timothy stringer portfolio

The following is my justification for my personal grading of my self managed learning plan carried out as part of unit 29: Effective Lifelong Learning.

In order for me to gain a pass I need to first satisfy the initial learning objectives I laid out in my plan. Below are each of the objectives and whether I feel I have met these to earn at least a pass.

Learning Objective One
Research PHP and MySQL to clarify how they are currently used in industry.
Although not 100% successful in obtaining industry professional accounts of how they use the technologies on a daily basis, like I had wanted. I have managed to obtain enough knowledge to enable me to write my crib sheet explaining in basic terms what PHP and MySQL can be used for in terms of everyday web design. This research was carried out reading up on the subject in multiple places online and also within the previously detailed resources.

Objective met? Yes

Learning Objective Two
Learn how to use the chosen technologies to solve a range of real life situations.
As part of my learning I have undertaken a number of different tasks and built several different items. Some of which I implemented into my final project. The following are some of things I have learned;

• Form processing,
• Managing sessions and cookies,
• Formatting textual inputs,
• Validating inputs,
• Comparing usernames and passwords to those on file,
• Uploading items.

This is by no means the extent of what I have learned over the last five weeks but I feel it does show I have looked at a range of real life situations.

Objective met? Yes

Learning Objective Three
Create a website following a creative brief.
This learning outcome is the one I nearly struggled the most with. Although my learning was substantial during this brief I then had to amalgamate all this into one website to produce the required end product. The website along with a learning website have been produced using both PHP and MySQL.

Objective met? Yes

Learning Objective Four
Reflect on learning undertaken throughout the plan outlining strengths and weaknesses.
In order to meet this outcome I set myself the target of keeping both a weekly journal and summarising my whole learning process at the end within a 1000 (±10%) word entry at the end of the brief. These were both kept and in them I feel I let the reader have a clear understanding of where I was at throughout the steps of my brief.

Objective met? Yes

The Merit Criteria

Merit Criteria One
You demonstrate a thorough understanding of the assignments theoretical principles, and successfully apply them to your work.
I think the I understood the theoretical side of this assignment in that is was supposed to help me on many levels toward becoming an independent learner in the future. I did learn what I set out to learn it could have been done in a much more structured way. This to me shows a lack of applying things to my work as suggested.

Criteria met? No

Merit Criteria Two
You effectively use a range of devices that monitor the progress of the assignment.
Within this assignment I kept a weekly journal of my progress and that was about it with regards to monitoring my progress. I failed to keep time sheets for this assignment and this showed toward the end when I left myself a lot to do as I hadn’t really got a real clue of how long I was taking to get things done.

Criteria met? No

Merit Criteria Three
Your investigation into the creative and/or technical potential of the assignment produce near professional solutions.
I don’t feel the solutions I provided [for the things I was creating] provided enough technical solutions to justify near-professional standards. What I am meaning here is that things like my form could have had inline validation, my passwords could have been encrypted within the database. These would be things I would see as being near professional standards.

Criteria Met? No

The Distinction Criteria

Distinction Criteria One
You reflect on your work and personal performance. You clearly identify the strengths and weaknesses of both, and give a substantial insight into your decision making process.
Having kept both the journal and consciously kept note of things I have found difficult throughout the course of the plan I think this is one of my stronger areas. I can also be over critical sometimes but am aware that without setting myself high standards I will not improve.

Criteria Met? Yes

Distinction Criteria Two
You take responsibility for a significant amount of your own learning.
I feel this was and is one of my strong points. If I want to know something I will go out and learn it. My drive and own ambition are the things that help me to achieve this and in this instance it has served me well.

Criteria met? Yes

Distinction Criteria Three
You creative originality and/or technical expertise is of a professional standard.
I don’t feel the final project I produced on this assignment could be seen as professional standard work. Although the quantity of things I have produced within the timescale does show me that I may have been working at a professional pace. I do feel some of the work produced was of a professional standard but not enough to warrant meeting the above statement.

Criteria met? No

Overall Grade: Pass

The job I have chosen to compare my employability against is one from a website named creative pool.

It can be found here it can also be found at the bottom of this post.

The first reason I chose this job is due to the location being in Yorkshire/Humberside. Although this is a large area, I need to be aware my first position may not lie on my doorstep.

Looking at the pay rate and lack of any specific requirement for a number of years experience this would also suggest the role is suitable for a graduate to apply for.

Looking at the key responsibilities the role requires the one which jumps off the page at me that I may be lacking in is my knowledge of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and how this relates to web content.

