Revised European Profiling Grid

We are pleased to announce that, following a review of issues that had arisen, the interactive version of the European Profiling Grid has recently undergone some revisions in order to deal with some bugs and to improve the layout of the interactive assessment elements. We are grateful to Eaquals members and other users for pointing out these difficulties, and especially to the staff of the British School, Trieste, for undertaking a thorough analysis and making recommendations for improvement.  The improved e-Grid website, now managed by Eaquals, is available at http://egrid.epg-project.eu/. The interactive functionality is available in French, German and Spanish as well as in English, and the website can also be used to download PDF versions of the EPG in several other languages, as well as glossaries and user guides.

The e-Grid is a convenient way for teachers to assess themselves and for managers, coordinators or teacher trainers to assess teachers:

• Users simply need to enter via one of the three portals on the screen, and then complete details about the teacher and the institution. Managers and trainers will also need to complete a few details about themselves.
  Then the assessment can begin: users simply select the descriptors that are most appropriate for their self-assessment or assessment. They can skip any category they do not wish to assess at the time by using the buttons at the bottom or clicking on the list of categories on the right.
• When they have finished, they need to save the self-assessment or assessment in e-grid format to enable them to upload it again later for completion or revision, because no data is saved on the website. They can also save it in PDF, CRO, print it and/or e-mail it to someone else; for example, teachers can send their self-assessment to their manager for review and later discussion, and managers can send their assessments or revisions of self-assessments to the teachers concerned.

The guide to using the e-Grid, available at the Help button on the e-Grid home page in the four main languages, is yet to be updated. But please contact info@www.eaquals.org if you have any questions or need help. Eaquals also welcomes feedback on your experiences of using the e-Grid within language education centres.

A general introduction to the European Profiling Grid, the user guide and PDF versions of the EPG in four languages can be found at http://www.epg-project.eu/grid/ (languages can be selected at the top right of the page).