Learn About ePortfolios in PebblePad

Are you curious about what students are doing in the GE Bookends? Do you want to learn more about ePortfolios and how you might build on the ePortfolio skills students develop in General Education and Honors & Scholars to enrich your courses?  

The Office of Undergraduate Education, The Drake Institute and The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation are hosting a series of conversations and workshops to familiarize our university community with the way ePortfolios are being used in the GE and elsewhere on campus, introduce the pedagogy of folio thinking, and train instructors interested in building workbooks and assignments in PebblePad, Ohio State’s ePortfolio platform.

Learning the Landscape: Bookends, ePortfolios, and new opportunities for student learning
Monday, March 18 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | SAS 285

Office of Undergraduate Education

This 60-minute, informal session will introduce participants to the approach and resources of the new GE Bookends, and offer conversation about how instructors can connect their courses to ePortfolios that students are developing in the General Education Bookends and/or in Honors & Scholars. The focus is on understanding what students are doing, why, and how this might offer opportunities for connection and innovation in courses elsewhere in the curriculum. This event is free and open to all, but to help us plan space and refreshments, please indicate your interest in attending. Please respond by 5 p.m., Friday, March 8.

Teaching with Reflection for ePortfolio Assignments and Beyond
Tuesday, March 19 | 3 - 4:30 p.m. | CarmenZoom

The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning

This workshop is designed for any instructor wanting to integrate reflection effectively into their coursework, but particularly those teaching classes designated as General Education courses. This session will help participants define reflection for their discipline, understand what makes reflection activities effective and significant for students, and consider ways to provide constructive feedback on student reflection attempts. Through a review of current reflection research, example prompts, response, feedback walk-throughs, and guided drafting time, this workshop will provide a foundation for all who use or plan to use reflection at any stage of an assignment, course, or degree program.

Virtual Studio: Using Templates and Workbooks in PebblePad
Thursday, March 21 | 10 - 11:30 a.m. | CarmenZoom

Office of Technology and Digital Innovation

This 90-minute studio session will provide opportunities to explore the use of templates and workbooks in PebblePad, a tool for students to create ePortfolios. You'll learn how PebblePad workbooks are being used at Ohio State and consider how you might incorporate them in your own course. We'll cover how you can use templates and workbooks (a series of template pages) to create guided learning experiences and scaffold large projects for students. A demonstration of the specific steps for creating a workbook will be provided, and you will have time to practice those steps, ask questions, and problem-solve with the guidance of knowledgeable OTDI staff.

A recording of this session will be made available in the Workshop Catalog.


In addition to these events, you can learn more about PebblePad in the Teaching and Learning Resource Center. You can explore the benefits of ePortfolio pedagogy and discover ways to use PebblePad in your course.