EPAC Chat this Thursday

EPAC will host it’s next chat this Thursday, March 3 @ 10AM PST.

This chat session will focus on the next EPAC face-to-face event, which will take place at AAHE’s National Conference on Higher Education (March 17-20 in Atlanta, GA). The group will be meeting on Friday, March 18th, from 3 to 5 p.m

I have found these chat sessions a very valueable way to connect with colleagues at other institutions and, also, to hear about others’ experiences. I highly recommend them!

Some of the topics that will be discussed (from Helen Chen’s post to the EPAC listserv) at both the F2F event and in the chat include:

• Eportfolio case study/design review: For as much as we talk about eportfolios, there’s nothing more useful than to actually “see” an example. This would be an opportunity for eportfolio programs to spend a few minutes describing their eportfolio programs and share an example or two. But instead of just being a “dog and pony show,” we would invite programs to pose a question or issue for which they would like to have some input or feedback on. This issue could be related to the technical design of the eportfolio, implementation issues such as student motivation or faculty support, etc.
• Best practices: Building upon the above, there is always strong interest in eportfolio tools — who’s using what, what are the advantages/disadvantages — as well as best practices for implementation into the curriculum. Again, we would invite programs to share examples and questions perhaps in discipline-specific small groups.
• Resource sharing: What eportfolio resources have been especially useful to you? Please bring a resource to share and discuss with the group.
• Eportfolio Assessment: As a group, we will review a ePortfolio according to a rubric or we can try to design our own, considering questions addressing, for example, the context, reflection, and evidence of learning.
• Pre-conference reading/resource sharing: Here’s an opportunity for us to explore a topic in greater depth such as digital storytelling.

* See extended entry for directions on joining the chat.Directions for joining the chat (with thanks to the Practical Assessment
COP for the instructions):

1. Enter the following address into your browser:
http://webcenter.aahe.org/chef/portal. This takes you to the AAHE WebCenter.

2. If you do not have a Username and Password, click on Create New Account
and fill in the information requested. (Record your Username and Password
for future use.) If you do have a Username and Password, enter them in
the spaces provided and then click on the Login button.

3. You are now in an area called My Workspace. If you have already joined
the EPAC COP, the name will show up at the top of your screen next to the
label My Workspace. If you don’t see EPAC with a hot link, the system
doesn’t recognize you as a member. No problem. Just go to Membership on the
left side. Up pops several groups you can join. Scroll down to find the
EPAC COP, check the box, go to the bottom of the screen, and click Join.
From now on when you enter My Workspace, you will have a EPAC Tab at the
top of your screen. Click on it.

4. Click on Chat in the menu on the left.

5. In the Box called ?Main Chat Room? click on Click to join now.

6. Say hello and away we go!