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Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.

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I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.

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In this episode, you'll hear part one of
my conversation with Abby Crew, Assistant

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Dean of Academic Planning, Assessment
and Improvement, Curriculum Review, and

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Innovation at Colorado Mountain College.

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More links and information about today's
conversation can be found on Digication's

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Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Full episodes of Digication Scholars
Conversations can be found on

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YouTube or your favorite podcast app.

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Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.

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I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.

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And today I am so pleased
to introduce Abbey Crewe.

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Abbey Crewe is Assistant Dean of
Academic Planning, Assessment and

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Improvement at Colorado Mountain College
Curriculum Review and Innovation.

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Welcome Abbey.

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Thank you.

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Did I get that all right?

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You did.

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You did.

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It took me one year of reading my
email signatures to memorize my title.

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Well, thank you so much
for joining me today.

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Um, I thought it would be fun to just
kind of kick things off, um, for our

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listeners and learning a little bit
about what your role at, uh, CMC entails.

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Well, my eight word title, um,
has been tagged onto as well.

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So I am also the project manager
for our COMPASS Initiative and our

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COMPASS Initiative Digication is
our strategic alignment between

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academic affairs and student affairs.

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And what's really exciting about
Digication and our partnership, uh,

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with Digication is that we were looking
at, uh, first year experience and

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realized that we have 11 different
campuses, we're a dual mission

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institution, a third of our scholars
are dual enrollment, uh, so they're high

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school concurrent enrollment students.

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About a third of our learners are also
multi lingual learners, so we were really

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struggling to find a first year experience
that met everyone's needs because we

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don't have a one size fits all clientele.

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And so we couldn't.

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Uh, craft a one size fits all
first year experience either.

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Um, so Digication gave us this
opportunity to capture the CMC

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experience through ePortfolio.

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So we are weaving that into our holistic
advising efforts, um, and really helping

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students see themselves within their
scholarship and see their journey.

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Both within and beyond the classroom
into job placement and Digication has

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been really influential in that endeavor.

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Wonderful.

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Thank you.

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And I know your school is pretty
new in its use of ePortfolios.

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Are you still kind of considering
where you are in kind of that pilot

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phase or have you expanded from
that initial kind of endeavor?

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Let us know kind of where, where your
school is in that implementation.

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We are in year two of our pilot
program, and we were able to extend

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the pilot another year because of
the Quora launch, and so we're really

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excited to pilot the assessment on
the back end of the Quora build.

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with our brand new Institutional
Student Learning Outcomes.

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So our Student Learning Assessment
Committee, uh, will be able to utilize

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the AAC& U rubrics that align with
our Institutional Student Learning

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Outcomes as they apply to the student
artifacts within the ePortfolio.

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So that's what we will be
piloting this year specifically.

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Nice.

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And I, I love having institutions that are
kind of newer in these ePortfolio pursuit.

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Pursuits come and speak to us about the
experience because it's so fresh, kind

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of where you are in the beginning stages.

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And I would love to just hear a little bit
about, you know, how did this all begin?

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What kind of spurred the interest?

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I know your institution's been
working Really diligently and

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incorporating more high impact
practices into various classrooms.

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How did ePortfolio really
become part of the discussion?

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It's a great question because our
journey began with the High Impact

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Practice Institute with AAC& U.

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And as I alluded to earlier, we went
in doubling down on our first year

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experience as our high impact practice
and then quickly pivoted, um, to

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ePortfolio to capture that CMC experience.

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So, our journey began, uh, with high
impact practice investigation and the

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ways in which ePortfolio can really
capture that for, Uh, the myriad,

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uh, experiences from certificate
to bachelors that our students

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pursue at Colorado Mountain College.

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We have subsequently, uh, attended
the AAC& U ePortfolio Institute

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that is a year long pursuit.

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Uh, we also attended the ALHE assessment
conference last year where LaGuardia

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Community College were celebrating their
work and, you know, all signs pointed to

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Digication, so we had to give it a go.

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Well, we always love to hear that,
but tell us a little bit about the

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AAC&U ePortfolio Institute experience.

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Um, because I know there, there,
there may be some listeners that

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are taking part in it right now.

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Um, there may be some listeners
that have been thinking about it.

