Steven Lord's Blog - Bedford College - 145578

Hey There,

The start of my second semester began around 2 weeks ago. I had a nice break at half-term and I am now back to being focussed on suceeding at college, and fulfilling my dreams.

Birmingham Uni
I recently took a trip with the college to Birmingham University. This trip was made available to the students who are on the bursary scheme and gave them all a chance to visit a top 15 university. Going on this trip, opened my eyes a little and gave me a few more options as to where i would like to go in the future, and what courses are available. The university itself was fantastic, its grounds where enormous and there was a general vibe around the campus that I really enjoyed. I would definately consider applying there, if they run a course that appeals to me.

Units
I have recently completed Unit 27, and the first part of Unit 2. By completing these, I am now well on my way of finishing the course and I am taking my first stepping stones into completing all of the units. Even though, as I mentioned previously, I struggling with Networking and found it hard to grasp, I put a lot of effort into the assignment that was set. I have achieved a Distinction which I am very proud of, considering I could not take in the information as well as I have done with other units. This grade is the highest I could possibly get and now puts me well on track of achieving 340 UCAS points and an overall grade of DDD.

Peer Mentoring
Due to my hard efforts in all my subjects, I have been put forward to run an evening session with a few other people that also study Computing. This evening session involves putting students back on track with their academic studies, and trying to make them see positively instead of negatively. Although I was not comfortable with the idea of me mentoring students the same age as me, and potentially my friends, I looked at it from the point of view that because they are my friends, I would want to help them learn and perform better. This will take place next year, and I will recieve adequat traning to perform this. I have been offered some bonuses for doing this such as vouchers, a covering letter to send with my CV when applying for future jobs and the chance to meet new people.

Although I was extremely withdrawn at first, and kept myself to myself around college, I am now beginning to express myself as my confidence grows. I tend to see the same faces everyday and so I am beginning to make good friends and work colleagues. The start of semester two has been good for me, and I am working hard at achieving the best grade possible. I am currently working on a presentation about the formula 1 team Mclaren Mercedes, and I hope the my efforts are rewarded with the best grade possible.

Thankyou for taking the time to read this post
SML

Overview:
In the past few weeks I have extended my knowledge of the I.T industry and the subjects that are included. I have begun to understand more about networking and the hardware side of I.T, also the security and how it can affect a business. I have always enjoyed the software side of the course with web-design and programming. I feel that I have a natural talent for that and I really am fascinated in seeing how it all works.

Strand Choices:
We were asked before January to decide which strand we would like to go down for the rest of our college period. The choices were hardware and software and I chose Software. My reasons for this are because I would like to know more about website design and scripting. This was a hard choice for me because I am beginning to understand hardware now and I felt like I could benefit from that as well.

Review Week:
Next week is review week for the college. This is a chance to get caught up on any outstanding work. Although I felt that I was up to date with the work, I clearly wasn’t as it feels like I have so much to do before that deadline. I know I will catch up and be up to date but I would also like to have that week off as if you are up to date that is the bonus. I have learnt from this for the future as the next time we have a chance to get review week, which is at the end of each semester, I will be up to date and so there will be no work for me to do.

Colleagues:
My relationships with my college friends are improving constantly, we are beginning to properly get to know each other and it is strange as we are constantly thinking the same things. Although it has only been like 4 months it feels like 4 years! Lots of people are beginning to slack in my class and I am pleased that my group of friends are up to date and so we can just relax whilst the rest work really hard because they have to have it completed by next week.

Future:
I will continue to progress and extend my knowledge throughout my college period. I am aiming to get DDD (distinction) on my report at the end and so this is a good goal for me because it will keep me working hard. I have been thinking about my future inside college and where I would like to go after I have completed this course. We have a trip to a top university coming up soon and so I hope this will aid me in my choice. This trip is targeted for bursary students only. To be on the bursary policy you must have achieved 5 A* - C’s at GCSE level. I am really looking forward to going as I will be amongst my own kind and it will really give me a chance to consider if I would like to do that in the future.

