Frequently Asked Questions
Does EPQ Spaces take backups and will we need a machine running in our school?
EPQ Spaces is a cloud based service that requires NO extra systems in your school to run. Our service performs secure backups every hour to ensure your data is always safe and secure. We host EPQ Spaces on Amazon's AWS platform in secure data centres across the United Kingdom. AWS is used by some of the biggest websites in the world, including Amazon itself, and Netflix to name a few. This means that our service automatically recovers from failures, and is unaffected by scheduled maintenance and updates.
How secure is EPQ Spaces?
Data captured by EPQ Spaces is stored through AWS in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The only information captured through our system is the data which users input, everything else such as user credentials is handled through integrations with external services like Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Data on EPQ Spaces cannot be viewed by anyone without specific access rights assigned by your school. Our system integrates with external services like VLE's to maintain these access rights.
How can I login to EPQ Spaces?
With single sign-on (SSO) services, and educational partnerships with Virtual Learning Environment hosts like FireFly and FROG, you can keep the same login details you have for all students in your school. Once your school is enrolled, select it from the list when logging in and use the credentials you're used to.
Will it be straightforward to export and save student work at the end of the process? Can work be exported at any time?
The process of exporting student work is straightforward and can be completed at any time. On the right in the sidebar of each student's production log there is a button labelled "Download Log". This button will pull together the information inputted by students and supervisors and will convert it into a word document which can be sent off directly to the exam board. The document is in the correct format for each specific exam board. The document can be downloaded by the student or any staff member at any time.
Can supervisors lock pages so that students can no longer adapt them?
Yes, sections can be locked by staff members to prevent students adapting them. Each supervisor and coordinator in your school can access the "Breakdown" section. In this section, there is a breakdown of each student's progress in the specific parts of the production log, this makes reviewing student progress simple! By clicking on a section of the student's production log, staff can inspect the contents of the section and sign them off. This will then lock the section for the student so it can no longer be adapted. The section will then be marked as completed in the breakdown. It can be "unlocked" again at any time by staff following the same process.
Will only the current version of a document be available or can students access previous versions? (if they mess something up)
The system is designed to record every change made to each student's production log from the student themselves or staff members. Each time a user saves a change, that data is stored. Currently history of the work is hidden, but the incremental changes are recorded from the start. It is a feature which we have had a large request for and will be implemented very soon. Once it is released, the feature will be available for everyone with their history from the start. In the mean time, support requests from an enrolled staff member can be made to us via email stating the username of the student who wishes to have their work rolled back, and a date. We inform schools of new features, and updates via email, this feature will be soon to meet your mailbox.
As students exit EPQ Spaces, will they be reminded to save their work?
Yes, when the student's work has diverged in any way from the previous save, they cannot leave any page on EPQ Spaces without confirming they are happy to discard their changes. This message is very clear to avoid unwanted data loss.
EPQ Spaces also has additional data integrity features such as recovery from extended periods of work. Should a student leave a computer inactive with unsaved work, or wish to work on a section for long periods of time, their login session may time out. In the event of this occurring, the student will be prompted to type in their password again before saving, so their session and data will always be secure.
As always, unsaved sessions and power cuts really don't mix. While we work hard to prevent loss of data, saving early and often will help ensure the information is not lost in sudden network outages or power losses.
Will supervisor documents such as the record of marks be hidden from students?
Supervisor sections within each students production log will be visible to that student only, this includes their record of marks. However, students cannot see any information about any student other than themselves. Staff members at your school will be able to see all students on the system, their production log, and record of marks for Internal Verification/Marking purposes.
We are working on an update to ensure marks are hidden from students before Internal Verification processes have been completed.
Does EPQ Spaces have any form of resources section/journal/communication means?
As a school, will we need a separate location not on EPQ Spaces to share resources with students?
What makes EPQ Spaces great, is that everything is kept in once place, a separate location to store resources will not be required. EPQ Spaces has a resources section for useful documents created by us which we share to all users. On configuration, each co-ordinator can upload resources and set deadlines through a simple process. We also have a personal notes section for students, a Harvard referencing section for bibliographies (including ISBN lookup), and personal deadline tracking (for the creation of Gantt charts). All this can be done using EPQ Spaces!
If you have any queries about EPQ Spaces, get in touch with us, we don't bite!
