible tools to manage online submission and assessment, including access for external supervisors, PebblePad was selected as the system of choice and first introduced in 2014.

Students use PebblePad to create dynamic image collections, and maintain personal portfolios to document and showcase their capabilities. The approach has improved collaboration between students, educators and clinical partners, and has allowed tension between theoretical and practical learning to be bridged in an applied practical way.

What the judges had to say about the entry …

"I was very impressed with the strength of reciprocal benefits among learners, teachers and administrators."

"The purchasing process in acquiring learning technology is fraught with the tendency to want all the bells and whistles that are often not fully utilised if at all. This awards submission illustrates how a technology selection process got it right by focusing on outcomes and how these outcomes are properly aligned with technology features and capabilities."

"This is a great example of where going digital not only improves existing processes, and reduces costs, but also leads to a better outcome and tracking. This submission shows how the teams at Monash University and PebblePad delivered an exceptional result."

If you would like to learn more about this project please feel free to get in contact the with the team at Monash University or with PebblePad's Jodie Young:

jodie@pebblepad.com.au
ruth.druva@monash.edu
john.mcinerney@monash.edu