Free CPD resources for CSP members

^{Isabella Sarpong, learning and development officer}

At the beginning of 2017, the CSP changed ePortfolio systems and launched the Learning Hub, the society’s first virtual learning environment. These CPD tools provide you with content and resources to help you develop in your career. Use it to build your CV, create plans, record and complete learning activities and jot down your reflections.

The simple and sleek look of both systems makes navigation straightforward and they can be accessed on your PC, Mac, mobile or tablet, making it easy to write your reflections or catch up with CPD on the go!

So what’s new?

• CPD templates to help you to record your achievements, plan and reflect can be completed using Microsoft Word, giving you the flexibility to adapt them to meet your needs
• Social networking features allow you to easily connect with people, make friends and share knowledge or stay in touch with contacts by messaging
• Sharing content with other portfolio users - your friends, colleagues or supervisor. Perhaps you would like to share your career development plan with your manager in a meeting at work? If they are not a user, you can simply use the secure ‘secret URL’ function to create webpages for your content which will only be viewable by people you chose to send the link to and for a time period determined by you
• A journal section, giving you the option of recording your thoughts and experiences as a diary entry which can be added to a portfolio page so you can request feedback or comments. And if you need more than one journal, why not create an extra one!

Explore our new eBites in the Learning Hub

Once you have logged into the ePortfolio, there is a direct link to the Learning Hub on the dashboard.

This gives you access to ‘eBites’, learning activities directly from the CSP. These bite-sized chunks of learning will contain videos, interactive courses, articles to read and assignments to test your learning. They vary in length, taking between 10 and 45 minutes to complete.

Why not complete an eBite on your way home? Or reflect on your day at work and add it to your journal while it is still fresh in your mind?

Make it yours & customise

The dashboard is your homepage that no one else can see. It’s where you can keep up-to-date with what’s new such as the latest eBites or templates or get notified of any changes to content. You can personalise your homepage by adding items such as PDFs, interactive content and RSS feeds - helping you to quickly find what you use the most.

You can customise your profile page which can be seen by other users, helping you to showcase your portfolio pages and content to your friends. It’s simple to manage your privacy settings, putting you in complete control of what to share and what to keep private.

This is just a taster!  There is a link to the Help and Guidance section on the dashboard which has short tutorial videos on common features but if you can’t find what you need or if you have any questions or feedback, get in touch - add the CSP Global Admin as a friend and use messaging or email Learning&Development@csp.org.uk

Where, when and how you access the ePortfolio or Learning Hub is up to you. So, as long as you have battery life and internet you are good to go!

I hope you enjoy exploring these new resources and growing your CPD portfolio.