Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Connecting Students With Community-Based Organizations For Informal, Short-Term Experiential Learning Opportunities: A Portal Proposal For Csusb, Dia Poole

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Each term, scores of students enrolled in practicum courses at universities must connect informally with community-based and nonprofit organizations (CBOs/NPOs) for short-term research, volunteerism, or practicum coursework assignments. In most cases, these student-community connections are known only to the students, the organizations they serve with, and the faculty who see the results of coproduced assignments. Few examples can be found in scholarly literature—beyond cursory nods to their existence—of structures designed and implemented primarily for connecting students with CBOs/NPOs and tracking participation in these informal experiential learning opportunities. Further, few examples exist of mechanisms that allow local organizations to convey their …