Phase 1 of project e-scape ran from January to October 2005 and was designed as a ‘proof of concept’ to see whether the kinds of technologies that existed at that time could be harnessed towards the creation of effective e-assessment portfolios.
The brief for phase 1 of project e-scape
“QCA intends now to initiate the development of an innovative portfolio-based (or extended task) approach to assessing Design & Technology at GCSE. This will use digital technology extensively, both to capture the student’s work and for grading purposes. The purpose of Phase I is to evaluate the feasibility of the approach...’
(QCA Specification June 2004)
The proof of concept was explored through four perspectives; technological, pedagogic, manageable, and functional. Each of these four was explored in schools through a series of small-scale trials. We considered the system from both ends. At the classroom activity end, pedagogic priorities and the need to evidence capability dominated our concerns. But at the assessment end we were required to explore the manageability and functionality of an e-portfolio for assessment purposes.
Design studios and workshops are typically not full of desk-top or lap-top computers – which are often down the corridor in a different room – often an IT suite. Since we were concerned to explore the dynamic creation of an e-portfolio (rather than a sanitised one created through 2nd hand re-telling of the real story) we chose to use peripheral digital tools (eg digital pens, cameras, PDAs) that were capable of being used in the workshop/studio setting.
Specifically, the activity we were seeking to enhance was the 6 hour ‘light fantastic’ activity developed for the assessing design innovation project. This activity was capable of subdivision into a series of component parts, and – for the purposes of exploration with digital peripherals – we divided the activity into a series of ‘work-parcels’ – some focussed on supporting learners’ designing and some on supporting teachers’ assessment. We undertook a series of school-based trials between Jan and May 2005, with learners from year 6 to year 12. The second area of work concerned the technical systems that would need to be in place for the learners to be able to develop their solution to the task in a web-space - accessible to the learners themselves, and their teachers, and (ultimately) to examination board assessors.
The outcome of this phase 1 proof of concept was a body of digital work from learners and evidence from the associated e-assessment trials of that work. DfES, QCA and the Awarding Bodies were persuaded of the concept, and we were invited to take the project to the next stage.
You can download a copy of the final report of e-scape phase 1 here
The brief for phase 1 of project e-scape
“QCA intends now to initiate the development of an innovative portfolio-based (or extended task) approach to assessing Design & Technology at GCSE. This will use digital technology extensively, both to capture the student’s work and for grading purposes. The purpose of Phase I is to evaluate the feasibility of the approach...’
(QCA Specification June 2004)
The proof of concept was explored through four perspectives; technological, pedagogic, manageable, and functional. Each of these four was explored in schools through a series of small-scale trials. We considered the system from both ends. At the classroom activity end, pedagogic priorities and the need to evidence capability dominated our concerns. But at the assessment end we were required to explore the manageability and functionality of an e-portfolio for assessment purposes.
Design studios and workshops are typically not full of desk-top or lap-top computers – which are often down the corridor in a different room – often an IT suite. Since we were concerned to explore the dynamic creation of an e-portfolio (rather than a sanitised one created through 2nd hand re-telling of the real story) we chose to use peripheral digital tools (eg digital pens, cameras, PDAs) that were capable of being used in the workshop/studio setting.
Specifically, the activity we were seeking to enhance was the 6 hour ‘light fantastic’ activity developed for the assessing design innovation project. This activity was capable of subdivision into a series of component parts, and – for the purposes of exploration with digital peripherals – we divided the activity into a series of ‘work-parcels’ – some focussed on supporting learners’ designing and some on supporting teachers’ assessment. We undertook a series of school-based trials between Jan and May 2005, with learners from year 6 to year 12. The second area of work concerned the technical systems that would need to be in place for the learners to be able to develop their solution to the task in a web-space - accessible to the learners themselves, and their teachers, and (ultimately) to examination board assessors.
The outcome of this phase 1 proof of concept was a body of digital work from learners and evidence from the associated e-assessment trials of that work. DfES, QCA and the Awarding Bodies were persuaded of the concept, and we were invited to take the project to the next stage.
You can download a copy of the final report of e-scape phase 1 here
