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ACHIEVE FROM HASHTAG LEARNING
from CSSreads Issue 1
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ACHIEVE: THE STUDY TOOLKIT FOR N5 AND HIGHER
image provided by Alan Wait
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ACHIEVE is an online learning and study toolkit for Scottish National 5 and Higher. The program, which can be used both in school and remotely, covers the most common SQA subjects at National 5 and Higher.
Nearly 200 Computing Studies teachers in Scotland have registered with Achieve and the number of students using the program for National 5 and Higher Computing Science is growing quickly, with a regular user base of around 9,000.
How do Students use ACHIEVE?
Each SQA course is represented by its constituent units, topics and key concepts. In Higher Computing Science, for example, the 4 Units – Software Design & Development, Computer Systems, Database Design & Development, Web Design & Development – are broken down into 23 topics and 120 concepts. Each concept is clearly explained and illustrated, along with extended questions and activities and links to further online learning and past SQA questions.
There are questions and activities for every topic, along with interactive online assessment – a combination of multiple choice and text response questions – which give students instant feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. A self-evaluation module allows students to rate their progress in each area of the course by identifying concepts where their learning is secure and those where they need additional support. Students also watch video tutorials giving advice on study and exam technique.
How do Teachers use ACHIEVE?
In Computing Studies a teacher might use ACHIEVE to introduce or teach key ideas, for example, Entity Occurrence Diagrams in Database Design.
In December students completed over 40,000 online assessment questions for National 5 and Higher Computing Science and the Teacher Portal enables teachers to see how each student performed. The self-evaluation carried out by students enables teachers to review confidence levels for each topic and track the progress of each student through the course.
Blended learning
A growing number of Scottish schools are making use of ACHIEVE to support the delivery of the senior phase by accessing up to 25 National 5 and Higher courses in school, at home or as part of blended learning. The company behind the development, Hashtag Learning, report that more courses will be added during 2021, along with additional assessment resources.
Further information
An annual ACHIEVE school licence is £500. A subject licence (Nat 5 and Higher) is £100.
For more information about ACHIEVE and the range of courses covered, and to set up a free trial visit https://letsachieve.co.uk/
