BTEC Extended Diploma in ITSoftware Development

Graphics Stream

Year 2Course Guide

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything

new."

Contents

Page

Introduction to study skills 2

Note taking 6 Proof reading and spell checking 9 Standard ways of working 10 Summarising 12 Grade checker 14 Cover letter sample 15 CV Writing 16 Personal profile

18 Personal profile sample

20 Action plans 22

Course handbook Page 1

Introduction to Study and Study habitsWelcome to the Burnley College Study Skills Guide.The information, tips, advice and activities contained here are aimed at:· Those new to study· Students with a little experience· Anyone who feels that their studies are perhaps not developing as wellas they expected.

What are Study Skills?You have study skills in some form already, even if you are unaware of it at the moment. In general terms they are the skills which help you:

Find information; Think about new information; Connect this with old information Use or apply what you have learned.

Why are these skills important?A large part of becoming a successful student is based on developing good study skills. Effective study means more than having a good memory, it means:· Getting organised;· Doing today instead of putting off until tomorrow;· Using your time productively;· Knowing where to find information;· Knowing how to use what you find and then how to present your information

Remember:There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ ways to study - each individual will use different ways to complete their work. These methods will sometimes give successful results, and sometimes not.It is up to you to find out which ways of studying work the best for you.

Have a go at completing the ---------

‘Study Habits QuestionnaireActivityRead the following questions and mark your response.2 = Yes x = No ? = sometimes

Course handbook Page 2

Do not compare yourself to some kind of ideal student - they do not exist! Think about the best you yourself can achieve. This means that you will be able to set realistic targets for yourself.

Attitudes and approaches to study1. Do you keep an aim in mind when studying?

2. Is the energy you put into your studies matched by the results you achieve?

3. Do you find it enjoyable to study?

4. Are you satisfied with your study habits?

Concentration1. Do you find it difficult to make a start on your work?

2. Are you easily distracted from your studies?

Organisation

1. Do you know at what time of the day you work best?

2. Do you set aside regular times for study each week?

3. Do you spread your study periods over the week?

4. Do you tackle the most important tasks first?

5. Do you take planned breaks?

6. Do you keep up to date with homework assignments?

7. Do you divide your time appropriately between your different subjects?

8. Have you got somewhere convenient to study?

9. Do you waste time looking for pens and equipment, notes and files?

Psychology of Study

1. Do you reward yourself after finishing a task?

2. Do you know something about how learning happens?

Course handbook Page 3

3. Do you understand how memory works?

Libraries

1. Do you understand how a library works?

2. Are you aware of all the services a library can offer you?

3. Can you find information quickly?

Reading and books

1. Do you do any background reading for your subjects?

2. Do you find it takes you a long time to read a recommended book?

3. Do you read every book in exactly the same way?

4. Do you understand how to use a dictionary and thesaurus properly?

Notes

1. Are your notes easy to understand?

2. Are your notes easy to revise from?

3. Are they well organised?

Assignments and Essays

1. Are your assignments / essays well planned?

2. Do you tend to repeat yourself in essays?

3. Do you tell the story of something instead of analysing the topic?

4. Can you distinguish between main ideas and supporting details or evidence?

Data

1. Can you interpret data accurately?

2. Can you create accurate charts and tables?

Course handbook Page 4

SELF ASSESSMENTAnalyse below your own responses to the study habits questionnaire. Look at your answers to the study habits questionnaire. What did you score high or positive about?

Identify your strengths and weaknesses and complete the table below

Strengths Weaknesses

There is nothing wrong with having weaknesses (everyone has them). Recognise them and treat them with respect, but do not dwell on them. Work on your strengths to overcome them and your confidence will grow. If you keep concentrating on your weaknesses it will make you less confident and therefore less able to manage your workload. This can then lead to a downward spiral which is difficult to overcome.

Course handbook Page 5

Note Taking – AND - What Do Notes Do?

Note-taking is one of those skills that rarely get taught. Tutors assume either that taking good notes comes naturally or that someone else must have already taught students how to take notes. Then we sit around and complain that our students don’t know how to take notes.

