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Skills for Work ePortfolios (DeskSpace)

Introduction

The DeskSpace e-portfolio is available to all SQA Skills for Work and Baccalaureate candidates and is currently available to centres free of charge until June 2012. (Centres using DeskSpace will be informed as soon as possible of the funding position after this date.)

Feedback on the system has been very positive and more and more centres are offering this support to their candidates. DeskSpace allows candidates to record their course evidence online, keeping everything together and accessible to teachers/tutors and assessors, even when they are at more than one centre. Work can be uploaded and submitted online and the user friendly interface helps candidates structure their learning through the use of online templates.

Quotes from Skills for Work teachers/tutors

The main benefit at the moment is students being able to do the assessments online and knowing they’re not losing anything and everything is in the one place. Pupils feel they have ownership of their achievements, and an easy way to hold all relevant SQA data!

For students who are struggling to do coursework this will give them a benefit because they’ll be able to go onto the computer to get either ideas from their friends, speak to their friends for support, or there’s material that I can put on the system for them too. So it’s going to benefit their learning.

Training and Support

Training is available for all tutors wishing to offer DeskSpace to their candidates. An online course is available on SQA Academy which tells you all you need to know to get started, while there are also face-to-face training sessions held throughout the year by an SQA Learning Technologist.

We are also happy to run a training session in your centre for ten or more tutors. Online training will soon be available for support staff such as administrators, learning technologists or IT staff who may support tutors using the system.

For more information on training, to book a space or to register for the online course please see Training and Support.

Quote from IT support staff

I took to it straight away and I could see after just one class with the students – I went in and supported the lecturer with them, and there were lots of little excited squeals!

Materials available

Materials are available for all Skills for Work courses, including the assessor and candidate checklists associated with the Course, which can be accessed and completed from within DeskSpace.

There is also a Guide to Storage Options for Creative Digital Media available to assist teachers/tutors in this area to find a suitable storage mechanism for evidence that can be associated with the e-portfolio.

Webfolios

Template webfolios have been created for all Skills for Work courses as an extra resource to help candidates keep all assessment evidence together in one place. These are currently being introduced in phases for the different subject areas. The webfolio template consists of a number of pages - one for each unit in the course - and every unit page contains the embedded NAB checklists.

Additional pages can be added and edits can be made as with a normal webfolio - the template just aims to provide a basis for the candidate's completed folio. The templates can be copied from your course gateway once they have been uploaded by SQA. You can then share these with your candidates. Full instructions on copying and sharing the template will also be available in the gateway.

If you have any questions or comments on the webfolios please contact esf@sqa.org.uk

Deskspace Mobile

The Deskspace Mobile approach has now been trialled and tested and is available for download from the Add Ons section in your Deskspace Tools menu. The application is a simplified version of the e-portfolio with ability to send pictures and record evidence straight into your e-portfolio account. We hope this will help overcome difficulty in accessing suitable ICT equipment and time available to upload material to the e-portfolio. There are three formats available to suit a range of mobile phones.

Deskspace Mobile - Basic: A basic WAP enabled interface which is visible on all web enabled phones including an upload function.

Deskspace Mobile - PDA: This includes the functionality above but is designed to operate on Windows Mobile PDAs and Smartphones.

Pebblepad iPhone app: This is an approved app by Apple. However, this version is currently only available under the Pebblepad branding and costs £1.79 to download, but may be customised for Deskspace at a later stage.

The report on the Deskspace Mobile pilot is available here (294 KB).

How to sign up

The requirement for access to the SQA DeskSpace e-portfolio is to attend at least the online or face-to-face training course. Details of how to register candidates on the system will be supplied during the training. However, if you have any questions about the registration process please contact esf@sqa.org.uk.

Quotes from Skills for Work students

I think this is a great idea and is brilliant because you can talk to friends and also do work at the same time.

I enjoyed using deskspace and I think I will definitely use it at home to add things into it.

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