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And I think that there's probably some
listeners like, uh, yourselves that.

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participated in it and are now
in this kind of pilot phase or

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getting things off the ground.

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So tell us a little bit about what that
experience was like for your institution.

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So what's, what's remarkable is that
you get to ideate with colleagues

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who are in the same morass.

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And so I really appreciate AAC&U
creating the space for us all to explore.

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And strive and fail and explore some more.

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Um, and so we, we got, we were invited
to present at the AAEEBL Conference.

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Yeah.

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And part of that preparation
was creating a journey map.

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And I was like, well, we
hadn't really done that much.

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And then I went through the exercise
of actually creating this journey

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map and was like, oh my gosh,
we have done so much in a year.

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And this journey map has actually
been celebrated and shared.

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At board of trustees meetings and
academic council and throughout the

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institution because we have done a lot
of work in a short amount of time with

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an expert coach who has also made a lot
of mistakes and we learned from those

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and it sets us ahead five years and in
collaboration with other institutions.

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Who have similar stumbling blocks, and so
we kind of pick each other up and say this

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worked at our institution, this didn't
work, so don't try that, or maybe try

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that, but no, this might be, you know, an
impediment that's coming, so we really,

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we just, we get to collaborate and ideate
on Um, Innovative strategies that are

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truly change makers in the institution
of higher ed and that's exciting.

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It's, it's empowering and it's
energizing and sometimes change can

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be defeating and we all know that.

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So we get to pick each other back up.

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Yeah.

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And you're really, you know.

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Starting to get this off off the
ground, I think at a time where a lot

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of institutions would say, Oh, you
know, our faculty are just exhausted.

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How could we ask them to do
something different right now?

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So how do you feel like it's been
positioned in such a way, your

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institution, where it does feel like
it's more of an exciting opportunity

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for faculty versus something that
It's just kind of one more thing that

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they have to learn in the midst of
everything else going on in their lives.

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Sure.

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And I think faculty fatigue and
initiative burnout and all the other,

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um, COVID has changed everything.

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Um, it's a coalition of the willing.

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So certainly there is no top down mandate
that faculty need to embed ePortfolio.

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Um, we were really actually hoping
that the change agents themselves were

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students, uh, celebrating their work,
um, and championing this practice at CMC.

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It's really a gift that we're able to
offer students, both in terms of the

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artifact that they can take into their
job interviews, but also the folio

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thinking that it cultivates in a scholar.

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To be able to connect what they're
learning in a math class and

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articulate in an interview how that
sets them apart as a candidate.

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Um, so that folio
thinking really is a gift.

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And, and so again, faculty
have the opportunity to opt in.

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We embed a tutor in any class that has
Digication for some technical assistance.

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We actually have some student
scholars who are going to help us

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as well, uh, student work study.

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Uh, we have, last year was our first, our
inaugural student symposium to showcase

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the work of students in ePortfolio
and that was remarkably well received.

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Um, and finally we, we started the change
making through a four question, short

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form reflective assessment practice that
asks our faculty to connect, um, what

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they are, learn, what they're seeing
from their student artifacts, how they

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connect to our institutional student
learning outcomes, and then reflecting

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on how successful or not the case may
be and what supports they may need.

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So we've.

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We've had a couple of different
nodal points in this culture shift,

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beginning with the four question short
form, kind of moving away from box

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checking assessment to more authentic
assessment, and then connecting our new

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institutional student learning outcomes.

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to that authentic assessment
through ePortfolio.

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So it's kind of like win, win, win.

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We also have holistic advisors
who are championing this work.

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Um, they, we can invite students to, um,
share who they are, why they're coming

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to our institution, uh, what they hope
to get out of our institution prior to

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even meeting, uh, an advisor and then
reflecting on the work that they were able

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to demonstrate in their first semester.

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Um, and then in subsequent semesters
in this e portfolio, this kind of

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living transcript, if you will.

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Oh, I love this.

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And I hope some folks that might be
considering doing a pilot are madly

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taking some notes on this because you've
clearly learned some really wonderful.