I think it’s about time to do something about that. Whether you’re a high school junior or a college senior or a grad student or a mid-level professional or the Attorney General of the United States, the ability to take effective, meaningful notes is a crucial skill. Not only do good notes help us recall facts and ideas we may have forgotten, the act of writing things down helps many of us to remember them better in the first place. One of the reasons people have trouble taking effective notes is that they’re not really sure what notes are for. I think a lot of people, students and professionals alike, attempt to capture a complete record of a lecture, book, or meeting in their notes. This is a recipe for failure. Trying to get every last fact and figure down like that leaves no room for thinking about what you’re writing and how it fits together. The purpose of note-taking is simple: to help you study better and more quickly. This means your notes don’t have to contain everything, they have to contain the most important things. And if you’re focused on capturing everything, you won’t have the spare mental “cycles” to recognise what’s truly important.

What to Write Down Your focus while taking notes should be two-fold. First, what’s new to you? There’s no point in writing down facts you already know. If you already know the Declaration of Independence was written and signed in 1776, there’s no reason to write that down. Anything you know you know you can leave out of your notes. Second, what’s relevant? What information is most likely to be of use later, whether on a test, in an essay, or in completing a project? Focus on points that directly relate to or illustrate your reading (which means you’ll have to have actually done the reading…). The kinds of information to pay special attention to are:

Dates of events: Dates allow you to a) Create a chronology, putting things in order according to when they happened, andb) Understand the context of an event. For instance, knowing Isaac Newton was born in 1643 allows you to situate his work in relation to that of other physicists who came before and after him, as well as in relation to other trends of the 17th century.

Course handbook Page 6

Names of people: Being able to associate names with key ideas also helps remember ideas better and, when names come up again, to recognise ties between different ideas whether proposed by the same individuals or by people related in some way.

Theories / Definitions: These are usually the main points made within the topic and, unless you are positive you already know the definition of a term, it should be written down. Keep in mind that many subject areas use everyday words in ways that are unfamiliar to us.

Arguments and debates: Any list of pros and cons, any critique of a key idea, both sides of any debate related in class or your reading should be recorded.

Images and exercises: Whenever an image is used to illustrate a point, or when an in-class exercise is performed, a few words are required to record the experience. Obviously, it is overkill to describe every tiny detail, but a short description or a short statement about what the class did should be enough to remind you and help reconstruct the experience.

Other stuff: Just about anything a tutor writes on a board should probably be written down, unless it’s either self-evident or something you already know. Titles of books, movies, TV series, and other media are usually useful, though they may be irrelevant to the topic at hand. Consider noting these points in the margin to look up later.

Your own questions: Make sure to record your own questions about the topic as they occur to you. This will help you remember to ask the tutor or look something up later, as well as prompt you to think through the gaps in your understanding.

Note-Taking Techniques You don’t have to be super-fancy in your note-taking to be effective, but there are a few techniques that seem to work best for most people.

Outlining: Whether you use Roman numerals or bullet points, outlining is an effective way to capture the hierarchical relationships between ideas and data. In a theory class, you might write the name of important facts. Under each of them, a short description. Outlining is a great way to take notes from books, because the author has usually organised the material in a fairly effective way, and you can go from start to end of a chapter and simply reproduce that structure in your notes.

Course handbook Page 7

For lectures, however, outlining has limitations. The relationship between ideas isn’t always hierarchical, and the instructor might jump around a lot. A point later in the lecture might relate better to information earlier in the lecture, leaving you to either a) flip back and forth to find where the information goes best (and hope there’s still room to write it in) or b) risk losing the relationship between what the tutor just said and what she said before.

