The Case For e-Learning

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eAssessment and Assessment of Skills
Assessment Tomorrow, Bangalore October 2007 Mike
Dawe City Guilds
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Agenda

1. City Guilds Transforming the Learning
   Experience
2. GOLA (Global On-Line Assessment) Programme
   2001-2007
3. Assessment of Skills
4. Lessons learned benefits change
5. Learner Support Products integrating
   e-assessment e-learning

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City Guilds transforming the learning
experience

• Company and registered charity with Royal
  Charter, founded in 1878 202 candidates.
• Misson Skills for Prosperity
• City Guilds Group today includes
• two awarding bodies which between them make City
  Guilds the largest awarding business in the UK
  Vocational Education and Training market 1.8
  million registrations in 2007.
• New Ventures
• City Guilds Institute
• City Guilds Group turnover 50m in 2001 has
  grown to 95m 2007.

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City Guilds transforming the learning
experience

• To link e-learning and e-assessment and create an
  integrated learning portfolio, fit for purpose.
• To ensure content and qualifications matched
  industrys and e-commerce contemporary needs,
  from apprentice to postgraduate levels, license
  to practise, and Continuing Professional
  Development (CPD).
• To deliver education to demand-led, not
  supply-led market, with a learner focus,
  teaching learning materials.

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e-Assessment and e-Learning

• www.SmartScreen.co.uk new subscription model
  launched. Learning portal supporting over 100
  qualifications, over 42,000 pages of learning and
  teaching materials, over 2,500 centre
  subscriptions
• Global on-line assessment system (GOLA).
  www.cityandguilds/GOLA - Over 2.15m tests
  delivered to date since 2002 in over 100
  different awards. International candidates also
  testing.
• www.CPDAdvantage.co.uk designed for teachers and
  launched in Scotland September 2003. Chartered
  Teacher Status (post graduate).
• Underpinning Knowledge Tests - formative
  assessments launched 2006 in Hair Beauty and
  Hospitality Catering.
• e-Portfolio launched 2004.

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Reasons for GOLA implementation

• 1. Market share
• Test when ready
• Immediate results
• 2. Efficiencies
• No paper
• Improve test space usage
• Accuracy
• Policy was that all tests would be delivered on
  GOLA

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Implications on measurement

• Test when ready requires that students receive a
  personal exam.
• Immediate results require that there is no
  moderation.
• Are some candidates unfairly advantaged?
• Candidates with particular requirements

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Centre and GOLA Test Locations Rollout

• Over 6,500 Centre locations in UK
• Located in large population centres
• Located with learners
• Located at the work place
• Located anywhere mobile!
• Technology in Centres can be enabled in 15
  minutes
• 300-500 Centres enabled per quarter 4,500
  currently active GOLA enabled Centres
• In strategic partnership with Promissor, Pearson
  VUE

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on-screen assessment volumes
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benefits to centres

• Increased learner engagement, and achievement
• Reduced learner drop out
• Reduced administration costs
• Reduced trainer time on assessment
• Improved assessment turnaround time
• Develop IT skills of learners / staff
• Improved staff morale
• Improved quality standards
• Improved consistency and transparency of
  assessment
• More transparent internal communication

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Benefits to employers
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benefits to learners

• Improves motivation and likelihood of success
• Fit assessment around working lives (time and
  location)
• Test when ready move through learning programme
  at a rate that is good for them
• Proof of qualification immediately / retake
  rapidly Reduced post exam stress
• Swift re-sits if necessary no 6 month wait for
  next paper

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What next?

• Innovation in question types
• Working with business partners to take benefits
  to new markets (Chartered Insurance Institute)
• Expand the network outside the UK (India, South
  Africa, Kenya, Malaysia, Bahrain)

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Assessment of skills - ePortfolios
Storage and presentation of learners work over
time Proof of learner competence A record of
achievement over a lifetime of learning Gathering
evidence to show competence Mapping of that
evidence against national occupational
standards. Quality assurance
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Assessment of skills - ePortfolios
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Assessment of skills - ePortfolios
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Assessment of skills - ePortfolios
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Benefits
40 reduction in the admin of candidates work.
Learners can see exactly where they are you can
see people who are falling behind much earlier
and comment or help them It saves on the
amount of paperwork you have to move from one
place to another, it also gives the candidate
more access and freedom to do their own work you
can see exactly where someone is on a particular
piece of work, you as an assessor can give
instant feedback the major benefits are
administrative Looks good for the college,
forward thinking
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Benefits

• Market research has also identified the following
  benefits
• learner ownership of learning programmes
• integrated learning and assessment
• learner retention
• faster, more efficient learning programmes
• greater transparency for funding organisations
• greater transparency for quality assurance
• reduced bureaucracy.
• However, its not all good news

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Lessons Learned
Not everyone has easy access or the ability to
use it the system took six months to set up and
customise to this organisations needs We have
had a huge number of updates it hasnt been a
success, we have to have it upgraded continually
and I dont think it should have been set up
until it was ready Trying to interpret what
the awarding body requirements are eg signatures
on work, ink and electronic signatures Changing
staff mindset when different students use
different systems it creates confusion
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Integration - proactive

• Collaboration with Harcourt
• Offering of learning support package including
  text books, tutor material, web portal with
  e-learning support
• First package is for Professional Cookery (Level
  2) was launched in February 2007 with a very good
  response so far from the market with 93k of
  sales
• Package for Health Social Care qualifications
  to be launched from this month.

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Questions?
Contacts at City Guilds Mike Dawe, City
Guilds Institute mike.dawe_at_cityandguildsinstitut
e.com Group Director, New Ventures -
geraldine.kenney-wallace_at_cityandguilds.com Busines
s Development vas.skoulidou_at_cityandguilds.com Di
rector, Publishing City Guilds Awards -
andrew.pember_at_cityandguilds.com