Since starting this course (BTEC National Certificate for ITP [IT Practitioners]) I have acquired a variety of skills and improved my motivation to get work done. Since last year I felt I was underachieving at college and have decided this year to work my hardest to get my work done to the best of my abilities.
Skills I have gained range from social skills to work-related skills, for example; I can explain exactly what I am trying to say with little to no work at all. I feel this year I can achieve a distinction for this course over the next 2 years if I try hard enough.
Advanced Databases [ADB]
In this lesson, I feel I am not learning anything. I feel that there is too much talking about the subject and not enough actual work towards our assignment. I think the lesson could be improved by a small segment of talking at the beginning of the lesson covering what we will need for that specific lesson and then work on a task set for us by the tutor, possibly breaking the lesson into 4 segments of 2 talking segments and 2 working segments.
Website Development and Management
I have learnt a variety of useful things in this lesson, particularly something that had been bugging me for some time, a table but styled in a profile format
These, amongst other things, have been helpful in designing various layouts both for personal use and for college work.
Communications and Employability Skills for IT
This lesson is one of my most productive; probably because I’m mostly encouraged by the tutor to do the work at my best potential. This lesson has helped me to motivate myself in college, getting the work done with the most detail I can and explaining points I feel may be a little fuzzy without the explanation.
Key Skills
At the beginning of the year, we worked on getting another qualification; CLAiT Plus, I feel this has improved my knowledge and usage of Microsoft Word and Excel.
Computer Systems
I’ve learnt in more detail than last year, how a computer works. I have also gained knowledge and information about various types of hardware and software.
VB.NET Programming
In this lesson I have improved my programming skills since last year, I have a wider knowledge of various functions in VB and can use them effectively for my project at hand.
Principles of Networking
Gordon teaches this lesson well, this lesson is very practical and I feel this is the way I learn best. I prefer to either learn by doing or reading about the task rather than have someone speak it to me.
A weakness I mentioned in my SWOT analysis was my motivation and confidence. I feel that this year, I have improved greatly in my motivation and am getting work done on time and to my best capabilities. I am constantly working to improve my confidence, particularly in groups.
When I reflect upon my progress I feel my attempts to better myself have gone well, although sometimes I could have done better or tried harder. I feel that I can, if I try, improve upon all of my weaknesses and make my strengths stronger.