Mind-mapping: For lectures, a mind-map might be a more appropriate way of keeping track of the relationships between ideas. Here’s the idea: in the centre of a blank sheet of paper, you write the lecture’s main topic. As new sub-topics are introduced (the kind of thing you’d create a new heading for in an outline), you draw a branch outward from the centre and write the sub-topic along the branch. Then each point under that heading gets its own, smaller branch off the main one. When another new sub-topic is mentioned, you draw a new main branch from the centre. The thing is, if a point should go under the first heading but you’re on the fourth heading, you can easily just draw it in on the first branch. Likewise, if a point connects to two different ideas, you can connect it to two different branches. If you want to neaten things up later, you can re-draw the map or type it up

I am sure this is only scratching the surface of the variety of techniques and strategies people have come up with to take good notes. Some people use highlighters or coloured pens whilst others a system of post it notes. Whatever method / mixture of methods you use does not matter so long as it works for you.

Course handbook Page 8

Proof reading and spell checking

Importance of proof-reading Displays, letters, flyers etc.

100% accurate

Professionals

What do we mean by Proofreading? Checking against the source material

Spelling

Punctuation

Layout

Positioning of graphics

Your responsibility, check words, spaces

Get into the habit

Why? It saves time

Money

Paper

Ink

Check the printed copy

Course handbook Page 9

Spellcheck

Dictionary of words

Query words it does not know

Standard ways of working

Information in ICT systems can very easily be lost or misused eg:

Unauthorised people may gain access to confidential information.

People may copy original work and present it as their own. Data files may be lost, corrupted by a virus or damaged in

other ways. Computers may be damaged so that data stored in them

cannot be recovered. Inaccurate or poorly written information may confuse or annoy

readers. Information presented professionally may be believed, even

though it may be inaccurate. Poorly laid out workplaces may cause physical stress or be

hazardous to ICT operators. Use of ICT systems may result in less attention to the planning

and managing of work.How can we overcome this problem?

Manage your work effectively. Keep information secure. Ensure that information you produce is accurate and

readable. Work to standards commonly accepted by organisations.

Work safely.Keeping information secure

Keeping information secure, for example from theft, loss, viruses, fire.

Course handbook Page 10

Protecting confidentiality, for example preventing illegal access to medical or criminal records.

Respecting copyright, for example not using or presenting the work of others without permission.

How can we overcome this problem? By saving work regularly, and using different filenames. By keeping dated backup copies of files on another disk and in

another location.

Course handbook Page 11

Course handbook Page 12

Summarising (meaning to sum up)

Information Technology is not just sitting at a computer keying in data, writing programmes or drawing diagrams. You need to write reports, take down messages either by telephone or verbally and make notes at meetings and during tutorials.

Therefore, you need to illustrate good summarising practices. You need to decide which parts of a given piece of material need to be extracted and relayed in a particular format to meet the needs of a third party. Applications of summarising techniques

Researching topics for assignments

Taking notes during tutorials

Relaying to your team the outcome of a meeting

Passing on a message, either orally or on a message pad

Designing an advertisement for a job

Delivering a report to a company

Producing a sales report

Writing a letter or memorandum passing on information or a point of view

Editing a press-release for inclusion in a newspaper

Writing an article for inclusion in a house magazine

Drafting a notice or circular

Using the telephone – particular over a long distance

Interviewing a candidate for an appointment

Giving a briefing to a group

Course handbook Page 13

Getting across a point of view or suggestion

Delivering a PowerPoint presentation

Many oral and written situations arise daily, requiring summarising

techniques.

The principles of summarising Check that you understand clearly the requirement or brief – which

may only involve part of the item for summarising

Read the item thoroughly, since you cannot summarise what you do not fully understand. Read for: The general drift or meaning

For the meaning of individual words of phrases

For the structure of the item and the development of its ideas or arguments

Give the item a title conveying the essence of the summary. This will act as a yardstick against which no measure points for importance and relevance.

Check your list of points against the original in case something has been overlooked. Check your points against your title for relevance.

Establish, which format, is appropriate for the summarising version – schematic layout or paragraphed.

Compose a rough draft leaving room for subsequent refinements and using your own words to convey the sense rather than copying phrases or sentences; remember that you need not find alternatives for specialist terms like ’inflation’ or ‘wage-freeze’ etc.