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Best practices, you know, from having
it something where faculty members can

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opt in versus it being something that's
mandated or top down, having tutors

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that are inserted into the classrooms
already that just automatically

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removes hurdles for faculty members
that may not feel like they're ready

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to demonstrate the actual technology,
the use of the student mentor...

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All of this is just, um, clearly
been beneficial for your students.

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I mean, when you look at the quality
of the ePortfolios that are already

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starting to be created two years
in at your institution, um, you can

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tell that there you've got real.

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faculty engagement and
commitment to, to the cause.

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So thank you for, for sharing that.

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Um, as the faculty members are kind
of opting into this experience,

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what kind of resources are they
given to kind of prepare for

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integrating this type of pedagogy
or technology into their practice.

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I love that you started with some
reflective questions that they're

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responding to because it sounds like
in terms of You know, assessment

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and maybe choosing what kinds of
artifacts or student experiences their

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students might add to the portfolio.

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They're starting with something that,
you know, they're already doing, right?

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They're doing the work in
their classrooms already.

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It's just about capturing that.

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How do you kind of take them from
those initial reflective questions

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to then kind of putting it into
that day to day practice that

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they're having in their classroom?

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We have a number of different resources.

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Um, so we have, I was like a
traveling library whenever I was

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going to the different campuses and
I was like, we have all these books.

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Um, so we have that.

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I also have a Canvas page that I can add.

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So we use Canvas as our
learning management system.

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And I have added faculty
to that Canvas page.

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Um, and so they have access to all of
the resources that I have created, and

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those resources include, uh, onboarding
checklists, like, you know, email the

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serve our learning management systems
specialist to have Digication added to

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the tab, so it's single sign on, and,
you know, then embed the tutor, and, you

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know, step by step instructions there.

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I've also actually, I, I added a
transparency in teaching and learning

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assignment for Digication that I
shared and I just worked on one

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for the advisors actually as well.

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So, um, uh, making accessible all of
the resources that have been created

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so faculty can not start from scratch
but kind of ideate from what is

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already in existence and just being
really intentional about connecting.

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Like you said, what's already happening
in our classroom with our institutional

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student learning outcomes, which I will
also add a line with our, um, Gen Ed

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core curriculum, and those outcomes
come straight down from, uh, the

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Community Colleges of Colorado system
that we, um, adhere to those agreements.

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And so those Gen Ed outcomes.

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are embedded in our institutional
student learning outcomes.

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So it's all, like, very
intentionally nested.

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So it's not additive, it's embedded.

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And our job is to make, uh, transparent
what all students are learning when

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they create a final project, right?

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Like, that's, that's what we're doing.

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So...

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I have transparency in teaching and
learning, um, frameworks for the students,

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but I'm doing a lot of that for our
faculty as well, connecting those dots.

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Okay, great.

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And I was curious, so from the, maybe
the initial goals that you had when

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you were starting the pilot, what
Some of those might've been, and with

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this next, you know, phase that you're
in, how have those evolved at all?

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Or what maybe are some new goals now that
you've gotten to the place where you are?

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Great question.

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I think that we started at the course
level, uh, with our goals, and that was

226
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just to get the pilot off the ground.

227
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And I think our Our new goals are to
move from course level, we have some

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programs that are super excited, uh, and
you probably saw some of those artifacts.

229
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Uh, our outdoor leadership
students are taking selfies of

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themselves hanging off mountains.

231
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And they're really excited about it.

232
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Um, and again, this is program level
assessment and the faculty are equally

233
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excited about, um, you know, iterating
what that assessment, um, cycle looks

234
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like and leveraging digication here.

235
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Um, to the institutional level assessment.

236
00:16:08,969 --> 00:16:12,839
So that I think is what we're really
focusing on in this, uh, second

237
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year pilot, uh, moving from course
level to program to institution.

238
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Yeah.

239
00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:22,519
And I also noticed, you know, and
looking some at looking at some of the

240
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student e portfolios in preparation
for our, our conversation today, that

241
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there's a number of really wonderful
ePortfolios that are being created in.

242
00:16:32,865 --> 00:16:35,905
More STEM oriented disciplines.

243
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And I know sometimes in conversations
with institutions, you know, we'll

244
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hear from, um, you know, maybe the
humanities, liberal arts, writing

245
00:16:46,424 --> 00:16:51,595
programs that immediately see a
good fit for ePortfolios, but.

