Discussing Posts

On the first day of Xmas, Andy gave Anthony and Nathan Posts (in CAREERS Forum).....sorry guys, haven't had my payday yet.... :P

Anthony's Post

I said that i would like to be: 1) Systems Analyst 2) Programmer 3) Systems Tester ----------------------------------------------- The quiz stated that i should be: 1) Systems Analyst 2) Aerospace Engineer 3) Software Developer they are quite similar to the type of jobs that i would of liked to do. on the list of jobs it said i shouldn't do, it said: Beauty Technician which i totally agree with as i know nothing about beauty. the second quiz said: For you, harmony and good relationships with colleagues are important. You are likely to be most fulfilled in a role which emphasises teamwork and cooperation. You enjoy the satisfaction of a group of skilled people working together to produce a service or product which they would have been unable to do alone. Your personality is best suited to a job where socialising is an important part of the work environment and where building relationships is an integral part of your role.

	My response to Anthony's Post Having got to know Mr Metcalfe over the past two months or so, i agree with the career search outcomes, that he wants to be a part of a team developing software. He has always portrayed himself to be a person with a keen taste in Programming. I also agree that Mr Metcalfe is a friendly being, who enjoys and thrives in working as part of a team, as i have noticed he helps his fellow students, whenever possible. This is also emphasised on his second quiz results "Your personality is best suited to a job where socialising is an important part of the work environment and where building relationships is an integral part of your role.".                                                                                                                                                                     Nathan's Post Recommended jobs from Jed's Suggestions are: Aerospace engineer Designs and works with aircraft, spacecraft and other machines that fly. Architect Designs buildings. Computer games designer Works on ideas and designs for computer games These tie in well with what I have in mind for a future job. I like designing and building things and creating sites and would like to get into 3D modeling. 2 NOT RECOMMENDED Jobs: Religious leader Guides and supports people in their religious needs I don't like religion...so this fits well Holiday representative Helps people to enjoy themselves on holiday Although I don't mind helping people. I don't think I can do it as a job...  My Response to Nathan's Post Computer Games Designer, BANG ON!!! That is exactly what i see you being Nathan. I have noticed during the lesson time i have spent with you, and also working with you as a team in Systems Development, you are very much focused with, where you want to be in the next five years. Be it, Web Design or Games Design, you possess the knack for coding and modeling. You also have the passion for Computing which naturally came to you, that many of us would kill for. I believe natural growth and development in a subject or a profession is much more quicker and meaningful than to grow in something you are trying to force yourself into. PLUS CODING HEADACHES for us would be like your adrenaline rush.... :D

Career Analysis

I initially put down my job choices as Product Designer, Teacher and ICT consultant. After completing the Job Search in Job Explorer Database, the searches mainly came up with teaching Jobs such as Primary school teacher & ICT teacher, which was a positive outcome for me. I also agree with the list of worst jobs, as they mainly involve jobs working at heights, such as steeplejack & timber frame erecters.

The outcome from the Guardian's career quiz are you in the right job quiz.

You would be unhappy in any job where you felt you were not making a difference to people's lives. Public service, teaching and the caring professions may be the most suitable for you. You are less interested in money and prestige and more interested in developing and nurturing others. You would not work for an organisation where the culture was at odds with your personal values. If you do not work in such an environment, you will find greater satisfaction either self-employed or in a job where your core beliefs are not compromised.

As you can see the outcome is similar to JED's career search.

Belbin Test Results

During this session, we looked into professionalism and how it can be implemented into the work floor. Is being a professional and showing professionalism the same? I’ll let you be the judge of that!
Then we explored three different methods of teamwork.

• Tuckman
• Belbin
• Kolb

During the last ten minutes of the lesson, I took a Belbin test to find out what category I fit in, and what are my strengths. Below is the screenshot of my Belbin Test Result.

As you can see the top 3 outcome of the belbin test for me are Company Worker, Completer and Chair person.

I don't know if it's just me, but i would like to develop into a chairperson. Firstly being a company worker, then a completer, finally getting to the position of a chairperson. Dee, am i being too naive to think this?

Determining My Learning Style

I'll be carrying out two quizzes, which were posted in moodle, to find out how i learn best.

First, I will take the AES Learning Styles Quiz

 

This was exactly what I was expecting my results to show up as. I have always been a visual learner, probably due to the fact, I have a keen interest in art and design, and have studied it my whole life alongside ICT.  This questionnaire is fantastic, it's managed to predict some of the methods, i used to revise such as note-taking, seeing things visually and sitting in front of the classroom (I don't know if it's the teachers aftershave or perfume, but i always manage to drag myself to the front). I'm now going to try out the other methods to improve my style of learning.

Here's the result from my VARK Questionnaire

As you can see, this second quiz result, further supports my statement above.

Hopes for Work Placement

My hopes for work placement right now is to apply at abbey meads primary school to assist ICT classes. I am just waiting for online resources to be posted to moodle, so i can structure my letters and applications.

Here is the link to Abbey Meads Primary School, where i would like to undertake my work placement

http://www.abbeymeads.swindon.sch.uk/

SMART Targets

What are SMART Targets?

SMART objectives enable companies or in our case, us as Computing students to develop and meet goals enabling us to be successful in what we are pursuing. The definition of the mnemonic SMART is:

·      Specific – Target must be clear, significant to the subject and well defined.

·      Measurable – Target must be obtainable and you should have an idea of how long it will take to achieve the target.

·      Attainable – Target must be achievable in terms of skill, resources and goals.

·      Realistic- Target should be realistic in terms of resource, knowledge, deadline availability.

·      Time Bound – Sufficient time to achieve the target set.

SMART Targets references

Below are the links provided for me, and to read up and extend my knowledge on SMART Targets.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4545193_develop-personal-action-plan.html

http://moodle.newcollege.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=37056

Here are the links, I found helpful, while researching SMART Targets.

http://www.charliemoos.co.uk/blog/read_11703/smart-targetsgoals.html

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.html

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/performance_management/smart_objectives.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria

Being SMART

Hear are my three SMART Targets for the first year of my COMPUTING FdSc.

1.     Achieve a merit or above for the first year of the course.

2.     Consistently update my Blogs throughout the course year.

3.     Hand in Assignments and Task Exercises on deadline.

SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method, used to analyse and evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Employing this analysis to a business environment can help the company to predict internal and external factors, which can be identified as either, favourable or unfavourable to achieve their goals.

SWOT references

Below are the links provided for me to read up and extend my knowledge on SWOT Analysis:

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

Time to SWOT myself out

I am now going to apply the knowledge provided to me, by analysing myself to identify my SWOT.

Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Ambitious Hard Working Compassionate Self-Motivation Supportive Family Competitive Enthusiastic Good ICT Skills Good Design Skills	Easily Distracted Easily Bored Poor Programming Skills due to ICT background Going back into education	Personal Growth and Development in the Field Degree Job Opportunities Fulfilling Personal Ambition	Stress Deadlines Family Job No previous Computing Experience Out of Education for 3 years

SWOT - PAP Forums Link

Here's a direct link to the SWOT discussion link on moodle.

http://moodle.newcollege.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=975

PAP Forums

SNAP, CRACKLE AND ........PAP(huh, that's not right........is it??? :P)

PAP Forums

Forum created by our lovely teacher Dee. This forum consists of several discussion topics, which allow us to post comments, read the thoughts of fellow Computing Students and discuss the topics relevant to what we're studying and practicing in class.

Here is the link to Personal Action Planning Forums:


http://moodle.newcollege.ac.uk/mod/forum/view.php?id=37057