Onwards and Upwards

With the first semester drawing to a close so soon into the start of a New Year it seems an awkward time to look back at what has been achieved over the past few months especially when I've previously posted reflective thoughts at the year end.

However, the end of the first semester signals the conclusion of three assessable assignments as part of our two-year HND InterActive Media course. I come from a generation where the academic year was broken into traditional terms which tended to follow the seasons. As a result I find the reference to a semester a bit scholastic as it's origins lie in the American college and German University systems.

Technically semester refers to a half-year in the the academic cycle so, by definition, we are now one quarter of the way through our studies. Considering some 25 per cent of the course has now been completed I wonder if the pace of learning will accelerate as we progress to our first year end in May.

On the one hand we appear to have learnt much to do with the basic understanding of web design terminology and the technology required to produce web sites. This has been accompanied by grasping basic design skills and, once again, the terminology used in typography and graphic design on a day-to-day basis. Similarly we have progressed these new skills to produce a web plan design which will be implemented later in the year.

Slowly we are building on the core skills required to design and construct our own sites but I sometimes feel we should be a little further ahead if we are to be fully competent by the end of the course.

With a great deal of competition in the real business world it is imperative that all students complete the course able to build more than basic sites and I would hope that as we move into detailed areas that these skills, too, will also be acquired.

Out latest briefs will cover the use of images and photography within web site development and this, coupled with the elementary coding we will also be instructed on, should finally prepare us for the moment most have been waiting for when we are able to build upon the foundations thus far laid down.

Looking Ahead With Confidence

The Christmas break came as a welcome relief to all on the Interactive Media course as the end of the first semester meant students could take a well earned break - as well as taking stock of just how far we had come from first entering the classroom three months earlier.

The start of a new year is a time for reflection and, looking back, there are mixed feelings as to just how much has been achieved. On the one hand many new skills have been acquired; information gleaned and confidence enhanced. On the down side though the pace of learning has not always measured up to expectation with the feeling that the latest assignments could have been completed prior to the festive season.

That said though I, along with many colleagues, welcomed the additional time afforded by the college curriculum and intended making most of the break to complete submissions. In reality this never happened and there now ensues a race against time to ensure work is submitted in line with the deadlines.

I didn’t help matters personally though by volunteering to take part in a competition to design additional Type Trumps cards. I had enjoyed designing other cards as a typography mini-task and was pleased with my submission given that there was little scope to work with the font I was allocated.

With HND students completing two assignments at the same time, there is a need to stay focused on meeting the exacting standards of submission to avoid basic errors which may lead to a referral.

Once these have been achieved we can look forward to tackling the imaging side of web presentation and perhaps keeping those new year resolutions to spread the workload more evenly.