Successful reflective use of portfolios in undergraduates- Level C

This reflective portfolios is often used as an instrument with which to stimulate students to reflect on their experiences. Research has shown that working with portfolios does not automatically stimulate reflection.
In this study the author designed a portfolio that was aimed at stimulating reflection in early undergraduate BIT education, using experiences described in the learning for success module.

Methodology:
Conditions for reflection portfolio were identified through the lecturer who is experienced in mentoring students in the process of developing the portfolios.

Result:
Conditions for successful reflective use of portfolio  has the relevant experience, guidelines, summarative assessment. With the development of the portfolio authors abilities developed in various areas. And also this study shows that portfolio is a valuable method of assessing and developing students reflective skills in undergraduate stage.

Portfolios have a strong potential for enhancing learning and assessment but they are very vulnerable and may easily lead to disappointment.The SWOT Analysis of the author evaluate the progress achieved during the term. During the term about the 3 months i have had the opportunity to improve  and learned interpersonal skills that are essential for the life.

Strengths: Good communication, Writing skills, Group working skills, Ability to work with people 
from different backgrounds, organizing work to meet deadlines, clarifying and organizing information

Weaknesses: Dealing with others by phone, staying calm in a crisis, managing other people.

Opportunities: Improve my leadership skills in group work, time management

Threats: Increasing competition


31-05-2012

Learning reflection throughout the semester and skills performance

Throughout the term and especially at this module I have been encouraged by numerous types of lectures which were conducted to improve interpersonal skills by doing many different activities. I believe that the skills that I have improved the most are communication, writing skills, group working skills and organizing work to meet deadlines.

I feel that the communication skill is most important that a person need to have in today’s world where everybody use to communicate with each other. “Taking, Listening” are most valuable skills needed for graduates. The author has improved the skill by doing different presentations for numerous modules in front of large audience. Also the writing skills started improving because the corse work I have had to write Portfolio, notes as well as essay and reports.

During the time at the Staffordshire University I have had the chance to develop and improve specially the above mentioned skills and I think that this improvement will help me to achieve the future success at the internships of my life in the industry.

Achieving Success in Future

A reflective portfolio report of approximately 1500 words which will include personal goals, reflections and strategies for success - 50%. 

This assesses the following ; 

Learning outcome: Establish personal goals and reflect in order to present personal strategies for success.

Achieving Success in Future 

Science and Technology plays a major role in today’s world. Since my childhood, I like to learn science subjects. After completing my O/L, I decided to follow BIT Degree in APIIT. It helps me to improve not only my IT knowledge, but also to improve my other skills such as meeting deadlines, team work, etc. Successfully completing my Degree with a First Class is one of the biggest goals in my life.

Achieving a First Class is not an easy task; therefore I always work according to a timetable to meet tough deadlines and always target higher grades for my subjects. Currently, I am studying in Level one and plan to allocate more time for Level two and Level three. My plan is to get an “A” grade for the Final Year Project. With the help of my parents and lecturers I believe, that I can achieve this goal.

I also plan to complete the Fundamental Java Examination within this year. I believe this will be an additional qualification for me. I optimize my free time to learn Java without affecting my usual degree studies.

After completing the degree, my next major goal is to go for an internship in a well-reputed company. From this I hope to get industry experience as much as possible. I plan to start my career as an associate Software Engineer. For this I believe having a good trainee experience is really important. Therefore, I hope to get the maximum out of my experience.

My next goal is to find a good job in a well-reputed organization. When selecting my career I consider not only the salary, but also the other benefits provided by the company. With the knowledge that I gained from my degree and the experience that I got from my traineeship, I will be able to go through the interviews.

After gaining some work experience, my next goal is to follow Masters in IT at Staffordshire University, UK. I believe this will help me to further improve my knowledge in IT. From the beginning of the career I hope to allocate a part of my salary for my Masters program. I can go further up in my career by completing Masters.

Becoming a Software Engineer with a higher salary will help me to purchase a house and a car with the help of a bank loan.

To accomplish the above goals within next five years, I will have to face a lot of obstacles. But, I believe that I can overcome them successfully with a good plan and by hard working. By achieving above goals in five years, I can be who I want to be in Five years.


- Yuganthi Jayasinghe- 
© 2012 Yuganthi Jayasinghe. 

