My Experience of the Computing Course - Personal Development Plan

My Experience of the Computing Course

I feel that while some aspects of the course are quite enjoyable, others could use some improvement. To start with, I shall focus on the positive aspects of the course, followed by the neutral, finishing off with the negative. The things I like about this course are:

1. The students and staff, for the most part, are very kind and helpful. They help to quench my thirst for knowledge and make the subjects interesting.
   
2. I have a no less than brilliant Learning Support Assistant to help me through difficult periods of work.
   
3. The module ‘Computer Systems’ is quite practical and I learn a great deal of interesting material in it.
   

Now I shall focus on the things that are neither positive nor negative, but still pose useful:

1. The module ‘Design Principles’, while not entertaining, is still intellectually stimulating. I can see its contents proving to be useful in the future. The same would apply to the module ‘Learning and Skills Development for HE and Work’.
   
2. The module ‘Coding Concepts’ can prove useful to students who have not yet touched upon programming. I myself enjoy programming quite a lot.
   

Finally, I shall focus on the aspects of the course that are downright negative, and even possibly useless:

1. The equipment malfunctions constantly and doesn’t work properly. The Student Home Drive, or ‘H’ Drive being a prime example.
   
2. The rooms where lectures take place sometimes shift without notice.
   
3. The module ‘Coding Concepts’ has a number of things that degrade its usefulness and make it harder than it needs to be. For starters, it uses proprietary software that costs a great deal, when there are free equivalents available. Secondly, for me, it takes the fun out of programming. Thirdly, some of the exercises are quite difficult to grasp because they are not explained in a clear and logical format.

Personal Tutor’s Comments

I’m pleased that Stefan is making a good progress in his first semester of university education, enjoying most of the modules offered on the course. The technical issues mentioned here will be passed on to the management in the department.

Literature Review - Academic Report

There is a body of opinion that states that violent video games can influence real-world violence. This is backed up by Anderson (2003) and CBS News (2005). However, even if they agree on the common concept, they disagree on the specifics. CBS News (2005) says that violent video games are more impressionable on teenagers as opposed to adults, because teenagers’ brains are still developing, but Anderson (2003) states that everyone can be equally affected by violent video games. Anderson (2003) also states that even unrealistic and fantasy violence in video games can also cause people to have increased levels of aggression.

There is also a body of opinion that holds an opposite viewpoint. The Technology Liberation Front (2008) points out that there are problems with the way the press report and investigate the subject of the relationship between violent video games and violence in reality, thereby discrediting the report. Ferguson, C.J. (2007 cited in Texas A&M International University, 2007, 2008) says that there is little or no relationship between violent video games and aggression. He states that “any link between video games and aggression is best explained by “third” variables like family environment or innate aggression.” He also says violent video games may have a number of benefits, including improving hand-eye coordination, being “good vehicles for some kids of education information”, among other things.

References

Anderson, C.A., 2003. Violent video games: myths, facts, and unanswered questions. Psychological Science Agenda, [Online]. 16 (5),
Available at: http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html
[Accessed 16 October 2009].

CBS News, 2005. Can a video game lead to murder? [Online] (Updated 19 June 2005)
Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/17/60minutes/main702599.shtml
[Accessed 19 October 2009].

The Technology Liberation Front, 2008. Video games, violence, & social “science”: another day, another fight. [Online] (Updated 3 November 2008)
Available at: http://techliberation.com/2008/11/03/video-games-violence-social-science-another-day-another-fight/
[Accessed 19 October 2009].

Texas A&M International University, 2007. TAMIU study finds positive results in playing violent video games. [Online] (Updated 16 November 2007)
Available at: http://www.tamiu.edu/newsinfo/11-16-07/article5.shtml
[Accessed 19 October 2009].

Texas A&M International University, 2008. Study by TAMIU professor finds no link between violent video games and aggression. [Online] (Updated 27 March 2008)
Available at: http://www.tamiu.edu/newsinfo/3-27-08/article13.shtml
[Accessed 19 October 2009].

