Presentation to LTDC earlier in the year about the process of ePortfolio adoption at UW Oshkosh

1. Do. Or not do.
There is no try:
supporting Program Level
ePortfolios in a Year
R John Robertson
LTDC Central Regional Showcase
UW Stevens Point 2013-03-13

2. UW Oshkosh
● 1800 anticipated
First Year Students
● 12000
undergraduate
population
● Significant transfer
student intake

3. Coming Fall 2013

4. 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
●

5. USP Team & ePortfolios
● An ePortfolio
specialist
● Recruited, appointed,
started mid July

6. Do. Or not do...
[Imagine Yoda]

7. Challenges - scale
● Approximately 250 courses and at least 200
instructors
● 1800 First Year Students

8. 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

9. 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

10. Challenges - technology
● Thinking technology does xyz; discovering it
does uwx but not xyz
● Guarantees about software sustainability
● Terminology

11. Use the Force Luke
Pilot
5-6 instructors
~200 students
Different starting points
Examining issues formatviely
Challenge of summative review
Support resources endorsed

12. 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

13. Reference resources
Resources
●
●
●
●
●
USP site
LT site
D2L FAQ
Guides and Brochures
Access points for
students?

14. 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

15. 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

16. Ongoing questions
● Export
● Analytics and data
● How do we ensure students keep their
portfolios up to date?
● Student support beyond FAQ and resource
sites

17. Contact
● robertrj@uwosh.edu
● @kavubob
● usp@uwosh.edu