My basic understanding of web accessibility may not suffice in terms of looking at where the DDA pulls into a corporate environment.

My previous experience of working in an office environment for seven years and having just recently obtained a role in a design firm should also provide me with an advantage over someone without this experience.

I also feel the professional side of my skill set, relating to things such as time management, organisational skills and communication skills is strong as a result of this experience.

Comparing my technological skills against the essential skills for this role. I can hnad code both (X)HTML and CSS. I can implement other people’s Javascript and sometimes even customise these.

An example of this can be seen on my a8 learning area where I have implemented a vertical accordion script provided by Brian Crescimanno and styled this to meet my requirements.

With regards to the experience with Adobe programs the employer is looking for I feel I have a full working knowledge of both Photoshop and Illustrator to succeed within the role. I also have a working knowledge of Dreamweaver.

The one area I would need to improve in the essential skills would be my Flash knowledge, I have only a basic knowledge of flash having built some simple projects. My ability in this area of the advert would also depend on what exactly the employer was looking for from Flash.

I also have a working knowledge of Fireworks and Microsoft Office which this employer deems as being desirable skills. The only desirable skill I lack is experience with Quark.

The penultimate section of the advert describes things the potential employee should have an understanding of. As all of the topics have been, or will be touched upon by the end of the course I will have relevant knowledge in these areas also.

In summary, if the course ended tomorrow I feel I would be equipped to apply for this role however may not be the strongest applicant. I can therefore use the time to the end of the course to work on the areas I have identified to improve upon.

The Job Advert

Web Designer (inhouse)

Job ref: LDS334
Company: Profiles Creative
Location:Yorkshire & Humberside
Salary/rate: £17000 – 19000
Contract: perm
Job posted on: 09 October 2009
Job start date: ASAP
Closing date: 16 October 2009

In-house design department is looking for a web designer to deliver high quality online marketing solutions across the Group.

Key responsibilities
* To maintain and update current group websites
* Identify and resolve issues relating to group online marketing
* Plan, design and develop new online projects for group, working alongside colleagues from other departments and participating in meetings and presentations as and when required
* Interpret and develop design briefs received from Marketing department
* Communicate effectively any time scales, issues or considerations to stake holders when undertaking work
* Ensure best practices regarding web design are followed, paying particular attention to the Disability Discrimination Act and accessibility issues.
* Liaise with colleagues in other departments. Maintain clear lines of communication between design department and other areas of group.
* Act as advisor to management and colleagues regarding all aspects of online marketing.
* To be involved with print work on occasions as and when department workload requires
* Autonomously keep abreast of current and emerging web technologies and practices, and look for ways they could benefit the group’s online projects
* Explain technical issues to non-technical colleagues

Essential skills
CSS & (X)HTML (preferably hand-coded), JavaScript, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Excellent communication and organisation

Desirable skills
Fireworks, Quark, Microsoft Office

Understanding of
Accessibility issues, Cross browser compatibility, User experience/information architecture, Disability Discrimination Act in relation to web design, Web standards, Client and server-side scripting (eg PHP), Organic S.E.O, Graceful degradation/progressive enhancement

The applicant must have a good all round knowledge of a Mac, as they will mainly work on a Mac, but must also have a basic understanding of using a PC, as testing of web work will need to be carried out on both in various browsers.

When Tom, Shaun and Gary said at the start of last year that over the summer break “you should keep up with what you’ve learned” they weren’t kidding!

After a month of the four months I’ve just had off I had forgotten how to code websites. This was quite a big shock to me. It also motivated me to get out there and do something about it. I managed to find my first freelance client and produce a standards compliant website.

This was closely followed by me arranging some work experience at a local web design company. This helped me immensely during the summer break to keep my skills fresh in my mind.

This has also led me to taking on a paid position as a junior developer whilst I’m at college. I’m pleased with this as it will provide me with experience of working in the industry, which is what most employers seem to be looking for these days.

Working over the summer has also provided me with a little head start on the new college year. This is because I am now getting a lot of development experience and also using some basic PHP at work before I’ve even started learning it in my SMLP.

Since I received my letter advising me I had obtained a place in the second year I have been raring to get back. the break hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for the course which to me is a good thing.

Another privilege I have received over the last couple of months is that I was chosen by my tutor of one of three people to give our perspective on the first year of the course to the new first years in a presentation.

Having to get this ready for a couple of days prior to my start date gave me the perfect excuse to get my college head back on.

The presentation itself seemed to be well received and I even managed to provide and advice page for the first years. I’m sure like me this time last year it won’t start making sense to the first years until they’re a little further in.

