Peronsal Developement Plan (Final Version)

Personal Development Plan Overview

Task 1 >

You are looking for a job in the IT industry and have joined ITK with a view to them helping you to succeed in finding the perfect occupation. ITK have indicated that there has been an employment boom in the web design and computer systems industries recently and feel that one of these occupations could be the way forward to meeting your long term aspirations.

Create a personal development plan based on the ‘Key Requirements’ document that ITK has given you. Your development plan must include:

· A breakdown of your current strengths and weaknesses in both disciplines

· A statement of your aspirations, education and training

· An action plan with clear goals that will help you reach your target

Grading Criteria: P7 – Produce a personal development plan

Useful Information:
The following table outlines the skills that are necessary to succeeded in the web design and computer systems industries and will be covered during the remainder of year 12.

Computer Systems (Unit 2)	Computer Networks (Unit 9)
Knowledge of Computer Hardware Components	Knowledge of different types of Networks available and they relate to particular network standards and protocols
Knowledge of Operating Systems	Knowledge of key components for client workstations to connect to a network and access network resources
Knowledge of Software Utilities	Knowledge of typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service
Knowledge of Installing Hardware/Software Components	Ability to design a networked solution to meet a particular situation with specific requirements
	Ability to make a networked system secure

Time Plan:

Unit 2	Term 2 (7/01/2013 – 28/03/2013)
Unit 9	Term 3 (25/02/2013 – 24/05/2013)

Move onto next page for P7, P8 and D2 criteria

P7 – Creating a Personal Development Plan

Activity:

Based on the Task 1 scenario (Previous page) you must now create your own PDP that will be later uploaded to a blog and followed for the remainder of the year.

A - PDP

1. Establish Purpose/Direction

Based on the ‘useful information’section on the previous page describe what your main strengths are and what areas you think need to be developed for each discipline. Remember that you must justify each of your strengths against your past experiences and training.

Computer Systems (Unit 2)
Strengths	Possible Areas to Develop
- Knowledge of computer hardware components- I know a lot of different Hardware components that make up a computer such as the cooling fan, mother board, other smaller cooling fans, hard drive etc. - Knowledge of Installing Hardware/Software Components- I know how to install both hardware and software components. For Hardware you simply install it into your computer and allow your computer to scan it and put it into working order. As for Software you either have to pay or maybe get some free and simply download them onto your computer. - Knowledge of Computer Operating Systems- I know about a lot of Operating Systems such as Windows.	- Knowledge of Software Utilities- I am not quite sure what they are so I have put them in the Areas to develop colum.

Computer Networks (Unit 9)
Strengths	Possible Areas to Develop
- Ability to make a networked system secure- I have good knowledge about different security measures such as firewalls and anti-virus software to make a computer, network etc. secure.	- Knowledge of different types of Networks available and they relate to particular network standards and protocols- I am not sure about this subject which is why I have put it in this colum. - Knowledge of key components for client workstations to connect to a network and access network resources- I am quite puzzled as to what this means as I have never done this before. Which is the reason why it is in this need to improve colum. - Knowledge of typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service- I especially need to expand my knowledge about this topic. I am hoping that this unit can expand my knowledge on this area as I have never done anything like it before. - Ability to design a networked solution to meet a particular situation with specific requirements- I am very good at designing things such as websites or poster but not a network solution

2. Identify Your Development Needs

Outline which of the highlighted development areas will be your priority (e.g. which are you main weaknesses) and justify why you have chosen them (e.g. knowledge of building a computer –never had the opportunity to build a standalone computer).

Priority 1	Knowledge of key components for client workstations to connect to a network and access network resource- I am pretty much clueless about this which is why I have put it under priority 1, for some of the other priorities I at least have a small understanding of the subject but not for this one.
Priority 2	Knowledge of typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service- I also need to expand my knowledge of this topic as well as I have never done anything like this before, this is why it is priority 2
Priority 3	Knowledge of different types of Networks available and they relate to particular network standards and protocols- I have not done anything like networking in the past so I am not sure what It means.
Priority 4	Knowledge of typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service- I am not sure what a network is or a network system priority service, when I move onto that unit it will become more clear and I will have expanded my knowledge.
Priority 5	Ability to design a networked solution to meet a particular situation with specific requirements- as mentioned earlier I am good at designing even to specific requirements but the fact that my knowledge of networks is low I am not sure what it is asking me to do.
Priority 6	Add more detail for better quality of work- I try to add as much detail to my work as possible to maker sure that I can try and reach a Disticbtion which is what my personal goal is. This is priority 6 because I try and add as much detail as possible as it is very important for meeting the distiction criteria.

