The final semester is here and my time on HND Interactive Media course will be over in the blink of an eye. With only the final few assignments to complete my focus will now turn to future employment and gaining the skills which I will require for a career with the web industry.

SMLP
The SMLP (Self Managed Learning Plan) is a very important part of the final semester. For this assignment I have chosen to learn PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) as I feel that this is a key employability skill.

Learning PHP will allow me to expand my search further as I seek employment and add another ‘string to my bow’. My previous experience with PHP is very limited but it has given me a thirst to learn more. Creating dynamic websites that are easy to maintain and are able to interact with the user are becoming commonplace, especially with the increasing popularity of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).

The main aspect of the self managed learning plan is that it is ‘self managed’. Planning and executing an entire assignment with no outside help is a daunting prospect but something I am looking forward to.

Over the course my time management has increased dramatically but I feel that this assignment will have the most effect on it. During the assignment I will have to plan every detail to ensure that I don’t spend too much time on a single area as there will be no-one to ensure I don’t fall behind.

Portfolio
Designing my portfolio is going to be a very key task. My portfolio will need to be flexible and easy to adapt to any situation such as applying for a new job. I am looking forward to this project as it will allow me to create a professional portfolio and give me a place to showcase my work.

Final presentation
With the final presentation just around the corner I am both nervous and excited. The final presentation will be the last thing I do on this course and as presentations are not really my strong point it brings with a certain amount of stress.

With content of the presentation being the work I have created over the last two years on the course I plan to use my portfolio as my visual aids. Depending on the layout of my final portfolio I may decide to create a separate section of the website specifically designed for the presentation.

This will help me organise the presentation and help me with my timing as this has been one of my problems with previous presentations.

Employment
After this course I hope to gain employment as a web developer. Although I am aware that due to the current economic state it may be very difficult to find a full time job I feel that spending another two or more years in education will be of no real benefit to me as the thing I really need is real world experience.

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• Php.net
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• All the latest PHP news and a complete functions list. It also contain numerous links to other PHP resource sites.
  
• http://www.php.net/
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• Sitepoint.com
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• Contains numbers PHP tutorials covering various subjects. It also contains a PHP blog which features articles from professional web developers regarding the latest PHP news and developments.
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• http://www.sitepoint.com
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• w3schools.com
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• W3Schools has an extensive list tutorials segregated into basic, advanced, database and XML.
  
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• http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asp
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• Planet PHP
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• Contains an extremely large list of PHP related blogs. Contains links to each blog and also the latest posts from each one on the main page.
  


• http://www.planet-php.net/
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• Tizag
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• Extensive list of PHP tutorials over various topics. There is also an active forum that could be used to get help or information.
  


• http://www.tizag.com/phpT/
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• PHP Solutions, Dynamic Web Design Made Easy - By David Powers
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• This book goes through step by step instructions for adding dynamic content such as: feedback forms, online galleries etc...
  
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• Sample available at Google books
  


• PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites
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• This book provides detailed instructions for various PHP tasks and how to use it in conjunction with MYSQL databases
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• PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites - Larry Ullman
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• Developertutorials
  
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• Another tutorial website that offers a wide range of information for varying degrees of difficulty.
  
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• http://www.developertutorials.com/tutorials/php/
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• PHP Builder
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• A 9000+ community of PHP beginners to enthusiasts. This website offers articles and a code library.
  
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• http://www.phpbuilder.com/
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• Good PHP tutorials
  
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• A relatively new PHP tutorial site that is continually expanding with new tutorials and members.
  
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• http://www.goodphptutorials.com/

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is one of the most widely supported server side scripting language. It is powerful language that is most commonly used to create dynamic websites and it can also be used to create CMS (Content Management Systems).

I have been using this language to manipulate and configure the ZenPhoto CMS, we are using for the National Diploma project within the A11 assignment.

Due to studying programming on my last course I am familiar with some aspects of the language. I can create IF statements, Loops etc… but I feel my current knowledge of the language is very limited. I want to learn how create more dynamic websites and have the ability to understand

From looking at numerous job sites and reading many job adverts I have found that using PHP alongside MySQL databases is a necessary skill to have, within the interactive media industry.

During my time on the SMLP (Self Managed Learning Project) assignment I hope to gain a large amount of knowledge of both these subjects and the relationship between them as many employees are looking for skills in this area.

With the popularity of Wordpress increasingly PHP is also a useful language to know as it can be used to create plugins. It is also used by many other CMS’s and blogging software so I would be able to use and edit these with very little training.

In conclusion I think that learning PHP is essential for any web developer as it is a skill required by a large number of employees. Learning PHP will also provide me with a solid foundation for learning future programming languages such as: Ruby on Rails etc… and how they are related to databases.

Sumer assignment
During the summer I found it quite difficult to maintain the same amount of discipline I normally have with the assignments.

This meant that I was doing work as and when I could. With this method I found a lack of consistency crept in my work.

Due to this I referred the assignment. This wasn’t the best start to the year but I helped me to see what things I needed to improve.

A9 – Outside the box
The CSS(Cascading StyleSheets) assignment with John was a lot different than I expected. This was mainly due to the introduction of the test instead of creating a page for CSS Beauty.

