Fourth quarter and the bases are loaded

I look over to my right to see the course schedule blu-tacked to the wall, depicting the remaining four (and a bit) months until the completion of my HND, and the reality of what is just around the corner is upon me.

My focus shifts now firmly upon employment & securing the skills that I need to obtain a job in this increasingly difficult economical climate.

Self Managed Learning Project
For this project I have chosen to learn the server-side programming language of PHP; the reasons for which are discussed in a previous post.

From an employability point of view, learning this language will put me in a strong standing for the type of jobs that I have been looking at.

I feel that of all the units that we have done so far this is the one that I will enjoy most, though I am a little apprehensive about the discipline of keeping accurate records of my learning for assessment.

Content Management
I am pleased to see the inclusion of this unit in the schedule. I have ‘played’ around with CMS during the brief moments of downtime this year but certainly feel that there is much to learn about the area.

From an employability point of view, I feel that this unit will be invaluable as increasingly, from my own experience, clients are requiring control over their website beyond handover.

Skills Gaps
Naturally, I have already began looking at job advertisements to see where the gaps in my skills are. Learning PHP will prove to be an invaluable feather in my employability cap, but increasingly I see jobs advertised asking for knowledge of ASP.NET as well as Flash with ActionScript; skills that without significant self study away from college I would be lacking.

I do feel that my creative work could be the weak link in my employment skills chain. Whilst I do have a small selection of work beyond the college assignments, I worry that this will not be enough commercially viable work to sufficiently showcase my skills; much practice, I feel, is required.

Junior?
Some clarity I feel is needed surrounding the words ‘Junior Position’. When we complete this course do we apply specifically and explicitly for junior rolls or do our skills extend beyond the entry level position?

Closing
We enter now into the final quarter of the HND. Realising that our time on the course has never been more valuable, there can be no excuses, no missed opportunities, just perspirations & aspirations.

I would like to secure a job before leaving the course, however I appreciate that finding an employer that would be understanding enough to allow two days off a week to finish the course is a little optimistic at best. This will be only exacerbated by the competition not only from my classmates but also every other educational establishment's students & employment seeking professionals.

Good luck everyone.

Word Count: 488.

SMLP Resources

1. PHP 5 in easy steps (Book)
ISBN: 1-84078-282-x
I have used elements of this book in other projects and has proven to be an invaluable as a beginner to the language.

2. The PHP Anthology (Book)
ISBN: 979-0-9758419-9-0
I purchased this book at the same time as the CSS Anthology from Sitepoint. This book could be considered as a reference book rather than a tutorial / walk through.

3. www.php.net
PHP.net is a fantastic resource containing tutorials & reference material as well as links to related sites.

4. dev.mysql.com/doc/
MySQL.com provides support spacifically tailored for MySQL use including forums & manuals.

5. www.w3schools.com/PHP/
W3 Schools is a well respected & established tutorial (and forum) web site; this section of the W3 Schools focus on PHP.

6. www.tizag.com/phpT/
PHP tutorial & reference web site. The web site also has a supporting forum.

7. www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/php/
HTML Goodies delivers more than just advice on HTML & CSS; this area of the web site delivers tutorial based advice on working with PHP.

8. www.phpbuilder.com/manual/
This web site delivers great PHP tutorials along with examples of source code to visualise the learning.

9. www.killerphp.com/
Kill PHP contains text & video PHP tutorials aimed at beginners.

10. devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/627
PHP 101 - PHP for the absolute beginner.

Self Managed Learning Plan

My proposal for the SMLP is PHP. I fell that learning this skill at this stage of my career would benefit me greatly.

My previous qualifications & interests have centered around programming; though this is the first time that is has been focused on the web.

I currently posses a working knowledge & understanding of PHP & its uses on the web; though that knowledge is in its infancy & could be compared to my working knowledge of CSS before the completion of the A9 unit.

Though I have previously written & worked with databases, I am as yet to work with any web based server-side database.

Looking back on one of my previous post ‘Personal Development’, I identified the kind of roll that I would ideally find myself falling into. Additionally noted in the post is the identification of a skills gap; namely PHP.

Because I have a genuine interest in the subject & a programming background, I feel that I would have a high level of motivation & drive to develop my knowledge further.

My second choice for the project would be Flash with action script. Whilst I feel that this skill would be valuable to me & my development, it is not an area that I wish to specialize in so I feel that my knowledge would be likely to fade and / or become rusty after the assignment simply through a lack of call to use it.

In anticipation for this assignment I have already purchased books relating to PHP, though I have had little time to work trough.

I am looking forward to the unit & hope that I am permitted my first choice.

Third quarter and the bases are loaded…

It feels like only weeks ago that I was sat in my office talking with my colleagues about starting a web design & development degree; but in actuality, it was more like a little under two years!

So much has changed since then.

CSS & XHTML
I felt that the CSS unit was fantastic! My only regret was that we had other units running at the same time which detracted from some of the more advanced learning. Though this was a shame, I still really enjoyed the way that the unit turned out.

Once again, this unit has shown me how little I actually knew & know about CSS. When John gave the lecture on the box model, everything fell into place. It reminded me almost of when I was learning clutch control in a car.

I am under no illusion that there is still much more to learn & that experience is perhaps the best way to develop my skills further; much like learning to drive, its not until you pass your test that you fully understand what you are doing.

On the Job
This project has been a real eye opener for me so far. Not so much at working with clients as I have had experience with this before (both web & non-web related) but how difficult it can be working with a team where everyone (myself included) is equally inexperienced.

The projects largest revelation for me is how difficult it can be to start up a new company; though I am sure that if this was a ‘real life’ job (what ever that means) then procedures would be in place with longevity of service in mind. The key I feel would be experience.

I do feel that the other team are at a definite advantage to us because up until the point of winning the pitches for the Games Development & the Photography sites we had done equal amounts of work & now we have to carry on with the work we were doing for the two clients that had been secured since almost the beginning of the project.

Culture Vulture
I have enjoyed this unit also so far. I enjoyed the research into the mini, both new and old, as it is a subject close to my heart.

The creative days that we are having has been a completely new experience for me; it feels almost what I imagine the first week of an ‘upstairs’ kind of class.
I have really enjoyed today’s day of exploring line, texture, colour, etc using photography of my local area.

Conclusion
With the end of the year within sight it is important, now more than ever, to stay focused & not loose direction.

Though I am listening to podcasts (Boagworld, Rissington, .net & TWiT to name a few) there is still a whole world of web out there yet to be explored.

I am looking into events where I can network with people in the industry & hopefully find employment; though further my education is still an option.

Soft Skills

Skill based commonalities occur across the majority of rolls within the world of work and in many aspects, life.

A large proportion of these skills are accumulated and improved during the completion of other tasks. Consequently, many of the skills are obtained and developed with experience.

Planning & Time Management
This is one area that I feel that I stand to gain the most benefit from developing further. Establishing a list of priorities along side working with any time constraints is required of almost any job roll.

Though I have shown significant improvement since starting this course, I do feel that there is still a great opportunity for personal and professional growth there.

Leadership & Management
I consider myself fortunate that I have had experience in this area before and those skills & experience has been transferred and developed within my roll on the course.

Working with a verity of people with different backgrounds & experiences in a successful manor will act as the accelerant for development of this particular skill.

The experiences of the course has proven invaluable this year.

Presentation
Presentational skills are obtained through practice practice and more practice. The confidence to present comes from ample preparation alongside actually knowing about the subject you are presenting.

I feel that I currently possess adequate presentational skills but this isn’t enough for the industry that I soon will find myself in.

Communication
Communication is essential to the success of any roll within any organisation & comes in many forms & more often than is often indented (non verbal communication in particular).

I feel that with the exception of isolated incidents my communication skills have substantiality & consistency.

However, as with all of the aforementioned skills base, there is much room for improvement before it is to a level that I would call acceptable.

Word Count: 300

Personal Development...

The job I choose was a Junior Developer based in Sheffield.

Why that job?
The reason the above job appealed to me was primarily because of the salary assigned to the entry level position. The benefits of which would mean that I would have the opportunity to further my website development skills in a guided environment whilst earning a comfortable salary.

Looking at the companies portfolio, it would appear that they have produced an array of work from basic sites to custom content managed systems which would provide me with excellent experience and enhance my confidence.

Skills Required
The advert is predictably asking for an assortment of programing skills, including standards compliant XHTML and CSS, ASP, .NET 2.0, XML and JavaScript. The composition of databases, their management and manipulation is an area that appeals to me; it would appear that this job has plenty of opportunities in that area. The working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop quite accurately describes my skill level.

Skills Gap
Though I feel confident working with standards compliant XHTML and CSS, I am as yet to touch upon some of the other languages. This could be an area of improvement during the self managed learning project later this year; however, it has been said that PHP would currently be a more valuable language to learn initially.

The extent of my experience with databases reaches as far as coding basic databases in Turbo Pascal and countless builds in Microsoft Access; regrettably, I have not had the opportunity to work using web based / server side databases so far.

Conclusion
I feel that there is still areas of knowledge that I need to improve upon, however, I would feel confident applying for the above job with the skills that I already posses; even though they differ slightly from those requested.

Word Count: 300

Best Foot Forward ...

Hopes and Aspirations

Following my progression onto the second year of the course, I feel a sense of pride and achievement looking back on how far I have come and hope that his feeling is amplified following the successful completion of the second year.

From reading the assignment list of what is to come, I feel that this is going to be a fantastic year; and certainly a busy one.

I am pleased to see the inclusion of the CMS unit as from reading journals and listening to Podcasts from industry professionals out there, this appears to be the way that clients are leading the market; following on from the XHTML & CSS unit that we are currently studying should put us in great standing for employment.

Employability

The second year for me is the last haul before I (re)enter the world of employment. Since starting the course it has always been my intention carry on my eduction beyond the HND into the degree; or maybe even further. To a point, this is still the case but before the (academic) year is out I would like to be working part time in the industry that we are training so hard to get into.

I am under no illusion about how quickly this year will pass by and so I want to hit the ground running with regards employment whilst still furthering my formal education.

I feel that the area that I most need to improve upon has to be my design skills. The best way to achieve this, I feel is read, practice, repeat!

Summary

In closing I am sure that this year is going to be fantastic and aside from the late nights the only downside is that the degree won’t be ready for when we complete this year.

< Year1 / >

It doesn’t seem long ago at all that I was sat in a circle trying desperately to remember everyone’s name in fear that I was the one to drop the ball (so to speak) and now here I am evaluating the past year.

Many of us have been talking about how much we far we have progressed over this last year, but in reality, it has only actually been a little over 8 months; it typically takes longer for a child to be born! I have a real sense of achievement and feel quite humble.

The transition from full time employment in the big bad world to returning to formalities of education has certainly not been a frictionless process; and to be very honest there are still parts of me that find it difficult to adjust at times.

The level of support that I have personally received so far has been outstanding. Ranging from my tutors to class mates to my friends, family and most of all my fiancée Elizabeth, every step of the way for each time I have stumbled, there has always been someone there to get me back on my feet; Thank you to you all.

Throughout the course of the year, we have had a barrage of visitors to the class all from very different backgrounds and with very different futures. The first of which was from the Design Mechanics. The added benefit with this was that fact that two of the designers working for the company originated from this very course. Jemma and Oliver were model example of what can be achieved with a little hard work. Whilst the Design Mechanics generally regarded as being a ‘stepping stone’ for new designers; it can be perceived as a great first step. The visits were fuelled by the return of previous students; I cannot think of a better compliment to the course and its staff than its produce coming back to help those following in their footsteps.

I have already mentioned that the transition back into education wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked but to add insult to injury a little over 4 weeks into the first semester I was faced with a very serious personal problem resulting in me leaving my home and family to seek new accommodation. This had a serious affect on my concentration, motivation and emotions and undoubtedly my performance; this is much easier to see now looking back.

The recovery was not a quick process and to be honest, I see it as one of those life-changing events from which things are never the same; however, submission dates wait for no man so I had to try and get back to a sense of normality as soon as possible.

A2 – That’s the Plan!

The submission of our first formal assignment (A2) quickly came around; I was full of pride based confidence and bursting with enthusiasm that I had completed my first ever web plan. However, the joyous occasion was short lived as the project that I had given life to had not made the pass grade; needless to say I did not take the news well.

Fortunately, the support from the teaching staff, class mates and family was outstanding and quickly I found myself on my feet again. The referral work comprised mainly of many small alterations; finishing off if you like but cumulatively were quite a drain on my already strained timetable. The amount of time estimated to do this work was, in my opinion, seriously underestimated on my part.

As a recommendation from both the tutor and a class mate, I read a book by Steve Krug called “Don’t make me think!” is a fantastic book surrounding web usability that I would recommend to anyone. Accessibility and usability is becoming ever more important as the number of people now being diagnosed with dyslexia and other such learning difficulties is on the increase and as students with professional aspirations, we have to know how to accommodate and work with these conditions.

I think that one of the issues surrounding the adaptation from ‘real life’ to ‘student life’ was building new working relationships and establishing boundaries. During which stage there was a miss wire somewhere between what was being asked of us, as a class, and what we were doing, as a class. It became apparent that we were treated as a collective and that if the majority did not do what was required then the class had to endure the related punishments to which I did not feel was fair. Somewhat intentionally, I invoked a discussion regarding the subject to try to get a resolve; I am pleased to report that we do not appear to have any / many problems like this anymore.