246
00:16:52,235 --> 00:16:56,535
There's sometimes other disciplines
that feel like they don't have

247
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a good fit for any reason.

248
00:16:58,385 --> 00:17:03,065
And it seems like at your institution
that those that are in STEM

249
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related kinds of fields and study
have just really grasped this.

250
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Has there been anything about your
conversation with faculty members

251
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in those disciplines that you
feel like may have shaped that?

252
00:17:16,410 --> 00:17:20,200
Or is it just the culture of the
institution that just seems so

253
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prime for this kind of pedagogy?

254
00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:26,239
It's certainly faculty driven.

255
00:17:26,239 --> 00:17:30,990
I will say our program director for
ecosystem science and stewardship

256
00:17:31,130 --> 00:17:36,085
program is of Faculty champion
in ePortfolio, and she's really

257
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driven the portfolio engagement.

258
00:17:38,855 --> 00:17:41,385
Um, I think probably those
genetic students that you were

259
00:17:41,385 --> 00:17:43,235
seeing, uh, in that project.

260
00:17:43,465 --> 00:17:48,304
And our outdoor leadership studies
faculty are also really excited.

261
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And, and it speaks.

262
00:17:49,675 --> 00:17:54,745
I had a lot of many conversations with our
program director for outdoor leadership.

263
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And he just shared, like, how an
ePortfolio speaks to his students.

264
00:18:00,380 --> 00:18:04,920
They don't want to write a paper
about, you know, whatever they

265
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were doing in the wilderness.

266
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They want to take a picture of themselves.

267
00:18:07,859 --> 00:18:11,539
And then they want to say,
you know, in a caption.

268
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The cool stuff that they were
doing, like that just speaks to,

269
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to their, um, heart and mind.

270
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Yeah.

271
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More.

272
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And so it's really exciting
to be able to, to capture this

273
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learning in a, um, multimodal way.

274
00:18:25,179 --> 00:18:25,469
Yeah.

275
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Yeah.

276
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They wanna be outside.

277
00:18:27,190 --> 00:18:27,590
Mm-Hmm.

278
00:18:27,670 --> 00:18:32,295
they wanna be in the field
and, you know, really capturing

279
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those things in, in the moment.

280
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So, uh, that makes a lot of sense.

281
00:18:38,139 --> 00:18:43,610
So, uh, for those listening, I warned
Abby that I did spend some time looking

282
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at her own personal portfolio, uh, before
hopping on, uh, this podcast with me.

283
00:18:51,169 --> 00:18:55,499
And there was an area
of the portfolio that I.

284
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I really, I mean, I enjoyed reading the
whole thing, but I did want to highlight

285
00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:03,830
some of the goals that you outlined there.

286
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:07,399
You're probably, you know, trying to
think what you said there, but, um,

287
00:19:07,830 --> 00:19:11,909
you said, uh, that your goal is to
ensure higher education is welcoming

288
00:19:11,919 --> 00:19:16,879
and equitable for all students and that
you're striving to inspire innovation

289
00:19:16,879 --> 00:19:21,070
and passion for learning and improvement
among your colleagues and students.

290
00:19:22,185 --> 00:19:29,505
And I was wondering if you could maybe
elaborate on that a little bit and talk

291
00:19:29,625 --> 00:19:35,914
more about, because you're doing so
many things at the college right now.

292
00:19:36,405 --> 00:19:42,004
Um, you know, you know, from looking
at your portfolio and looking

293
00:19:42,005 --> 00:19:45,725
at all of the things that you're
doing, I get a sense of this.

294
00:19:46,345 --> 00:19:51,025
Kind of incredible passion that you
have for education and also for your

295
00:19:51,075 --> 00:19:56,694
students and their futures and I would
love to hear a little bit about how some

296
00:19:56,694 --> 00:20:01,754
of the things that you're doing at the
college are kind of meeting those goals

297
00:20:01,755 --> 00:20:05,054
or you feel like you're helping you
start to get to achieving those goals.

298
00:20:08,405 --> 00:20:12,765
I had 17 eager learners in my
sociology of diversity class

299
00:20:12,765 --> 00:20:15,805
yesterday and it was energizing.

