Switch activities whenever you need. Passport notes remain in this tab; download your draft before leaving.
Try a little of the work
What could you make in half an hour?
Choose a project, use the fictional materials and make something you can explain. Choose an initial check, reassess new evidence and download your own decision record. Paper is enough. No specialist software, paid course or personal account needed.
IT Support · 25 minutes
Help someone get unstuck
A fictional club member can open the website but cannot sign in. Inspect the ticket, ask useful questions and prepare a handover that another support person could continue.
Paper route
Work through both evidence rounds below. Write your choices and reasoning on paper, or use the decision record after round two.
Separate what the ticket establishes from what is still unknown.
Choose the safest next question or check.
Write a handover with the observation, action, result and next owner.
Fictional evidence · 1 / 2 · Investigate
Inspect before you decide
01
Ticket TW-104 · Sign-in problem · one person affected
02
Message shown: “Sign-in details not recognised”
03
The same website opens on the same device
04
Last successful sign-in: about one month ago
05
Never ask for a password
Check your reasoning after trying
Check account status without collecting a password. The expired invitation changes the next step: ask the organiser to reissue it and confirm activation and sign-in before closing the ticket.
Ask yourself: What result would make you change the next step?
Keep: A short support handover with one safe check and one unanswered question.
The limit: This is a fictional support ticket, not experience administering a real account.
See a completed exampleFictional work · compare the reasoning with your own
What I made
I drafted a support handover distinguishing a sign-in failure from an unactivated account.
What I checked
The fictional organiser found a pending account and an expired invitation; the old successful sign-in belonged to another system.
What I changed
I asked the organiser to reissue the invitation and recorded activation and sign-in as checks still needed before closure.
Use this to understand the level of detail. Keep your own observations and results in your passport.
Take it one step furtherOptional follow-on · allow around 20–30 minutes
Prioritise a small support queue
You have ten minutes before a club session. Decide what to investigate first and write a useful handover.
Your fictional materials
Ticket A: one member cannot sign in; others can.
Ticket B: the shared room display has no picture; the session starts in ten minutes.
Ticket C: a member asks to install an unapproved app next week.
Your task
Compare impact, urgency and what is still unknown for all three tickets.
Choose a first investigation and a safe question to ask.
Write a handover with the observation, action tried, result and next owner. Use invented details.
Check your reasoning after trying
B is a reasonable first investigation because it may affect the whole imminent session. That is provisional: an accessibility need or another missing fact could change the order. Do not promise a fix before diagnosis.
Keep: A prioritised queue and a handover another person can continue.
You can enjoy part of a project and dislike another part. That is useful information for your next conversation, not a judgement about your future.
Your cumulative programme output
My Tech Waymark.
Build one learner-owned record across the eight modules. Keep what changed, what you tested, what remains unknown and the next conversation you need.
No student account. Notes stay in this tab until you download; they are not saved automatically or sent to your teacher. Leave out names, contact details and private information. You choose what to share.
MY EVIDENCE PASSPORTFictional example
01 / A small project
A clearer club page.
My contribution
I rearranged the meeting details so the time and room were easier to find.
What I checked
A partner found both without me pointing. I added a clearer next step after their feedback.
What I learned
A paper sketch helped me test an idea. I have not built or tested a working website.
My next stepTry the revised sketch with another person.
An example of what you could keep. Your passport uses your own words.
Modules 1–8
Build the direction before the evidence examples.
Start with one example. For Module 8, keep two examples, including your contribution, checks, help and limits. You can download unfinished work at any time.
This is your account of learning, not a qualification or a verified skills assessment. A readable copy includes all your examples and planning notes: review it before sharing. On a shared device, keep the file only where you are allowed to and close this tab when finished.
TechWaymark Education · free classroom activity
Explore the work. Question the route.
You do not need your whole career worked out. Investigate one possible move, question what the map suggests, and choose a next step you can explain.
Sam is at college, enjoys troubleshooting and has no professional IT experience. IT Support is a possible starting role to investigate, not Sam's current job.
The Atlas calculates the route when you open it. It is an illustration, not a promised outcome or a recommendation for every learner.
The work
“I want to investigate helping people with access problems and finding out why a service is not working.”
The assumption
“The route involves operating systems. I need to find out what a beginner could learn before being trusted with a live service.”
The activity
“In a tutor-approved practice environment, I could write a short troubleshooting guide and ask a classmate to follow it.”
The limit
“That could show how I explain a problem. It would not prove that I can run production cloud systems.”
Your take-away
Four answers. One next move.
Write on paper or print this sheet. You do not need to put your name, school or personal circumstances on it.
01 · The work
What would someone in this role actually do?
Name two tasks, not just the job title.
02 · The route
Which step needs more investigation?
Explain one assumption you would check.
03 · The evidence
What could you make, try or document?
A small activity can test an interest. It does not prove job readiness.
04 · The next move
What will you do in the next seven days?
Choose something within your control, and say how you will know it is done.
Check your reasoning: have you described the work, questioned an assumption, named a limit and chosen an achievable action? Different routes and answers can be reasonable.
TechWaymark · Free classroom activity · techwaymark.com/education/resources · Guidance to question, not a hiring prediction.
For educators
A ready-to-run conversation.
This public sample is separate from the licensed four-session programme. It has not yet been validated through observed classroom trials.
Prepare and teach
Learning objective: explain a possible career transition using tasks, assumptions and evidence, then justify one next action.
Prepare: one device per pair if available, paper or the worksheet, and an example you have checked. Do not ask learners to upload CVs or disclose personal information.
0–10 minutes: explore a role. Model the difference between a title and a task.
10–30 minutes: plot a route and question one transition. Remind learners that salary and time figures are estimates.
30–45 minutes: write the four answers and ask pairs to explain their next action.
With one shared screen, plot an example together and let learners question it on paper.
Support and stretch
Support: offer two role options, read the task descriptions aloud and accept a spoken answer, sketch or scribed response.
Use sentence starters: “This role involves…”, “The route assumes…”, “I would check…” and “My next action is…”.
Stretch: compare another route or change a constraint. Explain why the next action changes, or why it does not.
No access to workplace systems is required. Use a fictional scenario or a tutor-approved activity; do not test real networks or other people's accounts.
Check understanding
Look for reasoning, not agreement with TechWaymark.
The learner names actual tasks rather than repeating a title.
They identify an assumption and a way to investigate it.
They distinguish a learning activity from professional experience.
The next action is specific and within their control.
If an answer is vague, ask for an example. An uncertainty explained honestly is more useful than a confident guess.
Privacy and classroom mode
The activity collects no answers. The linked Atlas opens in classroom mode: personal salary-floor and private-note fields are hidden, and the tools do not save the route or brief to browser storage in that mode.
Browser history, printed sheets and downloaded files still remain until removed. Learners should avoid private details in their work. An educator receives no automatic copy; learners decide what to hand in.
Educators cannot see a learner's brief. There is no learner record, no submission and no copy held by TechWaymark. If a learner wants to hand work in, they print the brief or copy the share link, and the share link never carries a private note.
Designed for ages 16+ and adult learners. Suitability below 16 has not been reviewed.
Already part of an educator pilot?
Checking your sign-in…
More ways to explore · free teaching activities
From choosing a route to explaining your work.
Three standalone activities for tutor-led discussion with 16+ learners. Choose the one that fits your group. Each has a practical output and a check for understanding. These new activities have not yet been evaluated in classroom trials.
Activity 1 · 35 minutes
Two routes. One decision.
Compare two learning routes using evidence about study, support and practical constraints.
Open the activity and teaching guide
Fictional case: Alex enjoys fixing problems and wants to explore IT. One local college offers a computing course. A nearby employer advertises an IT support apprenticeship. Alex wants to learn through practical work but is unsure about travelling to the employer each day.
5 min: identify what Alex already knows and what is still an assumption.
15 min: use the first-steps guide and two current provider pages to compare learning, entry requirements, travel and support.
10 min: recommend a next investigation, not a final life decision. Explain why it helps.
5 min: swap answers. Identify one claim that still needs a source.
Take-away: A two-option comparison, one source for each and a question to ask the provider.
Check understanding: Can the learner distinguish a fact from an assumption, discuss a real trade-off and explain what would change their choice?
Support: Offer two prepared course extracts and sentence starters: “This route offers…”, “I still need to check…”. Accept spoken or drawn comparisons.
Stretch: Change the travel constraint or the entry requirements. Which part of the recommendation changes?
Explore one type of technology work and explain what a small project can and cannot demonstrate.
Open the activity and teaching guide
Fictional case: Taylor likes the idea of cybersecurity but has only seen dramatic hacking scenes online. A classmate prefers helping people with everyday technical problems. Both want to find out what the work could actually feel like.
5 min: list two assumptions about each area of work.
20 min: choose a small project from the first-steps guide and make a first draft using paper, an invented dataset or a tutor-approved tool.
10 min: ask a partner to review the output. Record a useful change or explain why you kept it.
5 min: explain what you learned and what this exercise does not prove.
Take-away: A small project or sketch, one justified revision or retained step and an honest statement of its limits.
Check understanding: Look for a tangible output, an explanation of the learner’s own contribution and a revision or retained step justified by feedback.
Support: Provide a partially completed example; allow pair work and a spoken explanation. No paid tools or personal accounts are required.
Stretch: Explain how the same project might support two different role interests, without claiming professional experience.
Describe a contribution clearly without confusing the work of the team with the work of one person.
Open the activity and teaching guide
Fictional case: Morgan’s group built a simple club website. Morgan wrote the event page, checked the links and changed the layout after feedback. Another member wrote the code for the sign-up form. Morgan is preparing for a first apprenticeship interview.
5 min: separate Morgan’s contribution from the team’s result.
10 min: write four short lines: the situation, my part, what I checked and what changed.
10 min: practise in pairs. Ask “What did you do yourself?” and “What would you improve next time?”.
5 min: revise one vague claim into a specific, truthful example.
Take-away: A short practice answer plus one improvement to make before an application.
Check understanding: Can the learner name their contribution, explain a check or result and acknowledge help and limits?
Support: Use the fictional example instead of personal disclosure. Accept a scribed or audio-free spoken response. Use “I helped by…” as a starting sentence.
Stretch: Ask what Morgan would say if a test failed, or if an interviewer asked about code another person wrote.
No student accounts or submissions. Learners keep their own outputs and choose what to share. With one classroom screen, use paper or discuss the fictional cases together. For printing, open the activities you want and use your browser’s Print command.
Try a small classroom usability check
These materials still need real classroom evaluation. Within your institution’s normal arrangements, try one activity with a small group before planning wider delivery. Offer paper and spoken alternatives. Record anonymous observations, not names, learner answers or recordings.
Before the session, note preparation time, device access and any adaptations. Choose one success question: can learners compare a trade-off or explain one check?
Ask learners to find an activity, make an output and keep a next step. Observe where they pause or need help; avoid directing each click.
Record time taken, help needed, confusing wording and whether learners distinguish facts from assumptions. Count incomplete or unsuccessful attempts too.
Ask: “What was useful?”, “What felt unclear?” and “What would you do next?” Keep themes rather than identifiable quotations.
Review with the tutor: did the output support a useful conversation, and was the preparation manageable? Agree one change to test next time.
A small usability check informs revisions. It does not demonstrate improved career outcomes or validate the whole programme.
Want the four-session core, four follow-on modules, teaching materials and cohort reporting?