A3 - Back to Basics

This assignment saw a great opportunity to show off what we had learned in A2. I have always been told that ‘the first is the worst’ and that certainly was the case here. The improvements and levels of confidence were certainly noticeable.

I felt much more comfortable with elements such as the competitive analysis and assets list. I could feel things clicking into place… the right place.

This web plan encompassed an element of writing and collation of imagery, which was extra to the requirements of A2 but it also gave it a feeling of reality. A5 – Builder was coming; I could feel it and couldn’t wait.

Having the referral work to do for A2 at the same time as creating the first submission for A3. I do feel however that this gave A3 a bit of a step up with regards its standards.

A4 – Image Rights

This unit was at the time the first practical based assignment of the year and it was a welcomed change from the theoretical based A3 & A4. The image restoration task proved to be the most enjoyable for me. I was able to pull on my previous experiences of image manipulation from my previous job.

The timed tasks, namely the creation of the web banners, gave me a clear insight into the amount of work that can be achieved in a short period of time when specifically encouraged; something that I have tried to replicate during self-study with limited success.

The image compression aspect of the assignment was particularly interesting to me. I previously had and understanding of the existence of the different file types but not about the instances in which they intended to be used; this certainly is one lecture that will always stay in the forefront of my mind.

A5 – Builder

The A5 was the build of the A3 assignment. The largest frustration that I endured during this unit was adhering to the quite basic screen design(s) that I had generated previously. I miss understood the fact that alterations were in fact permitted to the design so long as they were in keeping with the original flavour and development work was shown.

There had always been an air of haze surround web based form for me before doing this unit. Sites that I had created previously would have benefited dramatically from the facilities offered by formail for example.

Having been bitten by the CGI bug (no pun intended) I decided to test out my new found talent by creating and online feedback come usability questionnaire form. I feel that the form was a complete success and gave a very professional feel to the project.

A6 – Revert to Type

This typographic unit opened my eyes to a world which I had always taken for granted before. I had previously never bore any consideration as to where the typefaces originated from nor the complexities involved in their creation.

The famous typographer presentation didn’t go as well as I would have wanted it to. Almost predictably running long on my first presentation by about a minute and a half resulted in having to do the presentation again but this time in front of the whole class.

The resubmission of this presentation coincided with the discovery that I had referred the A5 – Builder unit. The grade (or lack of it) was on the wall, which was fine but there wasn’t an opportunity to ask for any feedback to put my mind at ease before the resubmission of the presentation.

Needless to say the resubmission, in spite of the preparation, went appallingly. I was embarrassed and ashamed at my performance and at the same time angry with myself for referring the A5 unit. It was not a pleasant time for me.

After a bit of a talk with the tutor and a third attempt at the presentation calm was restored to an otherwise uncomfortable period of time.

A7 – Whaling Whales

Finishing this assignment gave me a grate sense of pride. We were able to draw on all of the experiences and education of the college year and produce something that in my opinion looks really professional. The best piece of advice that I received for this project was to print the CD artwork on gloss paper - and what a difference it made!

I still feel as though there is scope for improvements as with any piece of work and given the opportunity again I feel that I would still come up with the same solution. I am over the moon with the result.

I did create a range of solutions almost to the point of completion which were also aesthetically pleasing however, they were unsuitable for the CMYK print process.

The unit has given me the confidence boost that I so desperately needed.

What would I do differently?

• First on the list has to be to seriously reduce the amount of hours that I worked during the first year. There is no doubt in my mind that it had a drastically negative impact on my performance.


• Second on the list has to be to seriously reduce the amount of hours that I worked during the first year – it really is that important!


• Follow up lectures above and beyond; the lectures are only supposed to be an introduction to the subject.


• Adhere to time planning and production schedule and always complete a week early for checking / improvements.

Thoughts about the next year?

I am really looking forward to next year, having read some of the journal and talking to now second years the units sound fantastic. I am particularly looking forward to the client work.

Targets

• Ensure that time planning is follow regimentally from the outset.


• Work through tutorials and practice, practice, practice with the software applications until their use become second nature.


• Improve time planning.


• Surround myself with inspiration and good design.

Word Count: 1,789


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Thanks for reading

Shaun Bellis

Quote of the year Awarded to…

“The way to learn to do things is to do things. The way to learn a trade is to work at it. Success teaches how to succeed. Begin with the determination to succeed, and the work is half done already.” – Source Unknown.