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Case Study: ePortfolio & Co-Curricular Tracking for the University of Wisconsin

Case Study: ePortfolio & Co-Curricular Tracking for the University of Wisconsin . D arrin Witucki , UW- Stout Paul Shepherd, UW- River Falls. Presentation Overview. Background of the Project Overview of ePortfolio & Co-curricular Transcript Module Description of Focus Groups/Study

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Case Study: ePortfolio & Co-Curricular Tracking for the University of Wisconsin

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  1. Case Study: ePortfolio & Co-Curricular Tracking for the University of Wisconsin DarrinWitucki, UW-Stout Paul Shepherd, UW- River Falls

  2. Presentation Overview • Background of the Project • Overview of ePortfolio & Co-curricular Transcript Module • Description of Focus Groups/Study • Findings & Implications • Discussion

  3. Project Background UW System ePortfolio Showcase (Feb 16, 2010) Should we do it? I don’t know, you want to do it? UW System Growth Agenda Grant Program (Mar 3, 2010) Grant Proposal Outcomes: 1. Work with OrgSync to develop, test, and build a comprehensive student engagement portfolio system by December 31, 2010. 2. Evaluate the effectiveness and utilization of the design features of the engagement portfolio system by June 30, 2011. 3. Determine the impact of the portfolio system on levels of student engagement by June 30, 2011. And. . .

  4. Project Background (continued) Grant Proposal Goals: • Ability to customize and categorize learning outcomes. • Ability for students to upload samples of their work related to the engagement activity. • Ability for students to write reflections for each engagement activity. • Ability for faculty, staff, or other engagement activity facilitators to upload evaluative comments on students’ progress. • And, an assessment of pilot groups at all 4 campuses May 2010 – Awarded the grant. . . June 2010 – 2 Day Development Meeting at UW-Eau Claire Dec. 2010 - OrgSync Delivered. . .on time and exceeded expectations.

  5. Focus Groups and Study • The Numbers:4 Schools • 16 groups • 195 Students • 171 portfolios created • The Process: • Each campus chose their pilot groups based on standards outlined in the original grant proposal • It was important for the entire composite to include an academically focused group, minority student representation, Greek life, general interest, sports or leisure. • ePortfolio went live on OrgSync in January 2011 • Pilot groups were presented with the program early spring 2011 on each campus individually • Pre Survey invites went out mid semester and the group members were surveyed by ARC in late April 2011. • Examples of Specific groups:UW-River Falls -- Asian American Student Association (AASA), Student Senate, Tour Guide Staff • UW-Eau Claire -- Learning Communities, Leadership Course, Multicultural Advisory Committee • UW-Stout -- Applied Science Scholar Mentor Community, Gamma Sigma Sigma • UW-Oshkosh -- Program Board, Leadership Certification Program

  6. Study Findings • The majority of students in the test groups (with the exception of UW-Oshkosh) felt the ePortfolio feature was effective. • UW-River Falls – 85% • UW-Eau Claire – 76.5% • UW-Stout – 71.4% • UW-Oshkosh – 40% • The majority of students in the test groups felt the ePortfolio feature helped to keep co-curricular experiences organized. • UW-Oshkosh – 100% • UW-River Falls – 90% • UW-Eau Claire – 81.3% • UW-Stout – 57.2%

  7. Study Findings • The majority of students in the test groups indicated they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the ePortfolio tool. • UW-River Falls – 90% • UW-Eau Claire – 88.3% • UW-Stout – 71.5% • UW-Oshkosh – 66.7% • The majority of students in the test groups indicated they would “possibly” or “definitely” continue to use the ePortfolio tool into the future. • UW-Stout – 85.7% • UW-Eau Claire – 70.6% • UW-River Falls – 65% • UW-Oshkosh – 66.7%

  8. Study Findings • Across the study groups, respondents who did not use the feature cited “No Need” as the most common reason. • Respondents with a high usage rating most commonly reported they used the feature because it was required for class (64%) • Respondents with a low usage rating most commonly report they used the feature because it’s part of a student organization experience (62%) • Respondents across institutions felt the feature helped to understand skills gained through experiences (65% average) • Respondents across institutions felt the feature helped to understand the relationship between curricular and co-curricular experiences (67% average)

  9. Study Findings Four major themes were identified to make the feature more useful. 1. Applicability Concerns (most cited) 2. User Suggestions 3. Dissatisfaction 4. Unaware of the benefit Three major themes were identified for why respondents would use the feature in the future 1. Organization 2. Useful for future reference 3. Satisfaction Three major themes were identified for why respondents would not use the feature 1. Unaware of benefits 2. Redundant 3. Dissatisfaction

  10. Implications • Work to connect the ePortfolio with academic purposes. • The most frequent users reported using the feature for a class • Seek faculty and administrative support • Use ePortfolio to track academic co-curricular activities • (e.g. service, undergraduate research, etc.) • Educate students on the importance of chronicling curricular and co-curricular experiences • Students with low user ratings reported not seeing the need for the tool (38.5%) • More training sessions should be provided to discuss why students should track experiences and identified skills gained through engagement activities. • Connect strong users of ePortfolio with emerging users for peer to peer training. • Increase awareness of OrgSync in general • Students who were dissatisfied with the feature were less aware of OrgSync in general. • Additional training sessions should be provided to maximize use of OrgSync. • Providing value added features and implementing user suggestions should increase use of ePortfolio and OrgSync in general.

  11. User Comments & Suggestions • Encourage professors to use this and extend extra credit for attending campus wide events. • Make the student organization leaders keep it more up to date. • The organizations I am in also count as jobs, but they are only loaded into the ePortfolio in one place. I would like them entered in both without having to do it myself. • Make instructions and help more available. • This should be provided and discussed with new first year students right away. If used properly it would be great for them! • The reference part of the portfolio is confusing. My references didn’t understand what to do. • Would be nice to add a spell check feature to the portfolio and an separate category for pictures and videos. • It seems like a lot of work to maintain. As a graduating senior, I don’t have time to complete all of my experiences. • This is too much like a resume, it would be nice to have abilities to change the background or do other things to make it more personalized.

  12. Discussion • Future Directions at UW-Stout and UW-River Falls • Future Enhancements from OrgSync • Best Practices at other Campuses • Other Discussion Topics

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