Having just finished my first day back I thought it might have been a little more stressful. Thankfully it appears the little bit of prep work I did prior to today served me well.

My targets for the coming year haven’t changed I am still looking to improve my grade profile and also ultimately become employable by the end of the course.

So yes, I am glad to be back.

Paper-Based Resources

I have had some previous experience learning a programming language Visual Basic in a similar timescale as I had a HND assignment a couple of years ago where this was relevant.

During this time I found that the books produced by Sams Publishing provided me with a relevant base on which to start my learning.

As such I will be using the following books to start my formal learning of PHP and MySQL.

1. Sams Teach Yourself  PHP in 10 Minutes, by Chris Newman. (2005)

This book break down the process of learning PHP into 25 chapters. Each of these chapters should take in the region of 10 minutes to work through. One of the reasons for choosing this book was due to the physical size. On the shelf in the shop, next to books on the same subject (most of which were larger than telephone books) this book stood out as something I may be able to use within the 8 week time scale.

2. Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 10 Minutes, by Chris Newman. (2006)

Exactly the same as the previous book this one breaks down the process of learning MySQL into 25 chapters. Each which should take around 10 minutes to work through. As I had already chosen the previous book to learn the PHP side of things it makes sense to supplement this with a book from the same author which should hopefully compliment it. Again this book is similar in size to the previous one meaning I should have no problem working through it within my allotted time scales.

3. PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide by Larry Ullman (2008)

I have also looked at this book as it provides a pictorial view of what should be happening on most of the pages. I think this will be useful should I not understand and it should be helpful to clarify things. This book also breaks things down into very simple instructions. This book will be used should I feel the other two did not provide me with enough knowledge as it seems to be a more comprehensive guide breaking things down into greater detail.

Online Resources

4. w3schools.com online tutorials

This is a site I have come across before when learning both XHTML and CSS. It provides a great number of basic tutorials on all sorts of languages including both php and MySQL. It provides information in relatively short pages and on most of these will have a working example where the code can be edited to provide an interactive learning experience. I intend to begin my online learning with these tutorials.

5. webmonkey.com online tutorials

This site bills itself as the web developers resource. I was also advised by a peer it has a very helpful and easy to understand beginners tutorial on php. The site also has a whole programming languages section which I may find useful.

6. php.net

The home of php on the net this site should provide me with with all the information I need to know about php. There also appears to be a php manual which breaks subjects down into helpful chunks and also provide coded examples of how to use the language.

Other Resources

In order to be able to test the things I build offline I have also downloaded WAMP and MAMP servers and installed these on my PC and iMac respectively as otherwise I would have to upload everything each time I wanted to carry out some testing.

The first thing I feel I need to look at when trying to decide which technology/skillset I should undertake for my Self Managed Learning Plan (SMLP) is where I see myself being at the end of the course.

Having looked at the current job market^[1][2] and a number of local design studios^[3] I am definite there is still a split within the industry when it comes to the roles of Web Designer and Web Developer.

I have come to this conclusion as I have not seen many designer roles requiring knowledge of programming languages. Nor have I identified many developer positions where Photoshop and Illustrator would be required skills. This along with the split being visible to see in places such as 9xb^[5] and Coolpink^[5].

Although I do understand the college are trying to make us rounded individuals with the knowledge of all things web. I feel this is the time when I need to make the decision as to which camp I sit in.

My ability to understand new computer languages quickly. Coupled with recently finding out I am never happier than when I’m coding and debugging, leads me to believe my strengths currently lie within the developer camp. I would be happy to see myself initially in this sort of role come the end of the course.

I am very happy with my ability in both XHTML and CSS and recently have begun to use small Javascript scripts to add more interactive elements to the sites I am building.

With this in mind and having taken on board comments from my tutor, peers and industry professionals such as Andy Rutledge^[6]. I think PHP along with MySQL would be a relevant choice for me to approach over the 8 weeks of my SMLP.

By bringing my knowledge of these languages to a level where I am as happy to use them as I am with XHTML and CSS will provide me with a great benefit at this stage of my career. I have already had basic experience of where PHP sits within a web site after using it in some recent projects from templates. I would rate my current knowledge somewhere between novice and intermediate.

In preparation for the start of this SMLP I have begun to look at basic PHP tutorials. As recommended by the W3Schools website^[7] I have begun to look into the basics of a further knowledge base this being Javascript.

This is purely as a grounding before learning PHP as the syntax appears to be very similar with the two languages. Meaning if I learn the basics of Javascript first I should find the basics of PHP easier to learn.