3. Development Opportunities

Explain how you hope to improve the skills that you have highlighted. What resources/opportunities will be at your disposal (e.g. lesson time, online tutorials)

With the areas to improve I am hoping to improve my knowledge by this by completing the unit 9 which is all about networking. By completing tasks as part of the unit it will help me to improve and learn more about networking which could help me in the future if there are any related tasks. As for resources I will have the internet which I can use to give me a wide range of information if I am stuck on a certain task or desperately need to learn about it. The internet is very suitable for me as I can use it whenever I have access to a computer and can give me information about a range of different topics. I will also have general knowledge as before the work for the unit starts we get some lessons to learn about the subject we are working on which can help me to achieve my targets named above.   Our teacher can also be a good resource as we can not only go and see them when we need assistance but also we can e-mail them and they can reply with help sheets etc. We can also go and see him or her during our free lessons and after school so we can learn more and expand our knowledge on areas that we are struggling and need to improve. My biggest priority which is priority 1 is what I really need to focus and learn about because I am basically clueless in that area. To get better and expend my knowledge on that area I could look up on the Internet on different websites, this is the best way as it has unlimited information about a range of different subjects. As long as my computer or any other device I am using has an Internet connection I can go on a browser and gather some information. I could look in some specialised IT books as well and see what content they have inside and if it is useful or not, they should have information about a wide range of different subjects in It that are IT related. I could use the books as a resource and find out more about Knowledge of key components for client workstations and how they connect to a network and access network resource. To find these resources I could go to the school library and see if they have any IT related books that I can lend out and read its content. If they don’t have any books in the Schools Library I could go to the nearest public library and see what they have.

4. Formulate Action Plan – Set Targets

Create a set of SMART targets based on your identified needs from the previous section.

Target 1	Understand what is a network
Target 2	Understand what a network is able to do
Target 3	Increase my knowledge about the components of a computer- such as learn new components
Target 4	Learn how to make a network secure
Target 5	Learn how to design a network
Target 6	Try to gather as much knowledge as I can about networking as it is one of my weak points

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weaknesses to strengths

- How have I improved after the unit's have finished. What have I done to improved. What resources are available. My overall progression and improvements made.

I have expanded my knowledge on certain areas of this unit that I used to struggle on greatly. While completing tasks in this unit I have learned a lot more about Networks in particular as I struggled on them the most. Networks was my biggest problem while I was doing unit 9 as no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even form a basic understanding about what they are and what they can do. My weeknesses relating to networking are...

- Knowledge of key components for client workstations to connect to a network and access network resources

-Knowledge of typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service

- Ability to design a networked solution to meet a particular situation with specific requirements

These three areas named above are all to do with networking which is why I strugled on them greatly and as a result become my weaknesses. Before the unit I was not able to identify key components for client workstations with a network and access to resources, typical services provided by networks and how typical services are available from a network operating system directory service and ability to design a network solution to meet a particular situation with specific requirements.

I now understand them quite well as I am able to name a range of different components that goes into a network and the correct place they should be placed. There were lots of different examples of a network on the internet which was my primary source of information; I could view different examples of school networks and business networks to gather ideas for my own network that we had to do as part of the task. Without the help of the internet and the examples that the teacher had supplied I could learn more about networks and turn it into strength. If I wanted a different source of information I could go to the school library or the local library and find a book based on networking or an IT related book for more information.

Another weakness I used to have was the many different components that can fit together to create a network for either a school or a business. I was able to name a couple such as Wi-Fi Router and Firewalls but apart from that I was pretty much clueless. Just like learning how to make a network I used the resources to look at different components to try and memorize them to help me in future tasks. By doing this I have gained a lot more knowledge network components and is now one of my strengths. I can name a wide range of network components such as Switches and the source of the internet, I can also estimate how much money is going to be spent on each component and whether it is a reasonable idea or not.

Before unit 2 I was very bad with software utilities as I didn’t even know what they were so it meant I needed to learn more about them in order to complete the unit. I researched it up on the internet until I got a good level of understand of what a software utility is, when they are created and designed to do and how do you get them. I am now able to name a lot of different software utilities thanks to the information that I have learn't from the unit and all the self-studying that I have done. I have built up a good amount of knowledge on this particular area and I am confident that I will do well if this subject ever turns up in a different unit.

