iPortfolio assignment Mandatory Unit evidence. Centres may use some or all of these activities or some of their own devising to help candidates complete this unit successfully, using the iPortfolio provided. Evidence may be presented in any format.

iPortfolio assignment The iPortfolio assignment should initially be tackled in two guided sessions The iPortfolio will already be populated with the candidate’s details Firstly, setting up the pages for the pieces of work and uploading the evidence files Secondly, answering the portfolio assignment questions in audio or written format The completed iPortfolio is uploaded in the CMS N.B. Using the iPortfolio and CMS meets the assessment criteria re local guidelines.

Plan, select and use appropriate IT systems and software for different purposes Describe the purpose for using IT Describe the methods, skills and resources required to complete task Plan how to carry out tasks using IT to achieve the required purpose and outcome Describe any factors that may affect the task Describe how outcomes and purpose met Describe local guidelines that may apply

Purposes for using IT Who and what is the assignment for? e.g. Geography field trip report, presentation to foreign visitors When must it be finished, and what do you need to be included? Where will it be used? e.g. Printed, sent to others, shown on screen

Plan task What information sources do you need? How will they be retrieved and evaluated? What application software will you use? What skills and resources will you deploy to complete the task successfully and what are the priorities? What content, structure and layout will you use?

Reasons for choosing to use IT How much time, convenience or cost have you saved compared to manual methods of producing this work? What are your views on the effectiveness and convenience of using IT in terms of speed, effectiveness and efficiency? How can IT make tasks easier than other methods? What difficulties might people have in using IT?

Legal constraints or local guidelines Are there any data protection, copyright or software licensing issues involved? What security steps have you considered? Is your work governed by house-style guidelines? What local guidelines apply for storing your information safely?

Review and adapt the ongoing use of IT tools and systems to make sure that activities are successful Describe whether the IT tools selected are appropriate for the task and purpose Assess strengths and weaknesses of final work Describe ways to make further improvements to work Review outcomes to make sure they matched requirements and are fit for purpose

Review use of IT tools How did you gather information to help you make judgements about your work? e.g. What have you compared it with? How did you decide what were the most suitable IT tools and techniques to use?

IT tools selection How quick? How convenient? How easy to use? Did you save time and/or money? How easy is it to transfer your work into different formats? What consideration of network or internet speed have you made? Did you encounter any downloading issues?

Improvements to own work Are you correcting your mistakes? How might you avoid affecting other people’s work? What new skills have you learnt? Can you think of a more efficient way of doing what you have submitted? Are you proud of your work?

Review outcomes Evaluate the quality of the information you have used Have you produced drafts of your work and have you included in your iPortfolio? Review your drafts against your initial plans Check that your work is fit for purpose Consider what effect any mistakes might have on other people?

Develop and test solutions to improve the ongoing use of IT tools and systems Review the benefits and drawbacks of IT tools and systems used, in terms of productivity and efficiency Describe ways to improve productivity Develop solutions to improve own productivity in using IT Test solutions to ensure that they work as intended

Ways to improve productivity & efficiency How has IT saved you time? Have you managed to streamline the way you produce work? Have you been able to produce more work? How has IT improved the quality of your work?

Develop solutions Have you set up short cuts? Did you customise an interface? Did you record macros?