Solar Project Case Study Aberdeen College

Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College2 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 College3 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 College4 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

Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College5 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 College6 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 College7 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 e- learning 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 College8 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 College9 The way forward To further improve the student learning and testing experience in Academic Year 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 College10 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 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 - e=common/pagelibrary/benchmarkic3_Training.htm e=common/pagelibrary/benchmarkic3_Training.htm For more information on IC 3 and the Benchmark and Mentor Tool

Solar Project Case Study – Aberdeen College11 For more information on the Case Study Contact: Sheila Gordon Flexible Assessment Co-ordinator Aberdeen College Tel: