trainrs · the task page

Chosen: Portfolio piece + Brief beside the hand-in (Gary, 11 Oct) — see the live assignment page

Twelve ways to lay out a task.

Learners use this page more than any other, and it sets the pattern for every task. The same task on every one: Priya Shah’s “Triage a week of email”, session 3, worth 4 hours, which Johnnie sent back with one change. The four marked ★ open as full-size pages you can click through.

Whichever we choose, the task page must

  • make the brief clear: what to make, and what to hand in;
  • show Johnnie’s feedback whenever there is any, impossible to miss when he’s asked for changes;
  • collect the hand-in: what I did, a reflection of at least 150 characters, an optional link or file, and the declaration that it’s my own work;
  • show the hours it’s worth and what they take you to, in words;
  • put help within reach: the guides, the worked examples and the AI coach, on the page;
  • keep “raise your hand” one tap away.

Flow-led

The order you work in decides the page.

  • 1One column, top to bottom (has a full-size page)

    At the top:
    The task’s name and Johnnie’s change in one line; then the brief, his note, the help and the hand-in, in that order.
    Feels like:
    A well-made GOV.UK page. One way down, nothing hidden.
    Right when:
    Most tasks are short and people read them once, top to bottom.
    Watch out:
    Johnnie’s note sits under the brief, so the title has to say it too or a long brief pushes it out of sight.
    Open the full-size page

  • 2Steps

    At the top:
    A progress line, Read · Look at an example · Do it · Hand in, and only the step you’re on.
    Feels like:
    The check: one thing per screen, with Back and Next.
    Right when:
    Learners are new to this and want walking through it.
    Watch out:
    Four screens is slow for a short task, and rereading the brief means leaving what you’ve written.

  • 3Focus

    At the top:
    The hand-in box, large and ready to type; the brief folded into one line above it.
    Feels like:
    A blank page in a good writing app.
    Right when:
    People come back to finish something they already understand.
    Watch out:
    First-timers have to unfold the brief, and Johnnie’s note must never fold away with it.

Side-by-side

Two things you need at once share the screen.

  • 4Brief beside the hand-in Chosen. (has a full-size page)

    At the top:
    Two panes: the brief, its hours and the guides on the left, staying put; Johnnie’s note and the hand-in on the right.
    Feels like:
    Writing with the question paper open beside you.
    Right when:
    Most learners hand in from a laptop at work.
    Watch out:
    Two columns are tight in our 960-pixel page, and on a phone it stacks into direction 1.
    Open the full-size page

  • 5Worksheet with a worked example (has a full-size page)

    At the top:
    The task on the left, a real finished example on the right, the hand-in underneath.
    Feels like:
    A textbook exercise with the model answer printed beside it.
    Right when:
    People aren’t sure what “good” looks like.
    Watch out:
    Some will copy the example’s shape; it needs one good example for every task.
    Open the full-size page

  • 6Coach at your side

    At the top:
    The brief and the hand-in on the left; a column on the right where you talk to the AI coach while you write.
    Feels like:
    A tutor at your elbow, like the assistant panel in a writing app.
    Right when:
    People get stuck halfway through, not at the start.
    Watch out:
    The coach can end up writing the hand-in, and the chat steals width from the writing.

Conversation-led

What Johnnie says decides the page.

  • 7Conversation with Johnnie (has a full-size page)

    At the top:
    The brief as Johnnie’s first message, then your first hand-in, then his reply asking for one change.
    Feels like:
    A thread with your tutor, not a form.
    Right when:
    The back-and-forth with Johnnie is what improves the work.
    Watch out:
    As the thread grows the brief scrolls up and away; it may need repeating at the reply.
    Open the full-size page

  • 8Feedback first

    At the top:
    When changes were asked for, Johnnie’s note fills the top on sand, with the one thing to change in large type.
    Feels like:
    A note stuck to the front of your work.
    Right when:
    Sent-back work is the main reason to reopen a task.
    Watch out:
    A fresh task has nothing to put there, so the page changes shape between the two.

Evidence-led

What you hand in decides the page.

  • 9What good looks like

    At the top:
    The task’s criteria as a checklist; you tick each one, add a line and, if you have one, an attachment.
    Feels like:
    A marking scheme you can see. The old platform worked this way.
    Right when:
    Johnnie marks against clear criteria and the evidence has to line up with them.
    Watch out:
    Four boxes feel like more work than one, and the 150-character reflection still has to live somewhere.

  • 10The receipt

    At the top:
    What the task earns, set out like a receipt: worth 4 hours, counted on 26 January, you’re on 38½. Then a plain form and a summary before you send.
    Feels like:
    A GOV.UK form, with “Check your answers” at the end.
    Right when:
    Getting the hours right matters more than anything else.
    Watch out:
    Leading with hours makes the work feel like a transaction.

  • 11Portfolio piece Chosen.

    At the top:
    A title card with the week’s picture and the task’s name, like the cover of something finished.
    Feels like:
    Making something you’ll keep.
    Right when:
    Pride in the work keeps people going.
    Watch out:
    The brief shrinks to small print, and a sent-back task looks oddly finished.

  • 12Examples gallery

    At the top:
    Three worked examples as cards to open first; the brief is one line above them.
    Feels like:
    Browsing other people’s work for ideas.
    Right when:
    Examples teach better than instructions.
    Watch out:
    It needs three good examples per task, and some people will never read the brief.

Invented data throughout. The sketches are drawn at one size so you compare shapes, not detail. Every one is a work page, so none of them opens with the deep green block. The picture is week 3’s illustration.