Already having a good knowledge of CSS I felt confident about the assignment but there is something about tests that always make me nervous. Having the practice test really helped me to understand exactly what was required, for the real thing, and what improvements I needed to make.

Overall I enjoyed this assignment and although I attained a Merit I feel that I let myself. I could have gained a Distinction had I annotated more of my sketchbook work and provided more evidence of me practicing with different CSS techniques.

A11 On the Job
The A11 assignment I have enjoyed the most out of all the assignment over the length of the course. I feel the team, blu-box creative, is working really well together.

Having most of the work finished for both of our current projects the pressure is off slightly and it is just a matter of making sure we don’t get complacent and not get the work finished.

With my roles as a developer I have learnt a great deal about CMS’s (Content Management Systems) and how to choose the correct one for the job. With this knowledge I am looking forward to the A13 assignment, Content Is King, after Christmas.

I also found the usability testing really interesting. This gave me a chance to see how other people will be using the websites we have created and possible problems they may encounter.

A12 – Culture Vulture
This is a really interesting assignment. Having to create idea after idea for an unknown product is really mentally draining. Having a selection of pens, crayons, pencils etc... has really helped me.

The presentation for this assignment was something I was hoping to use to give me more confidence for future presentations. With the presentation only lasting 5 minutes I felt disappointed.

I had planned to present for around 7 minutes and I had achieved this in nearly all of my practices. When the actual presentation came around I let nerves get the better of me and I rushed.

This is something I going to work on in future presentations as I won’t be long until it’s time for the final presentation.

Conclusion
Overall the start of the second year has been really good and I have enjoyed all the assignments and I have especially enjoyed working for professional clients.

Soft skills are essential within the world of work. Being able to communicate effectivly, manage your time, working within a team etc… are skills every employer expects.

The role of creative professional is to be a problem solver. Finding solutions to the problem, outlined in the brief, is an essential. Once and idea can been developed it needs to be communicated in a clear and concise manner.

Part of this process is correctly interpreting the brief which the client has given you. Often there is only one opportunity to gain all the required information for the project. Gathering the correct information during this session will make for a better understanding of the problem and inevitably a more suitable solution.

This normally happens in the form of a pitch or presentation. Presenting in a well formed and structured manner, whilst sticking to a set time limit, will ensure that the client gains all the relevant information about your design.

This goes hand-in-hand with time management. Making the most of your time will help ensure that deadlines are met and, where possible, with time to spare for any last minute changes / amendments.

Currently I feel I have all of these skills but not at a level required for full time employment. Over the remaining duration of the course I need to work on these skills in order to be properly prepared for the workplace.

In particular my communication and presentation skills need to be improved. Conveying my ideas in a way that can be understood by someone with little or no technical knowledge is essential.

Although my time management skills have improved a great deal during the course I need to continue to improve them. Doing this will allow me to get more work done in a shorter amount of time which will give me more time to carry out research.

Job post link: http://jobboard.geekup.org/jobs/2008/aug/28/xhtml_genius/

The requirements of the job are: "... a reasonably experienced XHTML/CSS developer to either join the team permanently or work freelance..."

Although the advert is slightly vague in specifying the level of experience they would be looking for from a potential employer I feel that my knowledge of XHTML and CSS will be of a high enough level by the end of the course.

The job mentions "...experience using JavaScript and the JQuery library would be and advantage...". Although this is not necessarily required for the job I feel that improving my basic skills using JavaScript would benefit me in the future and add another string to my bow.

When looking at the website of the LOVE Creative I was a little shocked be greeted by the message "Created in PowerPoint". After my initial reservation I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the work which the company has done and the calibre of the clients which they have worked with.

After researching similar jobs to this I found that PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) was a very popular requirement. During this year of the course I plan to learn as much as I can about PHP as this will help me when I am looking to gain employment.

Another aspect I think will help me, when seeking employment, is learning and using a number of CMS management systems. CMS's are gaining much more popularity as many people want to be able to update there website whenever they want.

I feel that this job would help me to gain a large amount of professional experience. This would help to me to build up a portfolio of work that will enable me to progress to a higher level, whether that would be internally or externally.

During the second of my studies, on the HND Interactive Media course, I hope to improve both my designing and coding skills to a very high standard.

I feel my current knowledge of XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is of a reasonable standard and will provide a good platform for me to build on over the year.

As well XHTML and CSS I want to learn as much as I can about PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) and I plan to do this during the SMLP (Self Managed Learning Plan) assignment.

The SMLP will require me to manage my own time and dictate the pace of my learning. Managing my time and using it as effectively as possible is a skill which will benefit a great deal in the future.

Another assignment I am really looking forward to this year is A13 Content Is King as this involves learning about CMS’s (Content Management Systems).

After using a few CMS’s, such as: Textpattern, Drupal, Joomla etc…, over the holiday break I have become really interested in CMS’s and how they can be used to make flexible and easy to manage websites.

As well as improving my technical knowledge on these subjects I also hope to gain some real world experience as this is will be invaluable when seeking employment after the course.

After the course I hope to gain employment with a design agency as a web developer. This will allow me to use my current skills as a web developer and also satisfy my needs for learning and using new web technologies and languages.

In summary I plan to use this year on the course to gain as much experience as possible and also to gain as many skills as possible that will make me more employable.