300
00:20:16,505 --> 00:20:22,555
Um, so it was our first class of the
fall semester, so that was exciting.

301
00:20:23,025 --> 00:20:29,594
Um, and so I think how I'm, I'm
really a champion for high impact

302
00:20:29,594 --> 00:20:33,544
practices across the institution and,
and being able to move the needle

303
00:20:33,554 --> 00:20:35,955
there, uh, has been very meaningful.

304
00:20:35,955 --> 00:20:36,684
We have.

305
00:20:36,784 --> 00:20:38,605
We know that high impact practices work.

306
00:20:38,605 --> 00:20:42,254
We also know that they work at CMC, and
that's what's really exciting for us.

307
00:20:42,254 --> 00:20:46,244
We have some robust internal
data about increased persistence

308
00:20:46,244 --> 00:20:49,534
rates for our students who are
exposed to high impact practices.

309
00:20:49,904 --> 00:20:56,790
Um, so Making sure that faculty
are feeling supported, uh, that

310
00:20:56,790 --> 00:20:59,790
they have the information that they
need, that they have the support

311
00:20:59,810 --> 00:21:04,349
to embed a high impact practice in
their class is really important.

312
00:21:04,349 --> 00:21:07,179
And the more that we're able to
champion this work and celebrate

313
00:21:07,179 --> 00:21:08,629
this work and support this work.

314
00:21:08,915 --> 00:21:14,435
The more our students thrive, and like,
that's what's so very important for me.

315
00:21:14,825 --> 00:21:22,415
The other kind of few fire that fuels my
belly is, um, around the institutional

316
00:21:22,415 --> 00:21:28,054
student learning outcomes that we, Just
updated, uh, and, and really making

317
00:21:28,064 --> 00:21:34,675
relevant and transparent the, what we
call outcomes, competencies, and skills

318
00:21:34,905 --> 00:21:38,815
that our students get from certificate
programs to bachelor's programs.

319
00:21:38,825 --> 00:21:43,485
So, we don't have a distinction
at our institution from career

320
00:21:43,545 --> 00:21:48,190
and technical education, are only
expected to demonstrate hands on

321
00:21:48,190 --> 00:21:51,600
skills in our four year bachelor's
programs engaging critical thinking.

322
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,090
Like, we don't believe in that.

323
00:21:53,090 --> 00:21:57,489
We believe that every learner at
Colorado Mountain College can demonstrate

324
00:21:57,489 --> 00:22:01,369
knowledge, involvement, and application
upon graduation from any program.

325
00:22:01,789 --> 00:22:07,070
And I think that that really kind
of democratizes higher education.

326
00:22:07,070 --> 00:22:09,030
It also makes relevant.

327
00:22:09,365 --> 00:22:13,534
higher education from our welders to
our bachelors in sustainability and

328
00:22:13,544 --> 00:22:15,475
more kind of theoretical programs.

329
00:22:15,524 --> 00:22:22,685
And, and it makes for a workforce
that has skills for the future that I

330
00:22:22,695 --> 00:22:27,665
really think are imperative, um, from
critical thinking to oral communication.

331
00:22:27,990 --> 00:22:30,740
to being able to work
with a diverse population.

332
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:37,330
And so, um, you know, from the 17 students
in my class to the faculty champions

333
00:22:37,340 --> 00:22:42,970
to the systems in place, you know, we
kind of can scale out how impactful

334
00:22:42,980 --> 00:22:45,119
higher education is and how important.

335
00:22:45,430 --> 00:22:49,450
The work that we are doing and the
articulation of that work we are doing,

336
00:22:49,730 --> 00:22:52,050
um, keeps me coming back every day.

337
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:54,330
I love it.

338
00:22:54,670 --> 00:22:58,759
And it seems like whenever you're
kind of setting out to do something

339
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:05,379
that you have a real, um, kind of mind
for, and you know, I'm sure this is in

340
00:23:05,379 --> 00:23:10,250
collaboration with others often as well,
but a real mind for kind of developing.

