Welcome to the second post in our “Teaching through COVID-19” series. For those who didn’t see the first post, let’s do a quick overview. In the coming weeks, bahabeach will be publishing different installments in our series “Teaching through COVID-19”, with each article highlighting a different learning product. These posts are meant to answer your most frequently asked questions about learning products, and how you can use them in a distance learning capacity. Our post today covers LearnKey, a fantastic learning platform for PCs, Macs, and Chromebooks. Check out the details about launching and utilizing LearnKey below.
- What features are available in this program to help my students continue learning at home?
- Pre-Assessment: This section will help students establish their baseline knowledge, while showing them what topics will need additional time.
- Study Guides: After students submit the pre-assessment, they will see a topic breakdown. To the right of the topic, they can select a study guide that corresponds to the given topic. This is an expounded section that will help students get a more in-depth view of topics that may be difficult for them.
- Video Training: These are filmed to primarily showcase the process within the software. Student can see a visual representation of the correct process for a given objective.
- Exercise Labs: After completing the video training, the exercise lab can help reinforce the learning by allowing students to complete a given objective on their own, within the software.
- Post-Assessment: Once they’ve completed the labs and trainings, they can complete the section’s post-assessment. This shows students their new knowledge level, after going through the additional training. If they want to go back and see what they missed here, they can use the “Resume Review” feature to go through the questions missed, without spending time on topics they’ve already mastered.
- Flashcards: If students want additional help or definitions for key terms, flashcards are available to break those terms down. These can be found within the Glossaries tab.
- Workbooks: Extra practice never hurts. These workbooks can be uploaded to any LMS. They are saved as PDFs so they can be downloaded and broken up as needed, giving students a section at a time, or even just an individual worksheet.
- How do my students get access and set up their accounts?
- LearnKey is powered by GMetrix, so all LearnKey courseware and materials are accessed through the GMetrix platform. Once you’re set-up with a GMetrix account, you can create codes for your students to redeem at www.gmetrix.net. For the full-breakdown on this process, check out our GMetrix article here.
- Do my students need to install anything?
- For some courses, students will need to install software. Adobe CC 2018, Adobe CC 2019, and Microsoft O365 courses require use of the SMS within the GMetrix platform, which means the software need to be installed. You can see the details on that installation process in our previous post. However, older versions, such as Adobe CC 2015 do not require the software to be downloaded, and cover many of the same objectives. You can use those as a substitute, if you students don’t have the option to download the software.
- In short, if your students are completing the Lesson Layout courses, there will likely need to be software installed to use the course’s full functionality. If your students are completing the Session Layout courses, no software will be required.
- What web browsers work best?
- All web browsers are supported.
- Do all the features work with Chromebooks?
- Courses are available via Chromebooks. However, for Microsoft Office, Adobe, and Autodesk only the video, workbooks, and pre assessments are available. Exercise labs, projects, and post assessments require installation of the software and GMetrix SMS, which will not work in Chromebooks.
- Can they work offline?
- No, LearnKey functions entirely through the GMetrix web portal. Some teachers may be using the GMetrix desktop icon to access the practice exams. For all LearnKey materials, please remember to use the web portal at www.gmetrix.net, not the desktop icon.
- If I need to provide my students printable materials to accompany their online course, what can I give them?
- Anything from the student workbook can be printed. You can also print your own copies of the teacher workbook as well, if you’re interested in having a physical copy. Remember, all the workbooks can be broken up to individual sections or worksheets, so you can make it easier for your students to find exactly what they need.
- You can have students submit these workbooks for grading as well. Just make sure your students follow these simple steps:
- Download the PDF workbook or page(s) in the Lesson Layout courses
- Open with Acrobat DC or PDF viewer (free version)
- Type the fill-in-the-blank answers
- Click "File"
- Click "Print"
- Select "Print to PDF"
- Select the Printer "Print to PDF"
- Choose the Pages radio button under "Pages to Print". Type or include the pages you would like to include in the document
- Click "Print"
- Save the PDF in a file folder or shared folder with their proper assignment title and name included, for example: Outlook Pages 1-4 – John Smith
- Is there a video/demonstration component that the students can complete before taking any practice quizzes?
- Absolutely! The LearnKey team has created videos with experts in their studio, and each section of the course has a video component to visually walk students through the key objectives. Maybe they’re learning specific functions on the Microsoft Excel ribbon, or how to form crop and bleed marks in Photoshop. These videos will showcase the software about 85-90% of the video, making it easy for visual learners to see the process they should follow. When they’re finished, they can see a check mark next to completed lessons, so they’ll know what they’ve completed the next time they log in.
- Can I see what my students are doing? What they have completed, how they have done on their quizzes, etc.
- Of course! In the left-hand menu, select “Reports” and then select the “Course Reports” tab. You can see what videos they’ve watched, what they’ve downloaded, etc. Just make sure that when students are submitting quizzes or projects, that they select “Grade and Exit”, not just “Save and Exit”, otherwise it won’t be visible on your reports.
- Is your course broken up in modules so I can assign short learning every day?
- Yes, each course is broken up into sessions. Each session contains the following:
- Pre-Assessment
- Video Training
- Exercise Labs
- Post-Assessment
- Students should pass each post-assessment with 80% or higher before moving on to the next lesson. That will ensure that they have mastered the new topics and are ready for those questions on the industry certification exam.
- What works without downloads and what needs to be downloaded to be fully functional?
- Courses that cover newer versions of the technology, such as MOS 2016 and MOS O365/2019, Adobe CC 2018, etc. require software and the GMetrix SMS to be downloaded for the course to be fully functional. Autodesk courses use a simulation environment, so no downloads are required. If the students would like to complete projects in the project workbook however, they must have access to Autodesk software. IC3 and MTA courses do not require any downloads or software.
- Can I give feedback to my students within their account?
- LearnKey is powered by GMetrix, and unfortunately, giving feedback to students through their GMetrix account is not currently available, though students are able to see their scores on completed practice tests, including a breakdown of how they did on each objective.
Looking for a more visual representation of the platform? Check out bahabeach’s full LearnKey demonstration here, and a bonus teaching session here.