Community-engaged learning is an emerging term for a wide spec- trum of learning activities that bring together students and community partners in a mutually beneficial way. Service learning is a subcategory of community-engaged learning which traditionally involves the students using their skills or expertise on a project that will directly benefit the community partner. In computer science, service learning projects often include a deliverable, such as designing and building an application. Community-based service learning is service learning with a community partner, usually a non-profit, whose mission is to improve the social, environmental, or economic situation for community members.

Undertaking service learning in general and community-based service learning in particular presents significant challenges. Some of these include the identification of an appropriate non-profit community partner and project, project skill alignment, managing partner expectations (failure is an option), and the reconciliation of the variable length of meaningful service-learning projects with the fixed length of a single term. However, given how these unique learning opportunities are known to be highly beneficial to stu- dents, educators continue to pursue them in spite of their inherent difficulties.

This BoF seeks to gather together seasoned hands, novices, plus those interested in trying out community-based service learning to • Build a community of practice? among those who undertake community-based service learning, • share best practices, • present innovations, and • illuminate pitfalls and other practices to be avoided.