I am now very good with network protocols such as FTP or HTTP. I struggled to form a basic understanding about network protocols and how they were important for use for other people. After learning more about them on the internet and completing a task about protocols as part of the unit I have developed a much better understanding as to what they are and why they are important. If I didn’t of researched them like I did I may still be struggling with the subject and I may find it difficult if protocols turn up again in another unit.

Overall, I have learned a lot over the two units and I have definitely expanded my knowledge and have learned more about most of the areas that I have been struggling on. I still didn’t quite understand something after I have tried to search it up I could always ask other people in my class for some support or even go and ask my teacher or other teachers that specialise in IT. There are some things in both unit 1 and 2 that I still don’t quite understand such as how to construct a network diagram but with more time I will be able to work on that area and become a lot better. I am happy with my final grade on both of the units which is a distinction which also means that I have achieved my goal in IT.

Due to the resources I had to help me on networking I was able to complete all the tasks to distinction level. Learning more about networking by using the internet and other resources has turned this weakness into strength and could help me in future tasks that are related to networking.

How I have improved after both the units

As mentioned earlier I have gained a lot more knowledge on subjects during the unit that I used to really struggle on. I have spent a lot of time learning about networking which was my biggest problem, during my spare time I have looked at examples of different networks to try and get a better understanding of networks. I am now able to create a network diagram with little help as part of the task that we were set to do unit 9.

As for components for a network, I was not able to name many components in a network. I have studies different components in a network which has resulted in me being able to become a lot better at it. I am now able to name and give an explanation on many different components for a network and I know where they need to be placed and how they work.

I struggled to understand the meaning of software utilities for a while until I started to research it up on the computer. I now know a range of different software utilities such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher. I am now a lot more confident when it comes to understanding and naming different software utilities.B - Blogger

Create a blogger account called “<<Your Name>> Btec Level 3 Unit 1 PDP” and enter the details below so that you don’t forget your credentials.

User Name
Password
Blogger Address	http://armthorpelewisit.blogspot.co.uk/

Information Technology- Unit 1- Blog

Information Technology

Activity Log

Colour Cards: For this activity you had to pick the coloured cards that suited your personality the best. There were four different coloured types of cards laying on the table all mixed together, we had to go up to the table and pick the cards with the statements that suited us best. For example, one of them could be green and say you are a hard worker were as another one could be red and say you are laid back and remain relaxed in stressful situations. At the end you had to look at the cards you got and see how many of the same colour you had, for example I could have had three green and two yellow which showed I am a green type of person because the statements suites me the best. When I did the activity I ended up with mostly red cards this showed that I was a relaxed and laid back sort of person that is friendly and remains calm during stressful situation as well as helping others. I have to agree with the end result as I thought it was very true and accurate. The cards summed me up within a few words and told me exactly what kind of person I am.    

Task 1- Leaflet: Need to finish Leaflet- I had to create a leaflet for In The Know which is a recruitment agency telling people about employment in the IT sector. In the Leaflet I included information about different job roles that are IT related. As well as information on the Specific and General Attributes, also the attitudes. I mainly used types of blue for my colour scheme as it looked very good when I tried it out, I used the combination of mainly blues and black to create a very good leaflet overall. I even came up with my own slogan “We know what you need to know” which I thought was very creative and suited well with the rest of the work. I didn’t spend too much time decorating as I would of probably ran out of time, so in the end I kept decoration to a minimum. It took me about 3 to 4 lessons to fully complete the leaflet as well as a bit of work in my own time. I didn’t encounter many problems apart from one big one; I was having problems with my log in for the schools computers and it deleted my progress so far. I had done about two lessons worth of work and was not far away from finishing it before it got deleted so I was quite annoyed. But in the end I managed to get it done and moved onto the next task.   

Task 2- Leaflet 2: I created an add on from the leaflet I did from task 1. I was asked to create a second leaflet or like an add on from the first leaflet which gives…

-          Two examples of general skills

-          Two examples of interpersonal skills

-          Two examples of written communication

I worked quite well during the course of the lesson and I managed to get a lot of the work done and finish not far behind of everybody else. There were no problems apart from the computer problems that I had during the course of task 1, as I was still having trouble with my login and got rid of the work I had done. I had to start it again therefor making me behind other people in my class which was quite frustrating and I found it hard to catch back up again, but I managed in the end. Like in task 1 the decoration remained pretty much the same as I didn’t want to spend all my time on fancy decoration. As content was more important than decoration I kept it to a minimum and only put a blue border around my work as it then matches in with task 2 and follows the colour scheme I have created, therefor looking like one nice piece of work.

