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Activities supporting the assessment of this award

Assessor's guide to interpreting the criteria

General Information

• Bronze 3 is the same as Entry Level 3 in the Qualification Credit Framework and is equivalent to NC level 3 and level 1 in the European Qualifications Framework.

• The definition of an entry level qualification is to recognise basic knowledge and skills and the ability to apply learning in everyday situations under direct guidance or supervision. Learning at this level involves building basic knowledge and skills and is not geared towards specific occupations.

• The criteria are designed to provide opportunities to promote numeracy, literacy and social skills as well as ICT capability and are compatible with the UK National Curriculum programmes of study.

• Bronze 3 is designed to promote a wider range of participation by providing a progression pathway to level 1, for example, for people with special needs or younger children.

• The specification for the Entry Level 3 certificate provides an outcome framework for assessment and is not intended to dictate any particular context for learning and so can be used with young children or adults.

Requirements

• Standards must be confirmed by a trained Bronze Assessor or higher

• Assessors must at a minimum record assessment judgements as entries in the on-line mark book on the INGOTs.org certification site.

• It is expected that there will be routine evidence of work used for judging assessment outcomes in the candidates' records of their day to day work. Samples should be available at the annual visit and/or by video conference as requested by the account manager. There is no requirement to make special provision beyond the Centre's normal working practices but these should be sufficient to justify judgements based on at least some samples and exemplars of specific work.

• Different approaches to learning will be required in order to match differing needs, for example, the needs of children will be different from the needs of adults with learning disabilities.

• Completing the criteria for this unit entitles the candidate to the Award of the Entry level 3 Unit 1 of the TLM Support Award for the ITQ. In general, the candidate should demonstrate that criteria related to co-operative behaviour can be sustained over time.

• We expect at least 7 hours of guided study to be under-taken before this Unit Award is made for those new to computers but discretion can be used to take account of prior learning where this is sensible in individual cases. In terms of making the award, what matters is outcomes.

• Certificates must be printed on INGOT logo template paper for which there is a charge of 50p per template.

Assessment Method

Expansion of the assessment criteria

1. The learner will use an on-line IT system to meet needs

1.1 I can start an on-line IT system or application and close it down appropriately when finished

The candidate should demonstrate that they can start up their computer, login and start up a web browser, shut it down and log out.

Evidence:Direct observation.

1.2 I can set and use a password where necessary

The candidate should demonstrate that they can choose a secure and easy to remember password and keep it to themselves.

Evidence:Candidates have a secure password for their accounts

Additional information and guidance
Secure passwords should not be simply words that can be looked up in a dictionary. These are very vulnerable to dictionary attacks. A good password will have upper and lower case letters, numbers and characters but should also be easy to remember. e.g. Ian100%ok or 50%Chimp or 150$Up or You&me2, twoX£3=£6. Six characters or more is probably good enough at this stage but the more characters the stronger the password will be. Candidates should also be aware that they should not share their password with other people under any circumstances. If someone uses their password to hack into a system they will get the blame and there will be no comeback.1.2 I can set and use a password where necessary
1.3 I can work safely and responsibly on-line

The candidate should identify ways they can keep themselves safe when on-line including reference to known more experienced users.

Evidence: From observation and questioning by the assessor, documentary evidence in files of web pages.

Additional information and guidance
At this level candidates will need to be closely monitored and advised when working on-line. For example, recognise that information can be misleading and that they should not give out their personal details on the internet. People might not be who they say they are. They should be able to recognise an insecure password and change it for a secure one that is easy for them to remember. They should be able to write a list of risks associated with Internet communications and provide ways of minimising them. Identified risks could be recorded by filling in cells in a pre-constructed table. Also refer to safety aspects of unit 1, 1.4 above.

2. Search for and use internet-based information

2.1 I can choose appropriate sources of IT-based information to meet needs

Candidates should plan simple internet searches that will follow straightforward lines of enquiry using search criteria.

Evidence: From recording their findings and presenting outcomes in an e-portfolio page or file in day to day records of their work.

Additional information and guidance
Searches could involve finding a place on a map such as a hotel by knowing its name and approximate location. Candidates should be provided with guidance in order to familiarise themselves with a range of possible sources such as on-line maps, Wikipedia, a limited range of suitable sources of information to support a task. These could include a person knowledgeable in ICT, relevant forums, mailing lists or discussion groups and web sites. The candidate should show that they can make choices that lead to useful information to meet the needs of the task.

2.2 I can use browser software to navigate web pages and find required information

The candidate should be able to use a web browser effectively and safely subject to supervision.

Evidence: Direct observation and the outcomes of searches and finding information.

Additional information and guidance
They should where possible try more than one browser to see how similar they are and any differences. (e.g. use a browser on a smartphone) This will help promote transferable skills and independence of particular applications.

