ProjectEVOLVE – Knowledge Map Feature has Launched

16 Jul 2021 Becca Cawthorne

UKSIC partners SWGfL are pleased to announce that the long anticipated Knowledge Map feature for ProjectEVOLVE has now officially launched for school years 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10. This new feature has the potential to revolutionise how professionals engage with their students in all of the ProjectEVOLVE material found within the toolkit. It is intended to reduce workload by recommending resources relevant to the children they teach whilst giving valuable insight into where strengths and weaknesses are in their online development.

How does the Knowledge Map work?

The knowledge map feature offers students a variety of scenarios about their online lives and provides a set of responses that are carefully mapped against the Burch Competencies. These competencies attempt to categorise children’s understanding of a concept; whether it is secure, emerging, developing, if they’re unsure or if they have understood the concept incorrectly. This feature covers a wide range of the ProjectEVOLVE toolkit so every topic, strand and theme can be addressed.

In this Beta release, the Knowledge Map feature will be available for years 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 with the additional year groups releasing in the Autumn term. The types of scenarios that are put in front of students vary depending on the topic and age group.

For example, young people will be shown a scenario such as:

I want to show my friend and others how much I enjoyed the video they posted. Any ideas?

Surrounding the scenario are a number of responses they can choose from, such as:

  • Reshare the content with your friends and followers.
  • Tell them when you next see them or give them a call.
  • Click on the ‘like’ button underneath the video
  • Make your reply to them stand out by using emoji’s or a funny GIF to let them know you liked it and shared it.

One by one, students should give their honest opinion on which answer they feel is the best response or action to take. ProjectEVOLVE will then gather up all the responses and evaluate the data to determine what material should be prioritised for the class or student group. This can be done online (independent) or live (guided) in the classroom, it’s entirely up to the educator.

Secure in the knowledge

What’s great about this new feature is that it works towards a stage where students are secure in their understanding of an important online concept. As you build on the Knowledge Maps, the information you generate will assist with better understanding of online development for students whilst saving professionals valuable time.

Ken Corish, Project Evolve Lead, said:

‘To have this new feature launch is a huge milestone for ProjectEVOLVE. When we first conceived the idea of a digital toolkit to assist professionals with educating on online development, this mechanism was one feature we knew had not been done before and would be the ‘revolutionary’ part of the project. Through the help of the whole team including our online safety experts, we can now help schools gather important data referring directly to their student’s knowledge of essential online topics. All this, along with the future plans and features for ProjectEVOLVE is what will make it an essential part of any teaching strategy.’

To start your Knowledge Map journey, you can sign up to ProjectEVOLVE for free and begin using the concept cartoon generator straight away. A huge part of the toolkit comes with exploring the various strands and resources available. Now, with the new features, you’ll have access to hours of engaging material, all completely free!