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Bronze 3 unit 3
Assessor's guide to interpreting the criteria
General Information
- Bronze 3 is the same as Entry Level 3 in the Qualification Credit Framework. It is mapped to the National curriculum at levels 3 and 4.
- The definition of an entry level qualification is to recognize 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 fully compatible with the UK National Curriculum programmes of study with some strengthening of important contemporary issues related to open systems providing support for PLTS and citizenship.
- Bronze 3 is designed to promote a wider range of participation by providing a progression pathway from Bronze 2 to Level 1 in the QCF and from national curriculum levels 3 and 4 to level 5.
- 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.
- 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 . In general, the candidate should demonstrate that criteria related to co-operative behaviour can be sustained over time.
- We expect at least 15 hours of guided study to be under-taken before this Unit Award is made to 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
Assessors can use the criteria to determine levels of prior learning through dialog with the candidate, direct observation and any other appropriate and relevant evidence. They can score each of the criteria "L", "S", "H". An "N" indicates no evidence and this is the default setting. "L" indicates some capability but some help still required and the candidate is not secure with that particular criterion. "S" indicates secure mastery of the criterion. "H" indicates that the candidate is operating beyond the basic requirements of the criterion. If all criteria are matched with "S" or "H" the unit is passed. All criteria must be at least "S" for a pass.
Expansion of the assessment criteria
The Entry 3 learner will be becoming increasingly capable of making use of skills, knowledge and understanding to carry out simple structured tasks and activities with occasional guidance and intervention. They will start to relate tasks to contexts and be aware of consequences of actions for themselves and others. While support and guidance are still needed they will demonstrate increasing capability of working self-sufficiently with simple structured tasks.
An activity will typically be 'structured' when:
* there are several steps that need to be sequential; and
* the learner has opportunities to practice the sequence or clear guidance is provided.
Desktop Publishing Software
1. The candidate will use appropriate designs and page layouts for a publication
1.1 I can identify what types of information can be used in a publication
The candidate should show that they appreciate the use of text and images in publications and that they are relevant to the messages that the publication is designed to convey. For example, they might identify the use of an image as having the purpose of making an impact on the audience.
Evidence: Relevant information in their publications and documents.
Additional information and guidance
1.2 I can identify page layouts that could be used for the publication
Candidates should be able to choose a layout that is appropriate to their particular needs from more than one possibility.
Evidence: From portfolio files and assessor verification.
Additional information and guidance
1.3 I can use an appropriate page design and layout for a publication in line with local guidelines, where relevant
Candidates should produce final designs that are simple but appropriate.
Evidence: From portfolio files.
Additional information and guidance
1.4 I can use appropriate media for the publication
Candidates will normally use paper for desktop published work, but there is scope to publish for the web or onto different media in particular specialist circumstances.
Evidence: Assessors observation of finalised published work.
Additional information and guidance
2. The candidate will input text and other information into a publication
2.1 I can input information into a publication ready for editing and formatting
Text can be input directly or by cutting and pasting or other input. Candidates should be aware that carrying over styles in rich text can cause formatting problems and it is safer to use plain text from a text editor. Images should be inserted either by cut and paste or import.
Evidence: Assessor observation and content of candidate documents.
Additional information and guidance
At Entry level candidates are unlikely to be able to cope with some of the more sophisticated decisions needed to deal with "clean" data. It would be a good time to introduce a plain text editor rather than preparing text in a word processor. Cutting and pasting text into a text editor will strip out all the style and formatting detail so that *only* the text goes into the target document. This prevents unwanted formatting effects, fonts or other information contaminating the document. It might not be immediately obvious that formatting has been compromised by import of external style information. All formatting and style attributes can be added in the DTP software at the end. Images should be an appropriate size and resolution for the document. Again this is unlikely to be achievable at Entry level without help. It is also best to use .svg, .png or .jpg images if at all possible as these are the most important open graphics standards.
2.2 I can identify copyright constraints on using others' information
The candidate should show the constraints they use.
Evidence: Assessor observation and content of candidate documents.
Additional information and guidance
The candidate should show where they have used copyright material and what they did to acknowledge this.
2.3 I can combine information from different sources in line with any copyright constraints
Candidate can source text and image information from at least 3 sources where they have permission to use the information.
Evidence: Candidate's work includes several pieces of information from different sources and is free from copyright issues.
Additional information and guidance
Combining information is likely to be merging text from more than one source into a single document, linking text to images and mixing images.
2.4 I can store and retrieve publication files effectively, in line with local guidelines and conventions
Candidate can manage their files competently using sensible file names and organisation in folders.
Evidence: Candidate's file area is organised and they can use save and save as... confidently as well as find their files consistently to open.
Additional information and guidance
The most important issue is that they can manage their files competently and self-sufficiently.
3. The learner will use desktop publishing software techniques to edit and format a publication
3.1 I can review the outcomes of the completed task
Candidates should be able to make comments on their solution to a simple set task or problem. This can be verbal or in writing. The task might be a step in a more complex task. At this level it is a simple matter of communicating how successful the outcomes were compared to the intentions and comments on the quality of what they have produced.
Evidence: From oral communication, files and examples of day to day work.
Additional information and guidance
An example project might be to present a poster to highlight safety issues when using the internet. They could review the outcomes in terms of comments from peers on how effective they thought it would be, how visually attractive the design turned out to be. Were words correctly spelled? Was clip art used effectively? Were the tools available suitable for the job? Did they have any choice in what tools to use?Review the selection and use of IT systems and software for tasks
3.2 I can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the IT systems and software used for the task
Candidates should build on the requirements for Entry 2 with less support required making their own simple lists of strengths and weaknesses. There might be different tools available eg for use at home or use at school or their place of work and their list might reflect this.
Evidence: Recorded evaluation of work in web pages or files listing simple sets of strengths and weaknesses.
Additional information and guidance
Historically most general productivity tools have required expensive licenses which meant that it was not easy to provide the same software for use in different places. There is then an issue of inclusion and a potential economic divide. With the rise of Open Source software this is changing and for the most part all the basic productivity tools most people need are available free of licensing costs. This is an opportunity to enrich the range of tools used and to discuss the use of IT at home and in the work place, the advantages of having the same tools available in both places, the ethics of using high priced products that force people to buy them too for the sake of compatibility, the legal overhead in managing software licenses as well as the specific technical efficiency of the tools themselves. At this level candidates should simply be able to identify broad strengths and weaknesses and begin to consider relative importance of them.
3.3 I can identify ways to improve the outcomes of the completed task
Candidates should show that they can identify ways of improving their work with a focus on the intended outcomes stated in their planning.
Evidence: Observations of behaviour and interaction with peers. Recorded ways of improving specific examples of their work.
Additional information and guidance
Candidates should build on their increasing experience in order to make better decisions about ways of improving their work. The candidate's co-operative behaviour should extend to collaborating with peers to improve identified weaknesses and to begin to set their own targets for improvement. In addition to identifying basic technical errors they should be beginning to see the "bigger picture" with awareness of the impact of their work on themselves and others.
Their confidence in making informed choices should be increasing as they understand the steps needed to complete familiar structured tasks. They should be able to comment on whether or not they are active participants in collaborative work and whether they should increase or decrease their input.
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 dialog 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 judgements should it be required by the Principal Assessor or their Account Manager/external moderator. Before authorising certification, the Account Manager must be satisfied that the assessors judgements are sound.