2.3 I can select and use information which is reliable and fit for purpose

Candidates should be able to use appropriate search criteria to find relevant information, and check its plausibility and usefulness. This could be linked to science particularly with regard to alternative medicine, diet and nutrition where commercial interests lead at best to exaggeration and at worst blatant lies and deliberate attempts to mislead. It can be relatively difficult to find information that is obviously incorrect at simple levels and so support will be needed to develop suitable searches and interpret them. At this stage we simply need to identify simple uncontroversial information such as scientific facts in Wikipedia or information from trusted learning sites and be aware that some sites are not reliable and the information won't be fit for purpose.

Evidence: From recording their findings and presenting outcomes in an e-portfolio page or file in day to day records of their work.

Additional information and guidance
In principle, they should be beginning to appreciate that information is often presented with bias in order to serve a particular interest so they can not just take anything on face value. (Having said this, there is nothing new in this, newspapers have a long history of putting circulation numbers before truth well before the internet). They should be able to say when searches are leading to useless information. If they search for "who was the king of England 1000 years ago?" they should be guided to use at least two internet sources so they have a check of their result. They might judge the information to be useful in answering the question but not very useful in its particular value to themselves in isolation. They might also conclude that finding eg that there are easily available lists of all the English Kings and Queens more useful than the specific information they were asked to find. At this level significant guidance will be needed so that searches are safe and productive. The key point is for the candidate to be able to select and use the information knowing it is fit for purpose and this will be in very simple cases in this situation.

3. Use e-mail to communicate and exchange information

3.1 I can open and read e-mail messages

The candidate should be able to safely open and read e-mail showing an understanding of the dangers of malicious file attachments. They should know the term "spam" meaning unsolicited e-mail and that some spam is simply advertising whereas other spam is trying to trick them and get money from them.

Evidence: From observation of safe practice by the assessor, internally set tests.

Additional information and guidance
E-mails starting "Dear friend", "congratulations you have won...", or "please go to this web site to change your details" are always fraudulent. Never pay any money or arrange to meet someone on the strength of an unsolicited e-mail no matter how good the offer might seem. Never install attachments from e-mails particularly on Windows computers. If in doubt ask someone you know is an expert. (One advantage of using the Linux operating system is that it won't run windows applications so any malicious programmes written to damage Windows (most of them) will be entirely ineffective on Linux.

3.2 I can create and send e-mail messages

The candidate should be able to create and send e-mail.

Evidence: From direct observation and simple internal testing. Account managers might ask for selected candidates to send them an e-mail as part of the external QA process.

Additional information and guidance
They should understand that sending attachments in proprietary file formats runs the risk of the recipient not being able to open them. Expecting the receiver to have bought software licenses is a problem that can make the "digital divide" worse. Where possible use open file formats such as HTML, text, .jpg, .png, .svg. It is always worth considering putting information on a web page and making a link to it from an e-mail rather than sending a file attachment. The reason is that any updates to the information will be available to anyone that has access to it whereas once a file attachment is sent it is difficult to update and link to other information. Relatively little information needs to be printed in hard copy so there tends to be an over use of pdf attachments, a format designed for printing and a legacy of the pre-web age. In principle, any HTML web page can be printed if it needs to be but reduced printing to paper is better for the environment. With the increase in the use of e-books, the need for paper printed versions of information will reduce but social acceptance of this is likely to lag significantly behind the technological changes.

3.3 I can enter and edit text to meet needs

Candidates should show that they can edit text, correcting simple errors in punctuation and spelling and moving, adding and removing text using cut and paste. Using keyboard short cuts such as CTRL C, V and X can be related to work on improving productivity in unit 1.

Evidence: From records of day to day work, e-portfolio pages and files.

Additional information and guidance
If possible provide experience of more than one text editing program. There are advantages to text editors because sometimes cutting and pasting text carries over unwanted style information. Copying first to a text editor will remove the styles providing clean and plain text. Rich text editors for web pages are increasingly common and very similar to the editing tool bars in a word processor. In the interests of developing transferable skills, candidates should have opportunities to use more than one system. Most computers come with text editors. The INGOT learner site enables the use of a rich text editor for web pages. Google Docs provides web based editing and OpenOffice can be downloaded freely and provides similar functions to Microsoft Office. This version of the Silver INGOT has the official title.

Moderation/verification

The assessor should keep a record of assessment judgements made for each candidate and make notes of any significant issues for any candidate. They must be prepared to enter into dialogue with their Account Manager and provide their assessment records to the Account Manager through the on-line mark book. They should be prepared to provide evidence as a basis for their judgments should it be required by the Principal Assessor or their Account Manager/external moderator. Before authorizing certification, the Account Manager must be satisfied that the assessors judgements are sound.