AAC&U in 2025: Defining the Future of Education

AAC&U in 2025:
Defining the Future of Education

This April, PebblePad is in Puerto Rico at the two AAC&U landmark events that explore the latest digital transformation innovations in higher education.

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A Digital Pioneer in Innovation & Community

PebblePad is proud to be partnering with the AAC&U for these exciting future-focused events. Join us at our booth and learn about the only ePortfolio, workbook and assessment platform capable of unifying the entire learning journey – and one that’s supported by a vibrant and inclusive multinational community.

The AAC&U’s amazing events offer a great opportunity to:

Network with new contacts and create new allies
Learn from and with your colleagues and peers
Share how to approach the challenges facing HEIs
Take some deserved time out to have fun in the sun.

We look forward to seeing you at our booth (and on the beach!).

Event location

PebblePad is trusted by hundreds of institutions worldwide including:

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3:30pm EST, Friday, April 4

PebblePad’s Presentation @ CLASS

Proving that ePortfolios are HIP - and a secret sauce to empower the integrative elements

Overview:

This session highlights the ways that 5 institutions across three continents are leveraging high impact practices (HIPs) alongside ePortfolios and folio thinking to make a discernible impact on student learning and success. We argue that ePortfolios (“when done well”) are not only transformative as a standalone practice, but also support and enhance the integrative elements of all other HIPs.

Detail:

Our panel of experts will take you on a global tour beginning at Capilano University in Canada, where high-impact faculty development initiatives are reshaping teaching and learning. Next, we’ll examine the large-scale use of portfolios across the General Education Bookends Program at Ohio State University.

Then off to the University of Edinburgh to explore their undergraduate research and scholarly activity model—now adopted by institutions worldwide, including the University of Waterloo. Our tour concludes at Griffith University in Australia, where pioneering programs prepare students for both career success and global citizenship. The session will end with an interactive Q&A and conversation.

Explore ePortfolios with
our ’Sandbox Experience’

AAC&U members, reserve your space for an exclusive six-week guided test drive of PebblePad’s ePortfolios.

Enhancing GenEd with ePortfolios webinar

Watch this fascinating on-demand webinar featuring leaders from Ohio State and Michigan Technological universities who share their experiences and strategies for reforming general education programs.

In this webinar, our panelists discuss the motivations behind their curriculum transformations, including the need to enhance student engagement, foster interdisciplinary learning, and align with workforce demands.

Book 1-to-1 with PebblePad’s CEO

Register now for a 15-minute chat with our CEO Shane Sutherland to uncover how PebblePad supports meaningful learning, growth and achievement at every stage of the learning journey.

Exploring High-Impact Practices with PebblePad

Explore global initiatives from integrated learning through ePortfolio, to service learning and internships with 10 case studies.

Win a PebblePad luxury
satchel, goodies & earbuds!

To enter this prize draw, enter your details in the form.

PebblePad Team

Come say ‘hola’ to the PebblePad team at either events where our CEO Shane is joined by Vanessa, Sam and Gail to answer your questions and share insights into using technology to support your learning, teaching and assessment ambitions.

Want to learn more about us before heading to Puerto Rico? Then contact the PebblePad team in the US and Canada here for details on our implementation process and our series of powerful customer use cases.

Shane Sutherland

CEO

Vanessa Knox

Director of Business Development
North America

Alison McHugh

Marketing Director

Shane Sutherland

CEO

Vanessa Knox

Director of Business Development
North America

Sam Blyth

Chief Sales Officer

John Sheringer

Solutions Engineer
USA

Gail Ring

Director of Learning Partnerships
North America

Stephanie Vivirito

Marketing Manager
USA

John Sheringer

Solutions Engineer
USA

About PebblePad

PebblePad provides students with a holistic view of their diverse experiences across the entire learning journey, within and beyond the curriculum, from pre-arrival to alumni. Customizable for any discipline or initiative, the platform supports, scaffolds, and surfaces learning at scale and enables authentic assessment. By empowering students to confidently articulate and demonstrate their knowledge, skills, achievements, and unique qualities, universities are better preparing students for future success in an ever-changing world.

Curriculum Transformation at the University of Edinburgh: co-creation and the relationship between local innovation and institutional change

Talk description: I will use the themes of reflection and experiential learning, skills development and assessment (including programme level assessment and changes in assessment practice) to explore this process in more detail. This includes the link between disciplinary and institutional curriculum reform, learning from local innovations and changes, and using this to inform University level changes and support.

Bio: My current position is leading the University wide Curriculum Transformation Project. This is a major and long term initiative for the University considering all areas of the University’s undergraduate and taught postgraduate curriculum. Prior to this Jon set up and led the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) at the University of Edinburgh. The IAD provides University level support for teaching, learning and researcher development, including direct support for students and staff, and support for enhancement and innovation in curriculum development, the student and researcher experience. Jon has a PhD in petroleum geology.

Mission Possible: The DNA of a bespoke professional development program

Talk description: The diversity of students in higher education dictates that there cannot (and should not) be a single ‘silver bullet’ approach to address the complex challenge of career readiness learning. However, the reality of modern university structures is that delivering bespoke experiences for each student is a challenge in and of itself. And yet, all things are possible with creative use of PebblePad to streamline delivery (for the university) and make it highly personalised (for the student).

Bio: Gayle Brent is a Learning and Teaching Consultant (Employability) at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Gaye’s specialist area of interest is developing and implementing strategies to enhance staff and student understanding of employability in both curricular and extra-curricular contexts. She completed a Master of Education and Professional Studies Research to explore the potential barriers and challenges to embedding employability-based learning in higher education curriculum and is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy exploring the impact of an extra-curricular employability program on the individual student experience.

Dr Melissa Highton. Assistant Principal, University of Edinburgh

Talk description: A journey through the stories told by wicca data. How a neglected research data set was used by students to overturn historic injustice and shed new light on the lives of women in Scotland.

Bio: Melissa has worked for many years in higher education at some of the UK’s finest and most ancient institutions. In each place she enjoys discovering the hidden histories and less heard voices which can be surfaced in new ways using the most up to date and open technologies. She is a champion of playful and curious approaches to engagement with audiences on campus and online, and is an invited speaker at events about dangerous women.

Education is an Experience That Should Be Designed

Talk description: We have any number of problems and opportunities as universities, and universities must adapt to help students from diverse backgrounds develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and make a positive impact in the world. Key to those adaptations is understanding that we provide students with an experience. We ought to design them with intention and purpose. This talk with take up this argument and ground it within a large educational transformation project at the University of Leeds.

Bio: Jeff Grabill is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds. Prior to joining the University of Leeds, Grabill was at Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States for nearly 20 years. He served Michigan State University as the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. In that role, he was responsible for facilitating innovation in learning and educator professional development via his role as Director of the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology. Grabill’s research focuses on how digital writing is associated with citizenship and learning. That work has been located in community contexts, in museums, and in classrooms at both the K-12 and university levels. Grabill is also a co-founder of Drawbridge, an educational technology company.