(1888PressRelease)
June 20, 2009 - ALPS is dedicated to improving the confidence and competence of students graduating from courses in health and social care by placing an emphasis on work-based and interprofessional learning and assessment.
The SHA has allocated almost £100,000 to the projects which will allow further development of the ALPS Assessment Suite, a fundamental part of the programme. The Assessment Suite is home to generic assessment tools which can be used across multiple health and social care professions, and accessed by students via mobile devices whilst on placement. These new projects will help to embed the ALPS tools and other outputs as the programme enters its final year of operation.
The first of the funded projects will enable students to move data between their own e-portfolio and other systems, giving them scope to import and export assessment responses, as well as other files and learning resources. This project focuses on e-portfolio interoperability which will allow students to transfer evidence of their knowledge and competences to commonly used e-portfolio systems that are mapped to a shared standard.
The aim of the second project is to provide more information about how the Assessment Suite is being used by ALPS students. In order to monitor students’ progress more closely, academic staff at partner universities (Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan and York St John) will be provided with more detailed reporting which will enable tutors to easily keep track of students’ completed assessments and achieved competences.
The final project will look at improving accessibility of the ALPS Mobile Client. This relates to how learning materials and assessments are presented to users on the mobile devices. The proposed changes will address key issues identified by ALPS research (specifically the ALPS MEDS project http://www.alps-cetl.ac.uk/ResearchNetwork.htm ). These enhancements, including the capacity to customise and adjust the interface, will also improve general usability.
ALPS Mobile Technologies Project Manager, Tamsin Treasure-Jones, believes the projects will help to improve learning and assessment for students out on placement. “ALPS is delighted to have received funding from the SHA for these exciting projects. The Assessment Suite is already giving students the opportunity to gather evidence of their knowledge and competences, and further development of features such as the e-portfolio interoperability will allow them greater control over their own learning and development.”
To find out more about ALPS and their work, please visit the website: www.alps-cetl.ac.uk
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