After my previous post I have continued to learn and expand my skills at Bedford College. My confidence has improved whilst inside the lessons and I am starting to believe that I can achieve the distinction criterion in most of the Units that are being set. This will help me in the future, if I decide to apply for universities after my 2 years as I will achieve more UCAS points for achieving the higher grades.

Inside the lessons I have been expanding my knowledge and learning new aspects of the I.T industry.

--The Units--

I recently have learnt how to validate databases in Microsoft access. This will not only help me inside that lesson but it is a necessity for most business when organising their data and files. By validating I can make sure that only certain entries can be entered into the database to keep it neat and tidy. This will also help me if I needed to filter out any information. Most companies are looking for when hiring staff the key skills to do with I.T such as Microsoft Access, Excel and Word. I am currently completing an assignment task for Advanced Database Skills.

Inside Networking, not my strongest point, I have been improving my confidence and because I am more relaxed in the lessons I am taking in the information a lot easier and beginning to understand the logistics to it. Although networking does not come easily to me and I have to work harder to understand, I am actually performing extremely well and passing all of the CISCO test that are being set. We have completed a few tasks of the assignment and are being set some more for over the Christmas Period.

Inside Organisational Security Systems I had to produce a presentation to the class about the different types of attacks and how to prevent them. I used a fairly simple slide and used small prompts to guide me in my presentation. After watching others before my turn I learnt how people react to being under pressure. So people who presented theirs went extremely quiet and would not face the audience. Others excelled and were really clear and presented a good presentation. I learnt from this that different people have different confidence levels and it is the people who are confident that can handle that type of situation. I learnt by using good images and actually engaging the audience it kept them interested and focussed. As soon as you turn away and practically talk to the wall they lose interest and this then makes you more nervous.

--Personal Reflections--

I am currently still enjoying my time at Bedford College and find that I have more of an urgency to learn. This is different from in the past because I was more relaxed about my education and slacked a little bit. I’m currently finding it hard to concentrate in the lessons as mentioned previously in my posts because some students are taking the approach that I had in the past. They are not concentrating and being fairy childish – which is affecting the class. I have learnt from seeing this how maybe I in the past have affected the learning of others. It’s only now that I am being affected that I realise how frustrating and annoying it is. It’s only when it happens to you that you can understand how it feels and can reflect on it. I am also still learning from others and improving my personal development by watching how people react in different situations. The presentations that we did in Security Systems opened my mind up to the fact that people are extremely different and cannot cope with certain situations. I am also learning about how to go about my work and structuring it because that is not a strong point of mine,

My personal development in College is still improving. I am continuing to use my Calendar which I have set up now on Windows Live Calendar. I switched from Google because with this you can add a “To Do List.” I felt that this would be better because then I can have a structured plan for the day as well as the deadlines that have been set.

--The Next steps--

We recently have been asked to choose which strand choice we would like to go down after Christmas. The choices were Software and Networking. I have decided to choose Software at the moment; it is only a provisional choice so the College can sort out roughly what numbers they are going to have. I chose this because I feel that this is more of a natural talent/skill to me. Although in Networking I am performing well, I feel that if it becomes harder I may not do as well as I could because it is not a natural Skill of mine. Networking interests me because I am fascinated by how it all works and why we need it but Software contains the Units that I am most enjoying and what I would possibly like to go down in the future. I really enjoy Web-Design and this is what I would most like to do (Software).

--Overall--

Overall I am enjoying Bedford College and want to continue learning here. Although I am not sure if I would like to go down the I.T industry route afterwards, I feel that if I can do the best I can, it will open up more options for me.

Thanks

SML

In the 8 weeks that I have been at Bedford College I have learnt many things and progressed, personally, extremely quickly. I have, so far, thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bedford College and I hope that it continues. I would like to talk to you in this Blog about some of the things that I have learnt during my time here at Bedford College.