341
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:18,680
Um, kind of a scaffold or a very clear
kind of strategic plan for, you know, step

342
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,189
by step, you know, what various stages
are and how they can happen and what the

343
00:23:24,189 --> 00:23:26,720
various goals are at each of those stages.

344
00:23:26,810 --> 00:23:27,610
Stages.

345
00:23:27,790 --> 00:23:32,700
And I enjoyed seeing some of the
presentations that you shared within

346
00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:39,870
your personal ePortfolio that were
housed under a particular tab called

347
00:23:39,879 --> 00:23:43,090
Knowledge, Involvement, and Application.

348
00:23:43,559 --> 00:23:48,400
And it sounds like that is a
kind of common language that's

349
00:23:48,460 --> 00:23:51,909
used throughout the institution.

350
00:23:52,570 --> 00:23:57,259
And are those Knowledge, Involvement,
and Application kind of categories,

351
00:23:57,279 --> 00:24:01,989
something that students are working
towards demonstrating as well?

352
00:24:02,189 --> 00:24:05,389
Yes, those are our institutional
student learning outcomes.

353
00:24:05,429 --> 00:24:10,129
And then embedded within those
outcomes are competencies and skills

354
00:24:10,169 --> 00:24:13,969
and then the AAC& U dimensions
that we use to measure them.

355
00:24:14,039 --> 00:24:20,539
So being consistent with those outcomes,
um, we even had a conversation about

356
00:24:20,539 --> 00:24:25,725
our Employee evaluations aligning with
knowledge involvement in applications,

357
00:24:25,725 --> 00:24:30,805
so it's just woven into the fabric of
what we do, um, and not an external box

358
00:24:30,834 --> 00:24:36,535
to check assessment, which is kind of
historically what it had been, um, and I

359
00:24:36,544 --> 00:24:41,385
do have an amazing team, including a new,
uh, assessment director, which really, uh,

360
00:24:41,385 --> 00:24:45,245
we collaborated to, to drive a lot of this
change that we're seeing in action now.

361
00:24:46,250 --> 00:24:46,970
Wonderful.

362
00:24:47,530 --> 00:24:49,570
And I had a question for you too.

363
00:24:49,570 --> 00:24:57,820
So I know many institutions kind of
wrestle with, um, you know, how, how

364
00:24:58,210 --> 00:25:06,869
structured the, maybe the prompts or
templates that students are given need

365
00:25:06,900 --> 00:25:13,590
to be in order for them to kind of
be able to see demonstration of their

366
00:25:14,205 --> 00:25:20,245
Um, Outcomes in, in various courses or
learning experiences that they've had.

367
00:25:20,295 --> 00:25:26,975
And how does, um, you know, how are
some of your kind of champion faculty

368
00:25:26,975 --> 00:25:29,585
members there approaching that?

369
00:25:29,614 --> 00:25:31,834
Have you seen them kind of try some?

370
00:25:33,185 --> 00:25:39,935
Different, different structures or
approaches to kind of pulling that

371
00:25:39,935 --> 00:25:43,344
information out of their students
and what that process has been like.

372
00:25:44,364 --> 00:25:46,774
Yes, students always want a model.

373
00:25:46,815 --> 00:25:50,284
And so many of our faculty champions
have gone in and made their own e

374
00:25:50,284 --> 00:25:54,544
portfolio to share a model of what
this can look like and also to.

375
00:25:54,875 --> 00:25:58,165
sort of stumble through the
technology and learn a new platform.

376
00:25:58,555 --> 00:26:00,305
Uh, there's always a learning curve there.

377
00:26:00,475 --> 00:26:05,975
So, um, that has certainly driven
a lot of this work as well.

378
00:26:07,445 --> 00:26:07,995
That's great.

379
00:26:08,035 --> 00:26:12,204
So, it sounds like, um, when they
approach it with their students,

380
00:26:12,244 --> 00:26:19,600
they've, they've got some personal
knowledge of the, of the platform.

381
00:26:19,740 --> 00:26:23,590
Um, you mentioned that they've
got tutors that come in and may

382
00:26:23,590 --> 00:26:28,629
be available to provide some
initial training for the students.

383
00:26:28,690 --> 00:26:33,729
How are the students then supported when
they start creating their own ePortfolios?

