Archived News
Learning Assistant has taken the lead in developing the most advanced e-learning and online e-portfolio systems in the world and we intend to stay ahead of the pack! Within this section we will keep you up to date on all the latest developments as well as the awards / accreditations we win and the roadshows and events we will be attending.
LSC pilot suggests Learning Assistant could help slash £1bn of waste
Times Educational Supplement, 7th Apr 2006:
Electronic, rather than paper, portfolios for vocational courses save money and boost achievement, LSC pilot suggests
Colleges could cut assessment costs by at least £500 million, and slash the time students take to complete vocational courses by two-thirds, using a new electronic assessment scheme.
Evidence from a Learning and Skills Council pilot study of computerised assessment shows that as much as £1 billion a year is being wasted on duplicated effort and paperwork associated with NVQs and related vocational courses.
"The new, faster assessment methods used in the pilot are also reported to have resulted in a sharp increase in student staying-on and achievement rates."
"If you ask for a written testimony from a manager, you could be waiting till Christmas. Put a digital recorder under a manager's nose and say 'Can you explain what Madge did in her practice last week?' they can do it in five minutes," she said.
Only one in 10, or 200,000, FE students currently uses eportfolios, said Mike Dawe, senior online assessment manager at City & Guilds. The awarding body wants to encourage more colleges to use electronic systems and is offering "a stamp of approval" to eportfolio providers such as QuickStep, Learning Assistant and OneFile.