I am studying for 2 years a National Diploma for I.T Practitioners, Level 3 course. The course units are:

• Organisational Security Systems
• Key Skills
• Advanced Database Skills
• Computer Systems
• Communications and Employability Skills for I.T
• Principles Of Software Design and Development
• Website Production and Management
• Networking Basics/Principles

Introduction Week:

In the first week whilst everybody was settling in and beginning to form relationships we studied a small area called C.L.A.I.T. This was, as we were told, a new addition to the course in which they felt would benefit us. Instead of doing basic computing whilst they gained our level of ability, the college decided to include a recognised certificate to start us off with an achievement.C.L.A.I.T – is a nationally recognised achievement in Computing Literacy and Information Technology. This includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access.

Whilst studying this I learnt immediately how hard college work at a “Level 3 Diploma” would be. Although most would reject this and be frightened of it, I found that it was an immediate spur to work hard and achieve the best I could. I thought that the idea of doing this extra qualification was fantastic as it allowed us to feel a sense of achievement and progression. Also if somebody decided the course wasn’t for them after the first few weeks, they still would have some qualifications from it.

8 weeks gone (My first impressions):

Although I personally find making friends fairly easy, going to college was still another challenge. Some are not comfortable talking to new people whereas others excel at it. On the first day I was lucky to already know 4 people that were at the college and so I was amongst friends. I learnt from this and by watching other people how different people react to different situations and the different types of characters that are also at college. I am very judgemental and strive on my instincts. I am a firm believer in the saying:

“It takes a maximum of 15 seconds to form an opinion of somebody; however it may not be the correct one.”

Although I am often right in my opinions, I can also be very wrong as well. This can be positive or negative thing.

One of the few downsides to going to Bedford College is that it is extremely far to travel. I live in Milton Keynes and have to get up at Quarter to Six in the morning to then sit on a bus for an hour and half whilst we queue up in the traffic. Although this is not so bad because I can have fun with the people who get on the bus, it has made me very tired constantly. I am not used to getting up early but I am slowly becoming better at it, and in fact, starting to enjoy it. This has taught me that you are more willing to do something if you want it. I could not see myself getting up in the mornings if I was not enjoying College.

Whilst during lessons, I have been working hard and trying to gain my best grade I can possibly achieve. I was very surprised to see the different attitudes towards college that people possessed. Although most want to learn, I found that some are not too fussed if they are there or not. I personally see it as a gift that I am capable of going to a good college and learning a good level course, and want to make the most of that. These attitudes of some people have caused tutors to occasionally punish the whole class which in my opinion is not very fair. Although they need to show a level of authority, some of the students clearly have no respect for the tutor at all and so I feel they should just be told to leave.

Overall my first impressions of the college are extremely good and the students who I am working with are a relaxed and friendly. Although I wish that I was closer to the college to save me getting up so early, I am very pleased to be there.

The Units I am Studying at College.

I am finding the lessons respectively easy going and taking them in my stride. I am beginning to work out what route I would like to take when we have to decide at the end of December. Going to College has taught me not to put “all your eggs in one basket” as I have found that after doing a variety of units, the route in which I was hoping to take will not be the best one for me.

The lessons I am struggling most with are Networking Basics/Principles and Computer Systems. Unlike some others, before college I had not qualifications in I.T and purely took it because I was interested. Because these two lessons are the most technical and you need to know lots of abbreviations and technicality, it is a lot to grasp.

Because I am not very organised and after speaking to a friend in College, I decided to set up a “Google Calendar.” By doing this it allows me to organise any information that is given to me and set reminders that will be sent by email. This is so I do not forget any deadlines and can be up to date. It also allows me to plan my social life and any other events. It is slowly teaching me to become more organised and plan ahead.

I most enjoy the unit, Website Production and Management. I have always had an interest in this subject and like to create and design my own websites. This has taught me that you enjoy subjects more if you can fully understand them and that when you are not quite sure it can almost lead you to fearing a certain topic.

My Progression

Overall I have progressed at matured rapidly in the first 8 weeks of College. I have learnt how to react to certain situations and how others react. I have learnt more about myself and how I am unorganised. I acted on this by setting up a Google Calendar which has helped me overcome this. I am looking forward to the rest of my time at Bedford College.

Thanks
SML