Revision and Exams

Purpose of the exam

•To check whether you have understood the work covered on the course

•The work which demonstrates this understanding is entirely your own

•To invoke intense learning

Exam measures the following:

•the quality of revision

•time management before and during exams

•practice in answering exam questions

•the ability to answer and focus on the exam questions. 

Exam Management Strategies

Preparing for the 

•            preparation and planning before the exam

–Regular revision

–Active revision

–Time management

–Memory

•            performance during the exam

–Exams

–Short answer & multiple choice questions

–Stress management

Ethics & Codes Of Conduct

Doing the right is experienced based rules and expectations is ethical code and concerned with right and wrong morals.


Importance of ethics

• Ethics are concerned with questions of values about the behavior of the humans "good" or "bad" in any given situation.
•       Expected Behavior : Platform that would lead to the expected behavior from the member of society in any given situation
•        Decision Making: Ethics are the standards, values, morals, principles, used to base one's decisions or actions on a basis for ethical decision making in the conduct of professional work 

Code of Ethics

• Ethical judgments are no different in the area of computing from those in business practices, law practices, professional code of conducts because the computers raise problems of privacy, ownership, theft and power.


21-05-2012
Ethical Principals

•Ethical behavior should conform to both the law and the moral codes common to society.

•There are at least 2 ways to view ethical behavior:

–Utilitarian view (utilitarianism)

–Individualism view

Debating skills

A debate is, basically, an argument which involves the pros and cons of an issue.Using argument and persuasion to convince others views are correct is the concept of debates which are successful .

Fundamentals in debating

• Research
        Do a kind of research on the particular topic, so that you have facts to prove the points saying how this is true and not (yourdebate, 2011).Use a variety of sources to gather information. Use the statistic gathered
        to make the debate more complex to the audience meas that to attract. 

• Logic
       Use logic to develop your case and make your points (yourdebate, 2011). There should be a link between the previous point and the next.This helps to lead to a better conclusion at the end. 

sknvibes (2012)

• Counter Arguments
        It's always good to be prepared the arguments in advance (yourdebate, 2011). So that you can argue the point with related facts. 

• Keep an open mind
        Be open minded and prepared in order to change the opinion even you have to argue with other team with a differnt point (yourdebate, 2011).

• Don’t get personal
         In the heat of a debate it's easy to lose cool and attack the another person who has a different option (yourdebate, 2011). But sometimes the debate ends with joy peace. 

19-05-2012

• Stay Focused
        Stick to the subject being debated and don't go off from the discussing point (yourdebate, 2011). 

http://www.actdu.org.au/archives/actein_site/basicskills.html
http://www.yourdebate.net/tips.asp
http://www.sknvibes.com/userfiles/Image/debate_Main.jpg

Forms of debate


Formal debates
Most structured of three forms. Provides official mechanism where one can express the views to the rest of the committee. In-depth and informative are the main drawbacks of this type of debate..

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4527518/Forms-of-Debate#

Personal Branding

As soon as lecturer enter to the lecture room he said that today the guys who got absent should do a presentation under thw topoic of Smooshing should be done in the college cordidoors or not. So the six guys did it. But only ahiky's  speech was good more than others as her voiuce as well as the body language was fine to the audience. And also most of the guys came in fromnt without saying anything ti the class too. 
So in my opinion the topic is not really nedded to talk
Personal branding is for a person a description of the process where yourself marked as brands to the world. This is know the the views of other people and outside controls of yourself. This is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge includes to this. This is unavoidable. As others interact us and automatically form a mental association within few seconds. 
Why it cannot avoid? Because peoples brains are wired to recognize the patterns of individuals. 


17-05-2012
First Impression!!!!! Make you count!

It’s been said you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. So, how long does it take to make a first impression? It takes between seven and ten seconds for a person to get the first impression. 

pingler (2011)

For me, as a a student, it takes less than 10 seconds to get the first impression of another person. There are several students who are going to do the presentations on next week. So are you ready to make a great first impression? Those first impressions can easily become lasting impressions. 

So what do you want the audience in that first few seconds to say about you? When first impressions make the difference, it’s important to understand how you come across to others as well as how do you conduct the presentation. 

Attire:
Whenever you’re attending, meeting large audience for the first time this is essential. Dress for the specific occasion should be more professional and formal and as well as if the audience can identify you uniquely its the best thing.

activesnoop (2010)

Grooming:
Hair should be neat; not the wind-tunnel look. For women, less makeup is always better than too much, and a light perfume or cologne is acceptable, but be careful of overwhelming the people in the room with the scent. Keep in mind that being well-groomed can make people think you’re efficient and reliable, while being  untidy makes people think you’re disorganized.

