e-track Online Release Notes

Technical specification

The latest Maytas and e-track technical specification can be found here.

e-track Online Release Notes – Version 5.20.7600.1

Skill Scans

e-track now supports skill scans as part of the Module Editor for recording and measuring learner progression and distance travelled. Skill scans can be added to new or existing objectives so that learners and employers can assess a learner's understanding of their qualification at various stages throughout their learning. Assessors can view completed skill scans to determine progress and identify any gaps in knowledge.

When a module is configured to include skill scans, any learners who are then newly assigned that module will be sent skill scans on an automatic schedule which is configured on the module. You can also choose for a learner not to be sent skill scans when the module is assigned to them. Note that learners who were already on a module before it was configured for skill scans will not be included in a schedule, but skill scans can still be manually added to their record.

Adding Skill Scans to an Objective

Adding and configuring skill scans to an objective requires an assessor user with access to the Module Editor.

On the sidebar, click Browse Modules.
Search for the base module you wish to add skill scans to and click edit at the far-right of the row.
Select the base module (the top row) and click the Edit button.
Select the Skill Scan tab on the sidebar which appears on the right.
Tick the Include in Skill Scan checkbox. Further details will appear.

At this point, we are simply enabling skill scans for objectives within this base module.
Enter the number of days after the base module start date that the initial skill scan should be sent to the relevant learner or employer.
Enter the frequency (in weeks) of skill scans after the initial scan.
Choose whether the skill scans for this module should be completed by trainees, employers or both.
Click Save.

You can now select the criteria from each objective which should be included in a skill scan:

Click the down-arrow at the end of an objective and select Edit Criteria.
You will see the objective's criteria (if the objective has any). Tick the boxes in the column highlighted below to choose which criteria should be included in a skill scan. You can click the checkbox at the top of the column to select them all.
Click Save.
Repeat as required for additional objectives.

Completing a Skill Scan

When a module with skill scans is assigned to a learner, the date on which the first skill scans will be sent out is determined as per the module configuration. Note that the skill scan date is not derived until the learner has a start date for the module. On the derived date, the users who need to complete the skill scans will receive a notification when they login to e-track (this can include both learner and employer users):

Choose the skill scan to complete and click Run Skill Scan.

Choose the level of competence for each criteria and enter any notes as required. When finished, click Submit. The next planned skill scan will then be added to their queue.

The learner's assessor can then view the learner's completed and upcoming skill scans by opening their record and going to the Skill Scan tab. Click the + and - buttons to expand and collapse the details of each scan.

When a scheduled skill scan is completed, the next skill scan in the schedule is added to the queue.

Manually Adding a Skill Scan

It is possible to manually add a one-off skill scan for a learner, separate to the regular scans configured for a module:

Open a learner's record and go to the Skill Scan tab.
Click the Add Skill Scan button.
Select the framework and module to use for the skill scan (note that only modules which have been configured for skill scans will be available).
Enter the date to schedule the scan for.
Choose whether the scan should be completed by a learner or employer.
Click Create Scan.

The skill scan will be added to the list of scheduled scans for the learner.

Changing the Date of a Skill Scan

If you wish to change the date on which a skill scan is scheduled to take place (e.g. if the module start date changes after the module has been added to a learner), this can be done in Maytas. First, a tab must be imported in Maytas:

In Maytas, go to Tools on the toolbar and click Import on the Screens panel of the ribbon.
Click Browse.
Browse to the Maytas\Extras\Tabs folder of the upgrade.
Select the Skill Scan Queue.m5tab package and click Open.
Click Next, then click Finish.
Go to Home on the toolbar and click Sync.

To change a skill scan date on the tab:

In Maytas, open the learner record and go to the Skill Scan Queue tab.
Select the scan to edit and click the button.
Edit the Date to be sent as required and click OK.
Click Apply.

Excluding a Module from Skill Scans

If you want to assign a module to a learner, but don't want that learner to be sent any skill scans that have been configured for that module, this can be done as follows:

Open the learner's record and click Add Objectives on the Summary tab.
Search for and select the module you wish to add.
Choose the objectives you wish to include and click Next.
Choose the qualification and framework to add the module to.
If the module has been configured for skill scans, you will also see the option Exclude module from Skill Scans. Tick this box and click Next.
Click Save.

Employer Contacts

An overhauled system for recording and assigning employer contacts is now available. Contacts can be entered against an employer, and a learner can then be assigned one of those contacts as their key contact for the employer. Whenever a data collection form is assigned to an employer to complete on behalf of a learner, the form will be sent to the learner's key contact for completion. If a learner does not have a key contact specified, the form will be sent to the employer user instead.

To publish the Employer Contacts tab from Maytas:

Go to Tools on the toolbar and click New / Load on the Screens panel of the ribbon.
Select Employer on the left and double-click Employer Contacts on the right.
Tick the Published box on the left. Also tick the Employer box.
Click Apply.
Go to Home on the toolbar and click Sync.