Check the rough draft to ensure that the points are linked in connected sentences that read smoothly and where the progression is logical and intelligible. Then polish into a final version by improving vocabulary, syntax, tone etc. Ensure that the final

Course handbook Page 14

version has been checked for transcription errors of spelling, punctuation etc.

BTEC Extended Diploma for IT Practitioners Software Development (Graphics)

Recording Achievement: Year 1 and 2

Unit No. Unit Title Grade PointsUnit 1 Communications & Employment Skills for IT P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 2 Computer Skills P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 6 Software Design and Development P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 11 System Analysis and Design P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 16 Procedural Programming P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 18 Database Design P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 28 Website Design P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 30 Digital Graphics P /M / D 70/80/90Unit 42 Spread sheet modelling P / M / D 70/80/90

Year 1 points

Student target grade

Unit 3 Information Systems P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 4 Impact of ICT on Business Systems P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 8 E-Commerce P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 14 Event Driven Programming P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 17 Project Planning with IT P / M / D 70/80/90Unit 23 HCI P / M / D 70/80/9

0Unit 39 Web Animation for Interactive Media P / M / D 70/80/9

0Unit 41 3D Modelling P / M / D 70/80/9

0Unit 43 Multimedia Design P / M / D 70/80/9

0 Year 1 points Year 2 points Final points and grade

Points Grade UCAS Points1260-1299 PPP 1201300-1339 MPP 1601340-1379 MMP 2001380-1419 MMM 2401420-1459 DMM 280

Course handbook Page 15

1460-1499 DDM 3201500-1529 DDD 3601530-1559 DDD*1560-1589 DD*D*

1590 or above D*D*D*

Covering letter sampleMiss Freda Freda2 made up streetAnytownFreda@you.com

Miss Sarah BradleyPersonnel manager Manchester HospitalAny Street AnytownMN12 4MM 6th April 2101

Dear Miss Bradley

I am looking for a placement within a hospital environment from June to September of this year. I am writing to you as I understand the Manchester Hospital may have appropriate vacancies available. I have a strong interest in laboratory procedures and clinical diagnostics which Iunderstand are predominately carried out at this hospital. As I live within commuting distance from your site, travel and accommodation would not be a problem.

I first became interested in the hospital environment after a school visit to your site. I was taken on a tour around the laboratories where the differing techniques used in testing clinical samples for patients were demonstrated. Since then, discussion with my careers advisor has confirmed my decision to aim for a career in this field.

Through mu degree course, I have been able to develop my interest in Biochemistry, whilst improving my laboratory skills along with my numeracy skills. I have gained some experience in HPLC and have good computing skill, having used several scientific databases. I achieved 68% in my first year having examinations and hope to achieve a high 2:1 for my course work this year. While at university, I have also been able to utilise my skills in working with people through a variety of vocational jobs. My work at a busy insurance office was valuable in teaching me the importance of ascertaining customers’ needs and providing clear and accurate information.

I would be grateful if you could consider me for suitable positions. I will be available for interview at Any time and will be at my home address form late may onwards. At any other time please contact me by e-mail. Please see enclosed my CV where you will find further information.

Course handbook Page 16

Tries to find the name of the appropriate person to write to if possible.

State job applying for

Says why she is interested in this type of work.

Summarises her strength and how they might be an advantage to the organisation

Mentions dates she would be available for interview

Thanks the employer and mentions the enclosed CV.

Yours Sincerely

Sarah Bradley

Enc

CV Writing – 10 main points to rememberThink of your CV as a shop window – it must effectively display your experience, skills and qualities in a short period of time. The following tips will help you produce a CV that does just that.

1. Keep it short and clearBefore you start, choose the right structure for your CV. The most important information, such as your key skills and recent experience, needs to be near the top, where it can be seen straight away. Sections you need to include are your Profile, Achievements, Experience, Special Skills (languages / computers), Education, Training and (if you wish) Interests / Hobbies. Your CV should normally be no longer than two A4 pages in length.If you haven’t caught the recruiter’s interest by page two then they probably won’t read any further pages anyway.