1. Trainee Web Developers (graduatesyorkshire.co.uk)

2. Web Designer (monster.co.uk)

3. Quba New Media

4. The 9xb Team

5. The Coolpink Team

6. The Employable Web Designer found at The Design View by Andy Rutledge

7. PHP Introduction (w3schools.com)

Looking back on my first post of the year, it strikes me that I have truly found something I not only enjoy doing but something I can really see myself doing in the future.

Reflecting on each of the last seven assignments I can say the following:

Ideas Generation – Being told in the first week this assignment was going to run all year did seem a little daunting at first. My issues at the time were being able to choose things that inspired me and also being able to keep a development record of the creations I made. Over the year I think my ideas generation has improved to a peak in the third quarter and has now fallen a little from that time. I intend to bring this back to my best starting with my first assignment in the new academic year.

Computing Fundamentals – This assignment at the time seemed like a very academic start to the year and almost a step back from where I had been previously. I now see that this was setting the groundwork for any one who didn’t have the base knowledge I had brought to my studies. I was happy with my submission at the time and bar the minor slip up I am still happy with how this assignment played out.

Interactive Media Technology with Historical and Contextual Referencing – This assignment was very eye opening to the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to get a website up and running. This is where I learned just designing a page and putting it on the web is nowhere near sufficient to creating an effective user friendly web interface. This assignment will also stand me in good stead for the rest of my career as it provided a solid base to improve my whole web design process from.

Typographic Skills – This assignment gave me knowledge second to none in relation to typography. The topics I was taught in this eight week period are reproduced nearly everyday in someone’s blog throughout the world. This is where it really hit home that the knowledge I’m gaining is industry relevant.

Interactive Media Design & Authoring – This is where the real fun stuff began, coding, optimising, uploading and testing were the main activities of this assignment. Hopefully, these will be the things I’m doing on a regular basis for a long time to come. For my first ever web page I was satisfied with the results and the overall grade I received.

Image Manipulation Applications – This assignment for me was Photoshop but not as I know it. Mocking up a website in Photoshop was an alien concept to me as I had previously used other software which I felt was more accurate. I was pleased with the results I achieved and the processes I learned during this assignment.

Computer Applications in Art & Design – More thought at the planning stage would have aided me immensely in this assignment. Having chosen a specific colour scheme for my designs this then meant I had to carry this throughout my work. I didn’t notice until later on that this was also the same colour I had used in other assignments. Thus leaving my work for the first year monochromatic. The final bonus of this year was managing to complete the activities on schedule leaving me a very stress free submission eve.

The Year Ahead

I think to be able to look forward I need to be aware of where my strengths and weaknesses have been over the last nine months. I also need to look toward my ultimate goal of being confident enough to make the move straight into employment after the second year.

The following areas are where I would see my strengths lie:

Organisation – This has been evident throughout the last year that I am always aware of upcoming deadlines and what I need to get done for when. Multiple people have also made comments to me that I am the organised one in class.

Time Management – Initially where I thought I had issues with time management I believe I am now disciplined enough to know when I can take a break and still meet timescales. This became apparent when I was able to take Easter off in the busiest assignment of the year and still achieved the relevant goals on time.

Ability to Learn – Having not really built even a page using XHTML and CSS before the course started. I am now in a position that I am happy enough to take on small freelance projects in order to increase my portfolio come the end of the course. It has always been one of my strengths that I can pick things up very quickly.

I would think my weaknesses lie in the following areas:

My Own High Standards – So far, although I feel I have been tested with some of the work I have completed. I don’t feel some of the solutions I have provided have shown off my full capability. I have not yet produced a piece of work that I can look back on and say “This is the very best I can produce”.

Lack of Foresight – At the moment my designs to me feel very samey. To use a cliche, I need to step outside the box and start thinking of the end product at the very start of the process and not the end. Currently my web solutions have been simple and hardly challenging.

My target for the long term is to be employable within the industry and as such I need to be able to stand out from the crowd in order to do this I need to set myself realistic but demanding goals.

I would see the following as suitable goals for my second year:

• Learning PHP and Actionscript 3.0
• Having a more comprehensive knowledge of Javascript
• Being able to build multiple page sites to web standards.
• Leaving the course with an online portfolio and brand identity for myself.

In regards to grades I would like to achieve in my second year. I would like to strengthen my current profile and also improve with a of minimum merits and hopefully at least two distinctions.

In summary, I have learned a lot in the last nine months and hope to continue the progress on the next year of the course to enable me to maximise my employability this time next year.