To view the tab in e-track:

Select Employer Editor on the sidebar.
Search for and open an employer record.
Go to the Employer Contacts tab.

Click the Add Row button to add a new contact.

Complete the details as required and click Save to return to the contacts tab. Click Save again to commit the changes to the database. Repeat as required to add additional contacts.

Once contacts have been set up for an employer, a learner at that employer can be assigned a key contact:

Open a learner record and go to the Summary tab.
Click View Details and click Edit next to Employer Details.
Select the employer row you wish to assign a key contact for.
Select a contact from the Key Contact dropdown box.
Click Save.

Workflows

Workflows can now be created in e-track for data authentication forms and visit forms. A workflow in e-track is a series of interlinked forms which can be sent to a user or users for completion in a particular sequence or series of stages. For example, you could specify that all forms in stage 1 must be completed by a learner before the forms in stage 2 can be completed by their employer.

To configure workflows, an assessor user must be given the Edit Workflows permission:

Go to Web User Editor on the sidebar.
Search for and open the user or group to give the permissions.
Click Permissions to expand the list of permissions.
In the Data Collection section, tick the Edit Workflows permission.
Click Save and restart e-track.

The e-track base URL config must also be set:

Go to Settings on the sidebar and click System configuration.
Go to Admin on the left.
In the General section, tick the box next to the config Base URL and enter your e-track Online URL (e.g. https://myserver/e-track).
Click Save.

Creating a Workflow

Go to Data Authentication on the sidebar.
Click the Create Workflow button.
Enter a name for the workflow and select the type of workflow (trainee or visit). For this example we will create a trainee workflow.
On the right side of the screen, click the buttons to expand the Trainee forms, Employer forms and Assessor forms sections and display the available forms.
Click and drag a form into the grey area under Forms.
You will be prompted to select the type of user that will complete the form, along with a confirmation field for the form. Note that the field must appear on the form, and each form MUST use a different confirmation field. Only one type of user can be selected per form. Click OK when finished.

A confirmation field is a field which has been set to be tracked for auditing. More information can be found here.
The form will now appear green in the central area for stage 1.

At this point there are several options:
- The workflow could be saved and completed as it currently stands.
- Additional forms could be added to this stage.
- Another stage could be added with one or more forms.
For this example we will add another stage with two forms. What this means is that when the workflow is deployed, the form in stage 1 must be completed and confirmed before the forms in stage 2 can be completed.
Click the Add button on the left to add another stage.

Note that a Delete button appears for if you want to delete a stage.
Drag two more forms into stage 2. For this example we will use a learner form and an employer form.
Tick the Published box.
Click Save.

The workflow is now ready to be used.

Invoking a Workflow

Once a workflow has been set up, it can be invoked for specific users.

Currently a workflow can only be invoked from a learner record. The ability to invoke workflows that only include assessor or employer forms via an assessor or employer record is planned for a future release.

To invoke a workflow:

Open a learner record and click the Invoke Workflow button on the Summary tab.
Select the required workflow from the dropdown box which appears.
You will see the layout of stages and forms for the workflow. As the workflow is being invoked on a learner record, the workflow will automatically assign any learner forms to this learner. However, if the learner has multiple POTs then you can specify which POT a form should apply to.

Similarly, employer and assessor forms require you to choose the specific assessor or employer who should complete the form, along with the POT. If a learner has a key contact specified for an employer, the contact will be displayed with the employer name and the form will be sent to them rather than the employer user.
Click OK once all dropdown boxes have been selected for each form.

The forms will then be added to the relevant users' data collection queues. In the example above, the application form in stage 1 would be available for the learner to complete straight away, but the learning agreement forms in stage 2 would only be available for the learner and employer to complete once stage 1 had been completed.

Editing a Workflow

To edit an existing workflow:

Select Data Authentication on the sidebar.
Click Edit Workflow.
Choose the workflow from the dropdown list and click Load.

You will see the same workflow editor as when creating a new workflow.

To move a form between stages, simply click and drag it to a different stage.

To change the confirmation field for a form, click the button on the form, choose the field as required and click OK.

To remove a form from a workflow, click the button and click Delete.

Data Collection Forms Activity

The status of all completed and outstanding data collection forms (including those invoked with a workflow) can be viewed by selecting Data Authentication on the sidebar and going to the Activity tab.

The top section lists all data collection forms assigned to users. The data can be filtered by clicking the Filters button next to the table.

The bottom section lists all configured workflows. The data can be filtered by clicking the Filters button next to the table.

Employer Editor Access

It is now possible to limit the employers available in the Employer Editor to those linked to learners in an assessor's caseload. Without the permission set, an assessor can access all employers in the Employer Editor.

To set the permission for an assessor user:

Select Web User Editor on the sidebar.
Search for and select the user or group which requires permission.
Click Permissions to expand the list of permissions.
In the Employer Editor section, tick the checkbox for Restrict to trainee links.
Click Save.