You Said We Did!

How Decoded have used your recent feedback to improve your apprenticeship.

At Decoded, we are all about transparency, excellence and integrity. That’s why we would like to share with you the most recent feedback from our Learner Satisfaction Survey and how we have used this feedback.

We’ve standardised signposting of our resources

You said: There is a lack of signposting for beginner, medium and advanced learners.

The Learning Experience Design (LXD) team has standardised signposting of resources across the online content, indicating which external resources and references are essential, optional support or optional stretch. This also includes estimated read and watch times. We are currently implementing these into the Workshop Recaps as well.

You’ll notice that we link to external sources throughout our Introduction and Online Practice content. At the end of each section, we’ll repeat those links to summarise everything we’ve referenced along the way, as well as signposting whether they are essential, optional support or optional stretch if you’re looking to really advance your knowledge beyond the basics.

We’ve added formative feedback to all End of Module Assessments

You said: We are unsure where to go to find additional information if we get a question incorrect in an End of Module assessment.

We have updated and standardised all End of Module Assessments to provide explanations and additional resources for you.

Need some help? The formative feedback at the end of the End of Module assessments now directs you to the exact place you need to go to refresh, review and reinforce concepts.

At the end of the assessment, you’ll get a list of the questions you answered incorrectly, as well as formative feedback which will direct you to the precise section of content or workshop recap video where you can revise, as well as any other useful external resources.

We also ensure that the assessments are modelled on the BCS examinations, to familiarise you with the question style and format, as well as the module’s learning outcomes.

We’ve enabled you to record the time taken to complete your learning in Bud

You said: The material is not designed for “time-poor” learners.

We have designed our material to account for 20% of your contracted working hours, as part of apprenticeship delivery regulation. You may now share how long an activity took on Bud, so that we can increase time for activities which are taking longer than planned, or reduce time for others.

We have workshop recap videos for all workshops and hackathon catch-up guidance

You said: I’ve missed a workshop due to leave or illness. How do I catch up?

Each workshop has its own series of workshop recap videos — these break each workshop down into smaller sections, with each video focused on a specific concept or hands-on activity. You’ll find the relevant guided and completed notebooks and data too. This means you can break your catch-up into smaller chunks of time, giving you a more streamlined learning experience instead of watching a full multi-hour workshop recording.

You can access these all through your DA Online Resources.

Each workshop recap is broken down into a series of videos per concept or hands-on activity. These recaps are also very useful as a revision tool, even if you attended the live workshop. Hackathons also contain instructions on how to catch up and guide you through completing the hackathon independently.

We have added Workshop Catch-Up activities in Bud, directly linking to these recap modules with thorough instructions.

We have also included instructions and guidance in the online hackathon modules on how to catch-up if you have missed it.

We’ve added pre-workshop instructions to all Introduction modules

You said: I’m not sure how to prepare for my workshop and what I need to have set up or downloaded.

We have added technical instructions to all of your Introduction modules, so that you have access to these before the workshop.

You’ll find the workshop prerequisites at the end of each Introduction prior to your workshop.

Our Technical Assurance team also works with your organisation to ensure you have the correct software, platforms and access prior to the launch of your programme. You also receive technical instructions directly from your Programme Manager via email.

We’ve created bespoke EPA-related workshops and guidance materials

You said: We want clarification of the EPA process and extra materials.

We have created a bank of EPA resources and recordings of workshops for exam and portfolio guidance. We’ve updated our content with more explicit instructions for different EPAOs (End-Point Assessment Organisation), including examples of work-based evidence and Portfolio Checklists.

You now have access to more comprehensive guidance on what is expected during the EPA process, including online materials and guidance as well as live workshops.

We have worked with your Mentors, Programme Managers and Bud Administration to clarify EPA activities on Bud to track your progress.

We’ve implemented key accessibility updates

You said: We want inclusive learning materials for neurodiverse learners.

We have instituted an Alt-Tags Process for all of our product developers to adhere to to ensure all imagery used in our online content has appropriate alternative text, which increases accessibility for learners using assistive technology like screen-readers. All new imagery will have a standardised alt-tag format, including for complex imagery such as data visualisations.

For all online video content, we are currently in the process of adding closed captions to all existing content. All new video content produced has closed captions included as standard.

If closed captions are available for a video, you’ll see the CC button in the video’s navigation bar.

These are just two pieces of a wider Accessibility & Inclusivity workstream that we are currently working through, such as standardising colour contrast used in workshop presentations. We’ll share more details on these improvements in upcoming newsletters.

We’ve updated our internal development programmes for our teachers

You said: Teacher quality between workshops is inconsistent.

We have updated the Key Performance Indicators of our teachers, and improved the post-workshop feedback questions so that you can leave more specific and targeted feedback — including new questions on the virtual delivery of your workshops.

Some of the new questions in the post-workshop feedback surveys allow for more specific feedback to help us identify where our teachers need further development and support.

This means our Delivery team can gather metrics that will, in addition to formal observations of teaching, help identify the areas where our teachers need more support and development.

We believe that first hand feedback is invaluable, and hope you can see that your voice does make an impact.

If you have a suggestion about how we can improve your apprenticeship further, click here and share your thoughts.