ePortfolio Leaders Announce the Launch of

The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning

 May 21, 2009 Palo Alto, California

9 a.m PT/ 11 a.m. CT/ 12 p.m. ET

Download the AEEBL brochure: AAEEBL brochure 2 tb.pdf

Link to archived recording:  https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2009-05-21.0905.M.3E43A3D654613032799061A49D0F33.vcr

EPAC, the Electronic Portfolio Action and Communication group, based at Stanford University, is hosting an online conference using Elluminate (an online conferencing system) on May 21 at 9 am Pacific Time (noon, Eastern) to formally launch a new association currently with members at over 100 U. S. universities and several others abroad.

The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based learning (AAEEBL, pronounced “able,” www.aaeebl.org) is the professional association for the world ePortfolio community, including K-12, higher education, and the technology companies that support ePortfolio implementations.

Leading the teleconference are Helen Chen and John Ittelson, EPAC co-leaders, along with Trent Batson, Director of AAEEBL, and Gary Brown, Co-Director of AAEEBL.  Helen Chen works at Stanford, John Ittelson at the California State University System, Trent Batson devotes full-time to AAEEBL, and Gary Brown is at Washington State University. 

The launch of AAEEBL is in response to three issues:

1.      ePortfolios uniquely fit learning habits of this century by serving as a Web-based application.  for learners from the earliest blossoming of literacy skills to still-learning grandparents.  ePortfolios enable the development of reflective thinking because they support learners in looking at their own development.  In a rapidly changing world, reflective thinking is critical for learners who will increasingly be required to change and adapt. And, ePortfolios are ubiquitously and universally available so they help support learning over a lifetime.  For all these reasons, therefore, they are the quintessential learning tool of this era.  AAEEBL was formed in recognition of this promise and with concern to nurture the growth and improvement of portfolio practices and the portfolio technologies to support those practices.

2.      2. Yet, ePortfolios cannot deliver the promise just described without academic transformation.  Education at all levels must be radically transformed because learning resources are no longer scarce -- which determined the structure of education for a millennium -- and because the nature of human work has itself been radically transformed.  AAEEBL was formed to help guide and inform academic transformation around portfolio practices.  ePortfolio-readiness is a barometer of Web-readiness and is an indication that educational transformation is on the right track.

3.      3. ePortfolios are widely implemented but have not assumed the role that they will in the transformation of education.  So that the current state of ePortfolio implementation is not mistaken for what should be, AAEEBL was formed.

This webcast marks the formal beginning of AAEEBL, a membership dues-supported association.  AAEEBL includes The AAEEBL Corporate Council consisting of the ePortfolio vendor community.  AAEEBL accepts ePortfolio-experienced colleges, universities, or school systems as members and will limit its membership in its first year to 200 institutions and school systems.

For information about this important teleconference, visit http://epac.pbworks.com.  Please join us; we welcome your participation.   For information about AAEEBL, contact Trent Batson at trentbatson@mac.com.  Also, see www.aaeebl.org.

HOW TO JOIN THE WEBCAST

Please note that it is extremely important that you get your system set up prior to the start of the event! It should only take a few moments. Please don't wait until the day of the session to do this!  Information on how to do this can be found in Step 3 below.

1. Go to http://www.cccconfer.org
2. Click the Participant Log In button under the Meet & Confer logo (lower left hand corner)
3. If you haven't done so already, click on the "Test Your Computer Readiness" button in the lefthand column (we recommend doing this the day before the actual event).
4. Look for the name "ePAC May Call" on 5/21/2009 starting at 9 a.m. (you may need to click through the numbered pages on the bottom to find our event).
5. Once you've located our meeting, click Go.
6. Fill out the form and enter the password: 621815
7. When asked to enter your screen name, please enter your name and then your affiliation, for example: "Helen - Stanford."

NEW TO AN EPAC WEBCAST?

Please note that this will be a WEBCAST with a formal presentation to be followed by questions.  There will be audio and all participants will be able ask questions using the direct text-messaging box.  Depending on how the discussion goes, we may switch to a text chat after the presentation and there will be questions to guide and prompt the discussion. We will try to encourage sharing of websites, references, experiences, and networking among participants.  An archive of the webcast will also be available on this page after the chat as well as a summary of the key resources mentioned.

We would like to start the webcast on time so please plan to login 5 minutes before the start of the session. Calculate your local time by visiting: http://www.worldtimeserver.com/time_converter.aspx

We are limited to 20 participants for this event so please login early if you wish to participate.

Once you are in the Elluminate environment, to maximize the Direct Messaging window, go to View --> Window Layouts --> Wide Layout (the second option).

QUESTIONS?

CCC Confer Client Services is available Monday through Friday between 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at 760-744-1150 ext 1537 or 1554 or email clientservices@cccconfer.org