384
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,199
Is it something that faculty
are really doing within there?

385
00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:38,750
Classrooms.

386
00:26:38,750 --> 00:26:40,500
Are there other kinds of resources?

387
00:26:41,570 --> 00:26:45,470
Other than the embedded tutors, we
don't have a ton of other resources.

388
00:26:45,470 --> 00:26:49,560
I'm hoping that our student, uh,
employees actually will create some

389
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:55,229
videos, some how to prompts, um,
and tutorials for the students.

390
00:26:55,805 --> 00:27:00,725
Right now, our prompts are very open
ended, um, upload an artifact of your

391
00:27:00,725 --> 00:27:05,745
work that demonstrates an alignment,
or demonstrates a dimension, um, and a

392
00:27:05,745 --> 00:27:10,634
competency, and articulate how and why
that exists, and, and that's the extent

393
00:27:10,634 --> 00:27:15,575
of our instruction right now, so, so
what is consistent are the outcomes,

394
00:27:15,775 --> 00:27:20,695
uh, the competencies and the skills, and
then, and The instructions are really

395
00:27:20,695 --> 00:27:25,635
quite open ended and we'll see how
that goes and so far so good Certainly

396
00:27:25,635 --> 00:27:30,965
we can improve and iterate with each
Uh, student feedback we get as well.

397
00:27:31,675 --> 00:27:32,084
Yeah.

398
00:27:32,334 --> 00:27:36,264
Well, and I was going to say too, so
far so good because it seems like the

399
00:27:36,264 --> 00:27:44,975
students have been able to embrace that
kind of open ended question and approach

400
00:27:45,014 --> 00:27:49,264
that and respond in very creative.

401
00:27:49,970 --> 00:27:55,430
Ways, um, they're all choosing very
different types of artifacts and

402
00:27:55,470 --> 00:27:57,110
presenting it in different ways.

403
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:05,369
They're beautifully designed ePortfolios
the ones that I saw it included a lot of

404
00:28:05,930 --> 00:28:12,890
media and Alongside the reflections that
they were writing towards the outcomes.

405
00:28:12,910 --> 00:28:17,355
So they seem quite quite
comfortable in that environment.

406
00:28:18,155 --> 00:28:26,065
And I know in your role that a lot of
your, um, kinds of focus, and maybe

407
00:28:26,065 --> 00:28:32,665
this goes back to some of your early,
um, kind of studies in, um, gender

408
00:28:32,665 --> 00:28:37,865
politics and gender studies, that there
seems to be this thread of interest.

409
00:28:37,865 --> 00:28:42,205
And it's something that's very near
and dear to our hearts at Digication

410
00:28:42,215 --> 00:28:45,215
too, around, you know, this kind of.

411
00:28:47,050 --> 00:28:53,179
Kind of theme around belonging for the
students and finding their place within

412
00:28:53,189 --> 00:29:00,079
the kind of institutional fabric, finding
their community at the same time that

413
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,429
they're starting to discover who they are.

414
00:29:03,875 --> 00:29:09,355
And, um, learn about, you know,
all of their strengths and

415
00:29:10,085 --> 00:29:13,445
skills and growth along the way.

416
00:29:13,545 --> 00:29:20,434
Um, I was curious in, in the work
that you do, are there conversations

417
00:29:20,435 --> 00:29:22,404
about using the ePortfolios?

418
00:29:23,554 --> 00:29:30,115
In, in that way, um, you
know, how are they maybe being

419
00:29:30,155 --> 00:29:32,474
coached or guided in that?

420
00:29:32,475 --> 00:29:35,784
Yes, you know, we're interested in
seeing your demonstration of learning

421
00:29:35,784 --> 00:29:42,324
outcomes, but, you know, how might this
be something that's of value to them,

422
00:29:42,475 --> 00:29:47,425
you know, beyond demonstrating that at
an institutional level, how might it

423
00:29:47,655 --> 00:29:50,015
really benefit them as an individual?

424
00:29:50,850 --> 00:29:56,090
Yeah, we share with students that they
can, it's like a living transcript

425
00:29:56,090 --> 00:30:01,250
and so they are able to take who
they are, how they're growing, what

426
00:30:01,250 --> 00:30:04,550
they're working on and bring it
home and share with their family.

