03 July 2024, 7:52

Hi

We've just installed 24.04 on a test server so we can try it out before upgrading later in the year, and I'm struggling to find a couple of features highlighted in the 'new features' video.

1. Add an additional smart evidence framework assessment status - I can still see 4, how do I add the 5th one (i.e. like the Merit example)?
2. Share a portfolio to multiple teachers for assessing the smart evidence framework - where do I set up the additional roles?

Also, should all error messages now come with a 'report' button?

I've searched the 24.04 manual but can't find the answers.

Thanks for any pointers.

Yvonne

05 July 2024, 16:09

Hi Yvonne,

In order to use the 5th status and set up different assessor types in SmartEvidence, you would need to use SmartEvidence version 2, which cannot be set up via the admin interface at this stage. We provide a sample though that you can download to adjust with your own criteria. You can download it from the SmartEvidence overview page in your Mahara site: Admin menu → Extensions → SmartEvidence → Standards for the teaching profession v2.

Thank you

Kristina

05 July 2024, 21:11

Thanks Kristina.

I've downloaded the example and can see the additional status ('merit') and have adapted the file and successfully uploaded back to Mahara, however:

• the fifth status does not display - in the page where you select which of the 5 statuses appear in the framework overview, only 4 appear so I can't select the fifth one.
• there doesn't seem to be anything in the JSON about the additional teachers

Any further pointers?  This is a feature that academic colleagues have asked for so I would like to get it working.

Yvonne

08 July 2024, 9:02

Hi Yvonne,

Good catch. I only checked for the 'Merit' status to be there and had forgotten that the download was not yet implemented fully for version 2. I'll make sure to make a note of that.

You can get the full copy of the framework that is in Mahara by default for version 2 in the code base at /htdocs/module/framework/matrices/nz_teaching_standards_english_v2.matrix Ask your friendly tech person for it as it's on your site. There you will see how the other roles are set up.

Thank you

Kristina

25 July 2024, 22:16

Hi Kristina

I have the SEF v2 JSON file and have edited it and uploaded it back to Mahara. My 'student' then attached the new SEF to their portfolio and added an annotation block.  They then shared the portfolio with an 'Assessor' (one of the roles introduced in the SEF).  Then there were a couple of problems:

• the 'student' received a warning that the 'Assessor' chosen did not have that role.  The person in the Assessor role has a 'site staff' role - should the SEF state 'sitestaff' instead of 'institutionstaff'?
• the 'Assessor' could access the shared portfolio but as soon as they tried to access the annotation block to 'assess', a 'nonrecoverable error' occurred and the portfolio was no longer accessible.

Will there be any further guidance on how this new SEF should work? Otherwise I fear I'm going to be posting a lot of questions.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Yvonne

29 July 2024, 9:30

Hi Yvonne,

Can you please share your framework file? I can't replicate the issue without knowing more. Please also make sure your Mahara site is on the latest maintenance release of Mahara 24.04 and test then again. Please also share the error message. 'A nonrecoverable error' is only a placeholder displayed on production sites. The actual error message is in the error log.

Thank you

Kristina

29 July 2024, 22:48

Hi Kristina

We're testing features on 24.04.4.  I managed to get it to work - I'd missed off selecting one of the new 'roles'. 

The layout of the new SEF overview page is different to the original (the separate status options are not displayed), and wonder if it's possible to add a status option but retain the original layout. 

I tried adding a framework with just one 'staff role' and the additional status but it produces the following display.

Thanks

Yvonne

31 July 2024, 8:46

Hi Yvonne,

Currently, SmartEvidence v2 does not have all the feature flexibility of the original version, including being able to select which statuses to display on the SmartEvidence overview page. Partly why we haven't added the summaries on the page is because they are more difficult to interpret with the many additional statuses. In the reporting section we do provide the summaries also for 'Merit', but of course the numbers explode as you can have up to 5 assessments for one competency per page. So my question is: Are those summaries still useful to display?

As for your other problem, can you please share your framework? If you don't want to do so publicly, please send it to me directly. That'll make things easier for testing.

Thank you

Kristina

05 August 2024, 17:29

Hi Yvonne,

Thank you for the file. I could change it so it only has one assessor. I removed the lines for the student. However, I noticed that the icons wouldn't save for the student. I know this was fixed, but it seems that in this special case for when there is only one assessor that the rule doesn't apply. So I created a new issue.

When adding someone to assess the competencies, you do need to select a role in the 'Sharing' options for that person, in your case 'Unit convenor'. Otherwise, they won't be able to do the assessment.

One quick accessibility tip: We use different shapes and colours for the icons in SmartEvidence (not easy, I know). If only colours are used, they may be difficult to be distinguished for people will certain colour blindnesses, e.g. with Achromatopsia where everything is a shade of grey. You can stack Font Awesome icons if you don't want to use the ones that are built-in or want to put something on the circle to keep your coloured circles. Ideally, everything is at minimum double encoded, e.g. a colour and something else (shape, word, number).

Thank you

Kristina

06 August 2024, 23:55

Hi Kristina

Thanks again for your response.  I don't think the new changes are going to help in our case but thanks for getting back to me.

In terms of your point about accessibility, we did change the icons as the defaults (i.e. ticks and crosses) didn't fit with the way the academics were using the SEF.  However, to maintain accessibility we've added the status names to the headers (in the overview page), so both coloured circle and text have been used.

In a similar vein we've added the word 'shared' to portfolios that have been shared with others as the lock icons didn't make it very clear.

Best wishes

Yvonne