Solar Project Case Study Aberdeen College Solar Project
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College Solar Project Case Study Aberdeen College
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 2 Title of the Project • The integration of PC Passport Beginners and Intermediate with IC 3 and Microsoft Office Specialist online exams – In Academic Year 2006/2007 students studied IC 3 and PC Passport together using e-learning materials and were assessed using online assessment
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 3 Purpose of the Project • To offer students the opportunity to gain 2 widely respected qualifications - from Microsoft and SQA - through one study route using online exams • To remove from teaching staff the need to spend time and effort preparing course materials, marking and internally verifying assessments
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College How the Project fits in with the College's e-Strategy • e-Assessment – The aim is to develop online approaches to assessment where possible • e-Learning – Teaching materials are purchased where possible 4
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 5 What is IC 3? • IC 3 is an ideal starting point for students in learning computer and internet skills, as is PC Passport • IC 3 involves 3 exams: – Computing Fundamentals – Key Applications – Living Online
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 6 How did the students progress through the learning process? • By being taught/instructed by staff who had passed the exams themselves • By using Howtomaster e-learning materials • By having back-up texts – Essential Skills for Digital Literacy – to combat connectivity problems and – to give the students a more blended approach to learning • By taking the online exam at the end of each of the 3 components
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 7 Some issues encountered along the way • Technical – Software compliance problem with the Microsoft Electronic Library Training Materials and the VLE – Howtomaster e-learning materials crashing if audio was enabled – Exam software had to have a dedicated environment • Timetabling – Students timetabled for 2 hour slots. Staff felt there were concentration issues and that this was too long when using elearning materials • Learners – Some rushed through the e-learning materials insisting they were ready for the exam when the first exam result clearly showed differently
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 8 Have the Project aims been met? • For the staff involved - yes – Definite savings in time • No development of teaching materials required • No marking of assessments • No internal verification of assessments • For the students involved – yes – Even although not all students achieved the initial aim of achieving both PC Passport Beginners and Intermediate Levels through this route • They have been introduced to using e-learning materials • They have been introduced to online exams
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 9 The way forward • To further improve the student learning and testing experience in Academic Year 2007 -2008 the IC 3 Benchmarking and Mentoring Tool will be used – This will help to assess student capabilities more thoroughly and better prepare them for the online exam • Students will be tested at the start by using the Tool to Benchmark where they are on the learning scale • The Tool will then Mentor their learning to ascertain readiness for the online exam at the end
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College 10 For more information on IC 3 and the Benchmark and Mentor Tool • The website address where details of the IC 3 qualification can be found and samples of the Benchmark and Mentor Tool software can be viewed is - http: //www. certiport. com • Once in the web page click the following links for tutorials, guides and demonstrations of the Benchmark and Mentor Tools – IC 3, Benchmark and Mentor, Training Tools • The direct link to the Training Tools page is - http: //www. certiport. com/portal/desktopdefault. aspx? pag e=common/pagelibrary/benchmarkic 3_Training. htm
Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College For more information on the Case Study Contact: Sheila Gordon Flexible Assessment Co-ordinator Aberdeen College Tel: 01224 612023 e-mail: s. gordon@abcol. ac. uk 11
- Slides: 11