Virak (2012)

Handshake:
Extend your right hand and grasp their hand gently but firmly. If you carry a handkerchief in your pocket and wipe your hand before you do the meet and greet.


Conversation:
Be sure to engage the audience when you talk without losing what you are talking. Give a short introduction about you and then move to the topic which you are going to do.

Attitude:
Nothing works better in any situation than having and expressing a positive attitude. 


Cleanliness of hands:
 Keep your hands clean by regularly cutting nails. And apply qutex if you like but make sure its matching to the dress which will be dressing on the day.


Lip care with lip balm:
Regular use of lip balm in proportionate amount can help caring lips.

Author thinks that these tips are very helpful and important to the students who are going to do their presentations in the next week and the First Group is doing the presentation on the topic "Digital Divide". And author is also going to do the presentation. To this this group is getting ready to get the first impression of the audience till the last moment of the presentation. And the colleagues are trying to wear a formal professional look dress which able the audience to identify uniquely ourselves. 


Keep these tips in mind and you will stand out in positive ways when the recruiter reviews all the candidates they met at the career fair. 

                               Good luck and to make 
                              a first, great 
                            impression!!!!!!

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/02/personal-branding/http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/02/personal-branding
http://pingler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/First-Impressions-300x300.jpg
http://www.activesnoop.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/impression1-300x160.jpg
http://www.virak.com/v2/images/sales_negotiation.jpg

Essential presentation skills

"The ability to express the ideas nearly  important as the idea it self and idea is becoming a must have business and professional skill". - by Bernard Guerney 

http://www.macmonkies.com/Fun/DontPanic_1024.jpg

How to overcome PANIC?

• Outline your   Purpose
• Analise your   Audience
• Identify the    Need
• Collate your   Information
• Prepare your Communication

From my school days i like to deliver speeches and i have delivered many speeches for various occasions and specially i have done Welcome Speech. I have never scared before or while delivering the speech. I think i have this ability from my birth and also have enough talents to do presentations.

ecx.imges-amazon (2012)

Today the lecturer Mr. Rehan has instructed to write down the reasons why we as students panic during presentations?

In my experience the reasons are as follows :  

• I feel that I'm not very good in English when it comes to presenting to a large audience.
• I am worried that the audience will laugh at me while presenting. 

However the authour has successfully overcome these issues nowadays and now author hasn't any fear while delivering the presentations. I completely lost these issues from my Degree Level 1st Semester in BSAD-1 Presentation. Now i know how to do a successful presentation in front of a large audience.

Results when the Presentation Panic

diresta (2012)

Structure of the presentation 
The structure of the presentation should be in a powerful way from the beginning to the end as the audience is the central focus of the presentation. And the materials should be presented with enthusiasm and energy.


The following describes the structure of the presentation. 
1. Introduction
Capture the audience AIM : Attention, Interest, Mindshare
2. Body
It’s the heart of the message where you include evidence, data for the theme, organize the support for the theme. 
3.Conclusion
A summary reminds the audience of the main ideas covered in the body of the talk


Strategies for effective presentation 

• Pitch, rate, volume, pronounciation

Strategies for effective non verbal delivery

• Posture, facial expressions, movements

Presentation should be a BOMBER B..... 
Bang, Opening, Message, Bridge, Examples, Recapitulate, Bang

17-05-2012
Gaining Audience Attention & Interest

•         ŸShocking statement or startling statistic
•         ŸQuotation by well-known person
•         ŸAppropriate joke or humor
• Ÿ        Demonstration or dramatic visual
•         ŸRelated story 
•         ŸReference to the occasion of the speech

Group Presentations 

         In order to do a best presentation group leader and the  coordinators should be plan together. Each of the members should help to each other to achieve success of the presentation. Decide who is going to speak what topic in the allocated times with the number of slides And also should prepare for the questions where the collegues will ask from you and make sure that all will be able to give the correct answer. 

Good argumentative Writing

Class work
Find the 'editorial' section in two quality newspapers. How do the writers try to persuade you to their points of view?

