This is the first entry of my blog which will be following my progress as a student at Bedford College where I am currently studying full time on the Business IT & Networking Foundation Degree course. I am producing this blog as part of an assignment for the Personal Professional & Academic Development unit, and this will be the first entry of 5 over the upcoming weeks.
Each entry will contain detailed accounts on everything I have learnt so far, my personal opinion of the things that I feel that have gone well or not so well, a reflective view on my performance as a student and finally my thoughts on anything I can do to improve my performance as a learner.
Since starting the course little over 4 weeks ago I immediately felt at a great disadvantage compared to my fellow students as the majority of them have either studied IT previously or have been working in an IT background prior to starting the course. I had been accepted onto the course with very little experience, basic knowledge, and the fact that I have not studied for almost 8 years. The thought alone was pretty scary. However I feel that I have shown some promise as I wouldn’t have been accepted onto the course otherwise. I knew that the commitment I was making wasn’t to be taken lightly, and that I would need to dedicate a lot of my time to making sure that I am as knowledgeable as the others in my class.
So far I have studied the following units:
• Introduction to Networking
• Introduction to Programming
• Computer Maintenance and Administration
• Systems Analysis and Development
• Personal Professional and Academic Development.
The first lesson I had was Introduction to Networking, which I feel is the subject that I have the least knowledge in, however it is the one that I am most keen on taking part in. During the lessons we have gone over a variety of different things which I previously had no knowledge of, including different types of computers and servers and which ones are more suitable for use in businesses today, as well as using the Packet Tracer program to conduct our own lab experiments. I find this lesson very difficult, and sometimes do not understand things that are covered, but my tutor is very helpful when explaining things over, and I also have access to Cisco online materials for the times when I am stuck, which helps boost my confidence and motivates me to achieve my goal of getting an acceptable grade for this unit.
Computer Maintenance and Administration is a lesson which I’m very confident in. At the moment we have only covered some very basic things, such as the hardware components that make up a motherboard and the different types of connectors, and how to connect them correctly without damaging the computer. We’ve also covered how to handle and use tools in a correct and safe manner, to avoid damage to any equipment or person. I’m happy with the way this lesson is progressing, and have every confidence that I will do very well for this particular unit.
Systems Analysis and Development is another lesson which I feel I have very little knowledge of, but I’m surprised at how fast I have been able to pick things up for this unit. During this lesson I have learnt about the basics of designing Databases, including an introduction to entities and attributes, and the relationships between them. In the most recent lesson I have learnt to derive a fully normalised set of tables from an Entity Relationship Diagram. I sometimes feel that this lesson can be boring and moves at a very slow pace as most of the time we’re watching presentations and filling in worksheets. I’m very eager to start building databases on the computers but I also understand that I need to be able to create an accurate model before any computer based work can actually be started.
For the Personal Professional and Academic Development lesson, I’ve been writing up a personal statement about myself. The statement will analyze my strengths and weaknesses in terms of my current skills, and will also contain an action plan for my personal development and long and short term personal and professional goals. This blog is also part of that particular assignment. I feel that this is my least favourite lesson as I’ve always found it difficult to talk and write about myself, I feel that this lesson could help me promote and conduct myself in a professional manner, and also build up my confidence when it comes to writing about myself.
The lesson I enjoy the most is Introduction to Programming. I’ve been learning the absolute basics of programming using the C# application, like how to create a simple quiz box, and how to perform calculations using variables as well as simple tasks which involve changing text and background colours. My fellow students are all studying at different levels from beginner to advanced, we will all be working at different levels for a few more weeks before we’re eventually all working on the same projects. I feel that I will be able to complete any task given to me in this class, and have no doubt at all that I will pass this unit with a high grade, without worry.
Overall, I feel that I have learnt a great deal in such a short amount of time, and I have really taken it all in, if I have a weakness at this time it would be that I do not dedicate enough time to certain lessons away from College. I have been concentrating more on the lessons I’m happy with and less on the ones that I feel I need to improve on. However I’m still at a very early stage of my course, and I shall endeavour to improve myself in all of my units, to ensure I pass them all.