427
00:30:04,850 --> 00:30:06,640
Um, and that's really important.

428
00:30:06,650 --> 00:30:14,020
And also in, as a job placement, um,
skill and artifact that they can bring

429
00:30:14,020 --> 00:30:19,850
in, um, and link on their profile and
then share with potential employers too.

430
00:30:19,860 --> 00:30:22,420
So certainly beyond the
realm of the classroom.

431
00:30:22,830 --> 00:30:26,570
When you were talking, I was
also thinking about how we really

432
00:30:26,679 --> 00:30:29,629
emphasize, um, equity in assessment.

433
00:30:29,690 --> 00:30:36,750
And so our multimodal authentic assessment
is imperative in a classroom where

434
00:30:36,770 --> 00:30:39,850
the written word is not the only way.

435
00:30:40,225 --> 00:30:44,945
To demonstrate an understanding
or kind of Freirian banking model,

436
00:30:44,955 --> 00:30:46,985
like, we don't believe in that.

437
00:30:46,985 --> 00:30:48,994
It does not resonate with our learners.

438
00:30:48,994 --> 00:30:54,975
We're trying to, in, in some spaces,
decolonize, um, higher ed, and so I

439
00:30:54,975 --> 00:30:59,195
think Digication give us a, a platform
to do that and to celebrate that and to

440
00:30:59,195 --> 00:31:06,624
enhance many ways of knowing and being,
and especially at a institution with a

441
00:31:06,624 --> 00:31:13,085
third of our population as multilingual
learners, to allow our, our students to,

442
00:31:13,635 --> 00:31:18,695
to think in their native language and to
celebrate and ideate and demonstrate their

443
00:31:18,695 --> 00:31:20,504
understanding in their native language.

444
00:31:20,515 --> 00:31:21,564
Digication can do that.

445
00:31:21,595 --> 00:31:23,654
And it's, it's really remarkable.

446
00:31:23,795 --> 00:31:24,655
We're grateful for that.

447
00:31:25,814 --> 00:31:26,344
Yeah.

448
00:31:26,775 --> 00:31:27,095
Yeah.

449
00:31:27,095 --> 00:31:31,575
Can you think of some examples
where you've kind of seen that come

450
00:31:31,605 --> 00:31:35,825
to light in some of the student
portfolios that have been created?

451
00:31:36,845 --> 00:31:42,010
We tried really hard with some
of our, um, ESL instructors to

452
00:31:42,020 --> 00:31:44,300
integrate, uh, the ePortfolio.

453
00:31:44,310 --> 00:31:47,250
And it was not as successful.

454
00:31:47,250 --> 00:31:51,930
And actually, we've had some conversations
about offering instructions in Spanish.

455
00:31:51,950 --> 00:31:53,679
And I think that would go a long way.

456
00:31:53,860 --> 00:31:56,909
So when that happens, let us know.

457
00:31:56,909 --> 00:31:59,189
Cause we really will be
early adopters there.

458
00:31:59,659 --> 00:32:04,300
Um, so Jeff and I've talked about that.

459
00:32:05,650 --> 00:32:06,430
Good, good.

460
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:08,650
Um, that would, that would.

461
00:32:08,930 --> 00:32:14,430
Go really far in helping, um, celebrate
and champion the work of our multilingual

462
00:32:14,430 --> 00:32:19,335
learners in an e portfolio and Right
now, some of our earlier classes, it,

463
00:32:19,515 --> 00:32:23,335
the technology feels a little daunting,
and in our later classes, our students,

464
00:32:23,345 --> 00:32:29,924
um, can celebrate their, their myriad,
um, identities in their ePortfolio.

465
00:32:29,924 --> 00:32:34,944
But, you know, there's, there's
some, some technology navigation

466
00:32:34,945 --> 00:32:36,044
that is required as well.

467
00:32:36,045 --> 00:32:40,335
This concludes part one
of our conversation.

468
00:32:40,650 --> 00:32:44,280
To hear part two, be sure to
subscribe to Digication Scholars

469
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:50,160
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470
00:32:51,770 --> 00:32:55,110
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471
00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,959
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472
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,280
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473
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