Do. Or not do. There is no try: supporting Program Level ePortfolios in a Year

R John RobertsonLTDC Central Regional ShowcaseUW Stevens Point 2013-03-13

UW Oshkosh

● 1800 anticipated First Year Students

● 12000 undergraduate population

● Significant transfer student intake

Coming Fall 2013

USP

● A focus on First Year Experience explicitly based on AAC&U's High Impact Practices (AAC&U / Kuh)

● Also seeking to document learning in an ePortfolio

● Reform of general education program - approved by Faculty Senate in March 2012. From approved plan to running for the first year intake in a year

USP Team & ePortfolios

● An ePortfolio specialist

● Recruited, appointed, started mid July

Do. Or not do...

[Imagine Yoda]

Challenges - scale

● Approximately 250 courses and at least 200 instructors

● 1800 First Year Students

Challenges - purpose

● One driver for USP is demonstrating the value of our Gen Ed program, so who is the ePortfolio for?

● Accreditation as a driver but with the potential to distract from pedagogy

Challenges - process

● ePortfolio new for most instructors● Developing the idea of a program level

ePortfolio and helping students frame assignments from a course in the wider picture of a program and degree

● Course and ePortfolio assignment may have been set up by department before instructor hired

Challenges - technology

● Thinking technology does xyz; discovering it does uwx but not xyz

● Guarantees about software sustainability● Terminology

Use the Force Luke

Pilot5-6 instructors~200 students

Different starting pointsExamining issues formatvielyChallenge of summative reviewSupport resources endorsed

Professional development

● Going to every meeting and training opportunity with the wider program that I can

● Enhancing Student Learning: reflection and the ePortfolio process workshop series

Reference resources

Resources

● USP site● LT site● D2L FAQ● Guides and Brochures● Access points for

students?

Learning opportunities

● Spotting and acknowledging mistakes○ assumptions about what tools can do○ when shared spread misinformation which you have

to address later● Assumptions

○ about your role in relation to other units on campus○ about use of platform

The biggest critical success factor?

● The engagement of the USP team and campus community

● Having the opportunity to explore, test, and find out how ePortfolio stuff works or doesn't work

● Being the person with their eye on this particular issue and being a voice for these questions in different contexts

Ongoing questions

● Export● Analytics and data● How do we ensure students keep their

portfolios up to date?● Student support beyond FAQ and resource

sites

Contact

● robertrj@uwosh.edu● @kavubob

● usp@uwosh.edu