Task 3- Presentation: At first I was quite nervous about doing the group presentation as I could not help but thinking I was going to get it wrong and mess up. After the presentation went under way I found myself to be very good at it, I used a nice tone and I used a loud voice to make myself heard and engage the audience. My nerves went when I got started as it was a huge success; the best part of it all was the positive feedback we got as a group from the teacher, as I was not expecting that at all. All of us as a group did very well in the end and we prepared ourselves well for the presentation which played a big part in our success. Not just me but the rest of the group also did very well with no spluttering and mistakes in the PowerPoint, everything went right according to the plan we came up with and everybody tried there best during the presentation resulting in it being very successful overall. The presentation consists of around six or seven slides so we had two slides each that we had to read out, the slides were packed full of information so there was lots to read out as part of the presentation. Overall me and my group did very well as we were clear when we spoke, we looked at the camera and the audience there for engaging them and we did well overall.

Task 4- Report: I created a report explaining the mechanism’s that can be put in place to reduce the impact of communication barriers. The first paragraph is a brief introduction to what a Communication Barrier is and some examples. After that I move onto the different barriers to Communication and my first barrier is Background noise. This first barrier is all about how the noise of other people can disrupt the work you are doing and distract you, I mention things like how it can distract you, interfere with meetings and more. The next barrier I chose to write about was distractions, it’s hard to work when some people are doing something that makes a high level of noise making it harder to concentrate. I included how distractions could put people of what they are doing, how it could affect the quality of the work they produce and how to reduce the amount of distractions that could distract you and other people. These were some of the main barriers I wrote about; the others were Lack of concentration, Physical abilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulty and written Communication. At the end I gave some solutions on how to overcome the barriers, I went into detail on laws that have been put in place to reduce these barriers such as laws against racism. I have also talked about if you are receiving abuse and racism in a working environment and what would be the best solution.     

Task 5- Self-evaluation- For this task, I had to watch our presentation that we did for task 3 and evaluate each member of the group and see how well we performed. I paid special attention to myself as that was what I had to go into detail the most, after I watched James Muskett and Oliver Madden, I then evaluated them and wrote down how I think they did. For myself I talked about how I kept eye contact with the audience and the camera and also how I engaged them through the course of the presentation. I also mentioned how clear I thought I was while speaking and how well I got on in general through the presentation. I basically wrote the same for the other two members in the group, about how they looked at the camera and the audience as they both did this very well and how they got on in general. I also went into detail on the areas of improvement for next time for me and for the rest of the group. After going over the positives and negatives of the performance we did I did an overall view on how we did as a group plus including how well we worked together to put on a very good presentation that proved to be very effective towards the audience.

Task 6- Blog- I have created an e-mail blog to make people aware of the dangers from the internet and what can happen if you don’t have the right protection on your computer to avoid and destroy viruses. The first thing I wrote about was to explain how three useful communication techniques work which were signature, cc and reply to all, I then went into detail on each of the techniques while talking about the advantages and disadvantages of each one. At the end I talked about a Trojan horse and the damage that they are capable of doing to your computer. Then some advice about how to protect your computer from virus and Trojan horse to save you from getting a virus on your computer, I have also stated that you should never open an e-mail attachment from somebody you don’t know as it could either be something harmless or release a computer virus when activated. The task went very and it was all completed before the due date which is always what I am aim to do. Everything went according to plan.

Task 7- Different Learning Styles- I have created a document which gives information about the different learning styles, these learning styles are…

-          Active Learners

-          Sensory Learners

-          Intuitive Learners

-          Visual Learners

-          Sequential Learners

-          Global Learners

I have gone into detail on each of the different learning styles and have said what they can and can’t do, how they operate and how they prefer to learn. This task has really opened up my eyes to the many different learning styles that people can be and it was very interesting to research and learn all about them. Each person with a different learning style share similarities and has differences with each other as some people learn by listening and other people learn by watching, some people happen to be good at problem solving where as other aren’t.