Reflection of my Learning Style - Personal Development Plan

To find out my specific learning style, I completed the VARK questionnaire. The results I got were this:

Visual - 4

Aural/Auditory - 3

Read/Write - 7

Kinaesthetic - 9

According to these results, my strongest learning style is Kinaesthetic. I agree that I fit into the Kinaesthetic learning style because I prefer to learn through practical work instead of theoretical work. I prefer to engage with practical activities and do things rather than write essays or make notes about subjects.

My weakest learning style seems to be Aural/Auditory. I agree with this wholeheartedly because I do not like to listen to someone talk about a particular subject for hours on end. It can be incredibly boring. I also have trouble taking notes when someone's talking because then I miss out on what they are saying while I am writing down notes on what they previously said. I am not currently sure how I will overcome this detriment, but I hope to learn how to do so in the future.

Reflection of my Learning Experiences - Personal Development Plan

In my life, my biggest learning experiences have been how to adjust and take advantage of my condition, which is High Functioning Autism. From a young age, my parents have taught me that Autism, and similar conditions, are nothing to be ashamed of. Thanks to them, I learnt that Autism could bring many benefits to my life, and it did. They did a number of things to help me in life, such as:

• When I was really young, my parents had to use regular visual and kinaesthetic stimuli to teach me the most basic things. For example, to learn the meaning of 'under', my parents constantly took me under the bed and to teach me the meaning of the word 'except', everyone would leave the room except for one person.
• They told me that I had Autism at an early age, instead of hiding the fact and pretending that nothing was there, like other parents.

Like anything in life, Autism has advantages and disadvantages. Below is a list of the advantages and disadvantages that Autism has brought me:

Advantages

• I was able to drop out of certain subjects in secondary school that I didn't find very interesting. These include Religious Education (left in Year 7), History (left in Year 7), Art (left in Year 7) and German (left after Year 8).
• If I was interested in a subject, I would concentrate on it so much it would border on obsessiveness. This enabled me to succeed in that particular subject. However, this could also be disadvantageous, because I might fly off at a tangent.
• I was able to meet great people throughout the years of my life.

Disadvantages

• I had trouble socialising with people.
• I've always had trouble keeping on task. I can be very easily distracted.
• If I wasn't interested in a subject, I didn't see the point in doing it and so it was very difficult for people to convince me to do the work that the subject required.

Apparently, in secondary school I changed the perceptions of special needs in a number of teachers.

Autism has been a major part of my life and it always will be, but I have always thought that Autism has made my life better, not worse.

My Personal Mentor - Personal Development Plan

My personal mentor is my mum. She is a good mentor because she is encouraging, patient, helpful, kind and always helps me out whenever she can.

The benefits she would bring to me would be:

• Constructive criticism and feedback on my work.
• Helpful advice and encouragement.
• Would help me achieve my goals.
• Assist me in developing my independence.

Most importantly, she would always be there for me.

SWOT Analysis - Personal Development Plan

Strengths

• I have a passion and an interest in Computing, Programming and Web Development.
• I have prior experience in Computing, Programming and Web Development.

Weaknesses

• I am not good at giving presentations.
• I am not good at writing essays.
• I have a tendency to go off at a tangent.
• I am easily distracted.

Oppertunities

• I can gain more knowledge.
• I will have structure and routine in my life for the next three years.
• I can use the skills that I learn to improve my business.

Threats

• The module for 'Learning and Skills Development for HE and Work'.
• The eventual massive amounts of work that I will have to do.

My Personal Learning Line - Personal Development Plan

Previous Learning Experiences

• Primary School - General Studies
• Secondary School - General Studies
• The S.T.C Chronicle - Experience in Journalism and Newspaper Managment
• College - Experience in Film and TV Production, including: video and audio editing, script writing, boom microphone managment and directing.
• College Newspaper - Experience in Journalism and Basic Accounting
  

Current Learning Experiences

• Imagination Highway - Experience in Business and Website Development & Design
• University - Experience in Computing and Writing Academic Reports
• The New Barn - Experience in Djaying and Bar Serving.