Frequently Asked Questions

There are many advantages of using OneFile eportfolio over a traditional portfolio...

• Progress and assessment can be continued in between face-to-face visits
  
  
• Visits won't be wasted because the learner has forgotten their portfolio
  
  
• OneFile automatically re-references assessments against the matrix sheets  saving the assessor time
  
  
• Units cannot be completed until they are 100% complete.

To use OneFile you will need an internet connection and a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari. OneFile has been tested on both PC, Mac and Linux.

OneFile has been designed with slow connection speeds in mind so we have avoided the use of heavy graphics and animations. However, bear this in mind if you are thinking of using media files as assessment evidence - sound and video files are usually large in size and will take longer to upload to the OneFile server. Image files and Word documents are normally much smaller in size, so transferring these files should only take a few seconds.

If your assessors are using laptops in the field, we recommend the usage of wireless broadband through 3G cards. However, this is only normally available in metropolitan areas, so check the coverage of your provider.

Yes - due to the modular design of OneFile most aspects can be customised to your requirements. Assessment plans, assessment forms and feedback forms can all be customised as well as any other forms or processes that are specific to your Centre. We also offer a customised branding service and are able to completely redesign the display of the e-portfolio (colours, fonts, layout, appearence, etc.) so that it looks part of your existing website or e-learning software. If your Centre uses a different terminology to that used in OneFile then that can be changed too.  Additionally we can also develop, where possible, specific reports or additionally functionality that may be required by your Centre, including but not restricted to the import/export of data to/from your management information system (MIS).

Yes - internal and external verifiers (IVs and EVs) are each given their own user name and password. EVs are granted "read-only" access to any learners that have been registered against the EV's respective awarding body. Internal Verifiers are also given read-only access although they can be granted limited access to certain portfolios. IVs are also able to add feedback to portfolios and also have access to the IV Sampling Table - a useful tool for planning an IV strategy.

Licences for OneFile are bought in advance on a "per-eportfolio" basis. Key Skills and Technical Certificates are inclusive of a single eportfolio, so a candidate studying NVQ Child Care and Key Skills for example will only require one licence. The minimum licence purchase is ten, and the more licences you buy over time, the more discount you will receive. No additional licences are required for assessors and verifiers - a Centre may add as many of these additional user types as required.

The OneFile software and data is hosted on our own equipment and is located at Synergy House, a facility owned and managed by UK Grid at Manchester Science Park, and is only a 5 mile journey from our offices at One Central Park.

Synergy House provides a high availability Internet connection that will burst on demand to support a high volume of concurrent users. It is manned 365 x 24 x 7 by fully trained support staff, and security is controlled through swipe cards and ID badges. You can read more about the facilities at Synergy House here.

Our enterprise-class servers are provided by Hewlett Packard (HP) and are supported with their premium 4 hour response time service level agreements, 365 x 24 x 7. Cisco switching and firewall equipment is managed and monitored under service level agreement by UK Grid.

OneFile Data is stored in our expandable Storage Area Network (SAN) at Synergy House where “RAID 6” technology is deployed to provide an extra level of comfort in the unlikely event of two simultaneous hard drive failures. The data is continuously backed up to our secure SAN facility at One Central Park, where our Disaster Recovery Site is located.

OneFile data is backed-up continuously from the Synergy House Data Centre to our disaster recovery site at One Central Park using industry-leading replication software. This means that as soon as any evidence is uploaded into a portfolio, it is immediately copied to our disaster recovery site. As a precautionary measure, anything deleted from the portfolio is held under retention at the disaster recovery site for 30 days.