eTracker launches

by jon@vlesupport.co.uk on 16/08/2007
in Main News

New online tool sets standard for personalised assessment tracking

Bromley College trials eTracker

 

VLE Support, the e-learning experts, is launching today a new online management tool called eTracker to bring about a sea-change in the way in which head teachers, teachers and students monitor, assess and analyse learning and behaviours. 

 

eTracker helps to motivate students by making it easy for them to assess their individual progress against personalised goals.  It helps teachers to track their students’ performance, linking their academic and pastoral achievements, so they can identify issues and intervene fast.  Combining the effective use of data and a personalised approach, eTracker will enable schools and colleges to support individual needs and aspirations.

 

Mark Trinick, managing director of VLE Support, commented: “As a former teacher myself, I was often frustrated at the lack of meaningful analysis of a class or student’s progress.  Most schools and colleges monitor academic performance and behaviours on an ad hoc basis, often using a paper-based system.  We’ve developed eTracker, in accordance with the RARPA[1] stages, to address this issue and we believe it fully supports the aims and objectives laid out in the government’s white paper entitled Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances which lays out the national strategy for teaching and learning.” 

 

At the beginning of a course, the teacher meets with each student individually to agree their learning and behavioural objectives and these are captured by eTracker.  These can be reviewed individually or together at any time throughout the course.  In line with the RAPRA stages, eTracker puts the student at the heart of learning and the learner’s goals.  Students can only access their personal pages where they can clearly see how they are progressing towards their individually set targets, designed to encourage and motivate students to achieve.

 

The teacher is able to monitor, assess and analyse individual student pages as well as by task, group or class.  eTracker makes it easy to identify areas for improvement and can recognise if a student is struggling with a particular aspect of the course or is not achieving as well as he/she personally should be. 

 

Having participated with Bromley College on the development of its virtual learning environment, the college was a natural partner to trial eTracker.  Barry Spencer, Programme Area Leader at Bromley College, said: “The functionality of eTracker is outstanding – it is exactly what further education colleges like ours require.  When you see eTracker in action, it is obvious that it has been developed by former teachers with a good and clear understanding of how schools and colleges operate, the demands upon teachers and what will and won’t work with students.  We are still in the early days of our trial with eTracker, but we are already confident in the benefits that it will bring.”

 

Colonel Norrie Wallace, Bursar at St Dunstan's College, an independent school for 4 to 18 year olds, commented: "We were very impressed when we saw eTracker and St Dunstan's will be implementing it in the near future.  I think it is very motivating for students to be able to see how well they are progressing towards their own targets.  Without something like eTracker, feedback can be very ad hoc.  It's great for the teachers too - they can see, across all subjects, how a student is faring and can take action if needs be."

 

eTracker is primarily aimed at further and higher education colleges and secondary schools where there is a particular emphasis on course work.  It is unique in that it can be hosted and integrated with a school or college’s own IT system.  It can be implemented part way through the term, if necessary, as data can be uploaded automatically.  Templates can be tailored to suit the school or college’s requirements.  eTracker costs £10,000 to implement in schools and colleges with up to 1,200 students and this includes initial training.  For larger institutions, the cost increases incrementally – contact VLE Support for further details.  There are no annual fees. 

 

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For more information or to arrange a demonstration, please contact Anna Fraser on 07958 380568 or Lesley Russell on 07815 778038, email: anna@spotlightcomms.co.uk or lesley@spotlightcomms.co.uk

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

VLE Support is the only company in the UK to provide an all-in-one package for education and commercial sectors introducing virtual learning environments (VLEs).  It facilitates the installation, configuration, training, maintenance and support of VLEs.  Focused on Moodle software, it offers a comprehensive package of training and support for teachers, trainers, administrators and support staff.  VLE Support also designs and develops bespoke content ranging from enhanced static documents to fully interactive multi-media presentations.  Clients include Bromley College of Further and Higher Education, St Dunstan’s College and the London Ambulance Service.