The author Yuganthi has selected Daily Mirror and Daily News on the 11th May 2012 as the two quality newspapers to find the Editorial Section in order to do the class activity. The topic of the Editorial was as follows;

National conspiracy Crack the whip on plunderers

The writer of the Editorial have expressed their point of view in two different ways. The most detailed and complicated representation is in  Daily News Editorial. So that the reader needs some standard knowledge to continue reading as well as there is little bit interest to read this topic. Anyway the presented point of view is bit clearer and offered the evidence to prove the point, so that its more reliable.

However the writer of the Editorial of Daily Mirror successfully achieved the target of the readers by stating the point of view and provided reasons to support the reason. The representation is clear enough for the attractiveness of the readers. The point has been proved using different sources as evidence. Any type of reader can understand the editorial in the Daily Mirror as the language of representation is attractive and interesting. 

Writer of the Editorial of Daily News show that there are some strong arguments but couldn't express the convince of the side which found.Hasn't clearly sum up the arguments too. However the Daily Mirror writer of Editorial has stated the point with sum up arguments briefly and clearly. Sound cautious and indicates which side the writer find most convening. 
The Daily Mirror Editorial has supported facts to show why the point of view is good as well as the main point is proved by taking different examples like Colombo Museum, Temple of the Tooth etc. Daily News Editorial is discussing the point and giving evidence like Cope report etc. But its convincing is higher rate. But author Yuganthi suppose that even though the cope report is government related document, the Daily Mirrors task completion is the best. 


http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/18516-editorial-national-conspiracy.html
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/05/11/main_Editorial.asp


13-05-2012
Develop an argument for the topic “War in Afghanistan"
Introduction
In the present first major conflict is the War in Afghanistan.The current war began in October 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States (Historyguy, 2012).External powers were used by Afghanistan for strategic war due to the geographical position between the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia (Insightonconflict, 2012).


Destruction of war

Afghanistan is struggling to rebuild itself between the ongoing war, regardless billions of dollars of aid that have been pumped into the country. The government is failing to extend control into negotiations with the Taliban, while Taliban in turn refuse to enter negotiations until all foreign troops leave the country. 
Against : War in Afghanistan isn't winnable as America doesn't have a credible Afghan partner and there is no prospect that one will emerge. 

After over eight years of battle, the country's future is far from settled. Last year was the war's deadliest, as terrorists turned the country into a bloody obstacle. The Taliban and Guerrilla fighters flit effortlessly, across the border with Pakistan, using the frontier for deadly attacks. 
America is pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan. Even though American forces can outfight the poorly equipped Taliban, America cannot defeat the insurgency without support of the Afghan people. 
Defending : The war in Afghanistan is winnable because for the first time the coalition fighting there has the right strategy and the resources to begin to implement it.
But there is also cause for optimism. According to Barack Obama many troops to the fight and General McChrystal's new counterinsurgency doctrine seems a good fit for Afghanistan's fractured tribal society. Coalition soldiers are fighting an increasingly unpopular enemy, they have had success in pushing back the militants, and polls show Afghan civilians are optimistic about their country's future.

According to the new American Security Mr Nagl believes that the war is winnable because coalition forces finally have the right plan, adequate resources, and increasingly reliable partners in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is confident that given space and time, the Afghan government will be able to outgovern its enemies and the Afghan army will be able to outfight them. He makes the sensible point that the war will not be won by killing every terrorist, but rather by convincing the bulk of them that they are better off not fighting.
http://www.insightonconflict.org/conflicts/afghanistan/conflict-profile/?gclid=CPqo7NOv_K8CFU8b6wodXnXjDw
http://www.historyguy.com/war_in_afghanistan.html#.T68h4-utJio

http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/01/06/the_good_war
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/mark-mellman/59885-afghanistan-a-good-war-goes-bad
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/02/5-good-things-going-on-in_n_343139.html
http://www.debate.org/debates/War-in-Afghanistan/2/
http://www.debate.org/debates/The-War-in-Afghanistan-is-a-bad-thing./1/
http://www.debatewise.org/debates/932-has-the-war-in-afghanistan-lost-all-purpose
http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/516

Guidelines for good Documentation

Executive Summary

• MUST be provided before the Contents page.
• It provides a reader with a summary of why the project was prepared, what it covers, and a summation of the conclusions, and/or recommendations.
• It should be about one page in length 250 to 400 words.
• It is not an introduction, but should function as a totally freestanding document for readers who will read no more of the report.
• It should contain all pertinent information including conclusions and recommendations in a concise summary.
• It is not the Introduction to the report/assignment.
• It should not contain any theory.
• It may be single line spacing.