2. Make it look goodClear, attractive presentation is also important if your CV is to stand out. Ensure that it’s uncluttered, with easy to spot key points. Use bullet points and keep the sentences relatively short. Plenty of ‘white space’ around the borders and between each section keeps the document easier on the eye.

3. Most recent firstPut your employment history in date order, starting with the most recent first. Avoid leaving any gaps, so if you have had time out for some reason, do mention this. Don’t go into details about positions you held over 10 years ago. Include details of holiday or temporary work only if relevant to the job you are applying for.

4. Include many factsList your job duties beneath each position. Also list your achievements, responsibilities and results. Talk about results and what difference did your presence make? Use numbers for achievements wherever possible, e.g. “Boosted sales by 20% in the first year” Always write in a slightly formal manner and never use the word “I”, e.g. “Supervised the team” rather than “I supervised the team”. Use the past tense for previous jobs and the present tense for your current job.

5. Not too many lists

Course handbook Page 17

Include specific skills, such as languages, administrative or computing skills, in a separate section in your CV. Don’t relist them for every job you have used them in. This is particularly so for IT work – lists of tools and packages make dull reading and won’t make you stand out from other people with the same abilities.

6. Breathe some life into itRemember the employer wants a sense of the kind of person you are, as well as what you can do. Are you punctual, conscientious, or motivated? Do you rise to a challenge? With each point you write, ask yourself “What does this say about me?”

7. Be accurateAlways check for errors. Run a spelling and grammar check and ask someone else to read it for you. Read it out loud. The employer is not going to believe you are a good communicator if your CV is full of mistakes.

8. Adapt itDo not use the same CV every time. You can have two or three versions, each for a different kind of job. OR tailor it to suit the job you are applying for. It is not a case of one size fits all.

9. Send a covering letterUnless the advert tells you not to, always include a covering letter. This should highlight the two or three areas of experience from your CV that are most relevant to the advertised post. Never send your CV on its own.

10. Be truthfulAlthough you obviously want to present yourself well, do not go too far and embellish the truth. It can easily backfire on you.

Course handbook Page 18

Personal profile

This is an important area of a CV. It is basically about your back ground and your skills. It should be tailored to the job you are looking to do and can change from application to application. It gives you a chance to sell yourself and make you stand out to an employer.

Here are some key words and phrases which may help, circle or highlight the ones which you feel applies to you. Make a note or any other relevant words or phrases for future reference.

Keywords

Enthusiastic Perceptive HardworkingKeen to learn new skills Good team worker Full of initiativeDynamic Adaptable Self – motivatedResourceful Dependable Quick thinkingDisciplined Reliable IndependentMature Attitude Versatile Creative Punctual Organised ArticulateOutgoing Methodical EnergeticConfident Practical ResponsibleTactful Competent Highly skilledKnowledgeable Effective EfficientQualified Forward thinker Positive attitude

Course handbook Page 19

Supportive

Key Skills and Phrases

Good communication skills

Administrative skills Customer service skills

Enjoy a challenge Enumerative Mechanical skillsCan cope with pressure Keyboard skills Can motivate othersAnalysing problems and developing solutions

Arranging meetings or events

An effective team player

Excellent interpersonal skills

Able to organise and motivate others

Managing a change

Experienced in handling customer complaints

Able to analyse and interpret information

Excellent negotiation skills

Careful and methodical approach

Accurate record keeper Can work well without supervision

Able to work well under pressure

High level of IT skills Good sense of humour

Excellent graphics design skills

Excellent programming skills

Networking knowledge

Excellent Network security knowledge

A ‘people person’ Data input skills

Course handbook Page 20

Personal Profile sample

Page 1

Course handbook Page 21

Page 2

Course handbook Page 22

Action plan

Date of 1:1 Unit number

Action Date to be completed

Course handbook Page 23

Date of 1:1 Unit number

Action Date to be completed

Course handbook Page 24

Date of 1:1 Unit number

Action Date to be completed

Course handbook Page 25

Date of 1:1 Unit number

Action Date to be completed

Course handbook Page 26

Date of 1:1 Unit number

Action Date to be completed

Course handbook Page 27