          09-05-2012

Table of contents and numbering

      Introduction

•       Should be provided at the beginning to advise what is contained in the following section of the report. 

       Body of Assignment

•      For academic assignment -  The authors statements must be supported by relevant academic theory
•      Technical paper -  Not be required. 
• Able to apply the theory  to the different situations by choosing good, bad.

        10-05-2012
       Referencing

•      Just putting a list of publications at the end is not acceptable.
•       Need to cite 20-25 sources for a given research.
•       References must cited according to Harvard.
•       Reference must be listed alphabetically by author.

      Figures and Tables

•        Tables and figures are used to reduce the word count of a document.
•        Tabular format is need when doing stakeholder analysis. 
•        Tables shouldn't run over onto following pages. So that the tables must start from a new page.

12-05-2012

Stylistic conventions for academic writing
Use formal English 
      Eg :- Author believes that
Aim for clarity
      Eg :- Link to chapeter by chapter
Learn how to use specialist vocabulary
      Eg: :- Action Verbs
Avoid abbreviations and contractions
Be impersonal
      Eg :- Based on the statics provided by ...............
Be cautious (Word limit)
Avoid misplaced conjunctions
        Eg :- No link between paragraphs
Numbers
Be objective
Avoid apologies
Addressing the reader
Be concise
Use continuous prose



14-05-2012
Evaluative/ Analytical writing
Academic writing includes evaluation. 
You may be required to evaluate the following in writing.

•       Evaluate two/ more theories which of several items, ideas is the best for a purpose.
•       How well another writer has analyzed a subject. 

Buddhism's Holiest Day : Wesak
Wesak is considered as religious and cultural festival in Sri Lanka which is celebrated on the full moon in May by Buddhists.This is one of the biggest festival celebrated by Buddhists all over the world.  
Buddhists commemorate the important events that took place in the life of Lord Buddha on this Vesak Full Moon Poya Day. 

1. Birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini in Nepal which took place under the arbor of Sat trees where queen Mahamaya gave birth to him.
2. Siddharta Gautam's supreme attainment as the Buddha, the Enlightened One. 
3. Lord Buddha's Parinibbana over 2500 years ago at Kusinagar.

Many religious activities are organized during this period in Sri Lanka such as Sil campaigns, Bodhi Poojas, Dansalas, Bakthi Gee, pandols  and lanterns. 
Temples are filled with Atasil devotees and pilgrims all over Sri Lanka. In temples Buddhists worship, offer flowers, light lamps and light incense. And some put Bodhi Poojas for Prathipaththi Poojas. 
And also people give Dansalas for the people who come to see Wesak. The Dansalas are giving rice, kadala, soft drinks, noodles, bread, biscuits etc. So people take them and eat saying that, this is a merit.Author also helped to give Dansalas by offering products as well as helping them to carry on. 
And preparing Wesak lanterns is very popular among children as it brings happiness and interest. People make different types of  lanterns and paste colourful tissues too. And some make Pandols based on Lord Buddha's Jathaka Stories. So this is very important to all of us to collect more information about the value of the Buddhism.These are decorated using the colourful bulbs. 
This year 2012, we celebrated the end of 2600 Sri Sambuddha Jayanthiya and started the 2601. So the biggest Wesak  division is in Buddhaloka Mavatha, Nugegoda etc.And there are different types of lanterns made by people are displayed in the road side too. At night people from various areas come to visit these and to get interest too. 


07-05-2012
Hey Guys today is a very BAD DAY for us!!!!
Last week some said we are having lectures and come in the morning for the lectures. But actually when we go  there, there were about 12 students for the morning lectures. And only 6 students came to the morning lecture which was in the lecture room.
Why is that??? Because of the media announcement for the Government, Private sector as holidays almost every student believed that and did not come to the lectures. 
And at the evening 2.30pm lecture was cancelled as there were few number of students. It "OK" as the lecturer said us before too. So we went home. But we think that if APIIT inform that today students don't have lectures its best as today was just after the vesak and there is traveling problem as today is a holiday. Even today is a holiday we came to APIIT for lectures and wasted time which is valuable.  


         Nope Lectures.... Wasted Time....  :( :( :( :(