Things learn from PPD

Personal development covers activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance the quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development takes place over the course of a person's entire life. Not limited to self-help, the concept involves formal and informal activities for developing others in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor, manager, life coach or mentor. When personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in organizations.

We learned many things about personal development through the lesson. Throughout this year we did so many useful activities such as:

•        Paper plane
•         Story chain
•        How to face an Interview(Practically)?
•        Cake activity
•        Emerging technologies
•        Expert & thread and pen
•       Self-reflection
•        Trust walk
•        CV writing

All of these activities teach us many important lessons in our life. Such as:

• Improved focus and performance.
• Positive approach.
• Time management
• How to work as a team
• Learning to identify and use a force
• Decision Making
• Self Confidence
• Communication skills
• Leadership quality

Thank you.

Trust Walk

In this PPD session our Madam comes with a new game called Trust Walk. It has two rounds. We were asked to create a group as couple.

First round

In this round one of the member from the couple wants to play as a listener and he/she wants to cover the eyes and the other person play as an instructor and he/she wants to give instructions. The toughest thing was we had to manage the stair cases and also our madam put white board markers on the path. If the instructor didn't instruct well or the listener didn't listen carefully then surely the blind person will fall off. So we want to manage those stuffs and finally the blind person wants to reach the final destination and tap a brick.

Second round

In this round the listener and the instructor wants to interchange their roles and the same thing happened with some small changes. Now we had to tap on two concrete blocks and the brick. Almost all the groups successfully finished the 1st round but in the 2nd round some groups forgot to tap on the brick after tapping he concrete blocks.

This task is designed to let us feel what it feels like to be trusted, as well as what it feels like to have trust in someone else.

This task is associated with the following Student Learning Outcomes:

• analyze the role of the individual as both a sender and receiver in the communication process.

1.     analyze the impact of perception in effective interpersonal communication.

2.     demonstrate and evaluate the use and effect of verbal and nonverbal symbols in interpersonal communication.

• differentiate the various factors involved in communication that enhance or restrict communication effectiveness in relational systems.

1. apply appropriate listening styles and assess the importance of effective listening in producing satisfying interpersonal relationships.
2. contrast factors that contribute to supportive and defensive communication climates and incorporate supportive communication behaviors.
3. evaluate the role of ethical standards on interpersonal communication and the impact of various relational challenges.

Thank you.

CV Writing

One of our PPD session We learned how to write CV. As a software engineering student we have to go to internships in the third year, so we have to create our own CVs and we send it to companies. This causes How to write CV is very useful. Let's see how to write CV.

CV should not be more than 2 or 3 pages.

It must be in our own form. Do not copy from a different format. It should be concise and accurate. You have to provide real details. We should tailor it specifically to the job we are applying for and include the skills, qualifications and experience which are most suited to the job.

CV It is good to use the word processing SW

Highlight Captions - Different Font Size

Keep email as a hyperlink

Do not mix font styles

Maintain years on a line

CV should consist with many information.

Photograph - should be a professional photograph with good dress. (Not with fancy dresses or a selfie) Head and shoulders. At the top right corner.

Personal Details - Name and address, a phone number, and your email address.

Personal Profile - A statement about our self, summarizing the skills and carrier interests

Skills - Soft skills and technical skills

Educational Qualifications - Write in chronological order a brief list of school and university qualifications, such as O/Ls, A/Ls, etc., together with the grades we obtained. Then list any further qualifications we have obtained, together with the names of the awarding bodies.

Projects

Work Experiences - Start with current or last employer and work backwards. We should include the dates of employment, job title, responsibilities, duties and achievements.

Volunteering, Conferences, Extracurricular activities, Training - Recent activities first.

References - There is no need to write the details of your referees on your CV. Simply state that they are available on request, but make sure that you know who your referees are and that you have asked their permission to use them.

Thank you.

Self-Reflection

As usual, the last PPD session is very important for all of us. Since it was a very interesting session, the day was very interesting topic. It is "self-reflection".

Initially, Madam asked about additional activities we had at the university, other than our academic things. But most of us were very weak in additional activities. He then explained the importance of doing extra curriculum.

The topic was the day was self-reflection

Self-reflection helps to build emotional self-awareness. By taking the time to ask yourself the important questions, you gain a better understanding of your emotions, strengths, weaknesses and driving factors. Once you understand important aspects of the self, you become better able to adapt to changing situations and tough circumstances.

Integrity increases when you take time to reflect on core values. Having a clear understanding of what values you deem most important puts them at the forefront of your mind and strengthens your decisions.

Our lives often become a cycle of doing/producing where we try to maximize productivity and minimize time spent. When we are always acting and moving from one thing to the next we sometimes forget to stop and think. Taking time to think allows for new ideas to emerge and counters the risk of becoming stagnant. New ideas and continuous change, not matter what your situation, is necessary.

Thank You.

Expert and Thread & Pen

This time we have two interesting activities in our PPD session. The very first session was Expert Game. It was interesting game. So, first madam asked that which field we were interested and then we were separated into 4 groups. 

We were asked to select three specialized departments from each group. We asked to create a product that includes all the three fields we choose before. All four groups brought some good ideas with high technologies but unfortunately our madam is expected to be a simple idea for us. It was a fun filled activity.

The next game was Thread and Pen. It was also a different kind of game and we were seated in the same groups, that we separated earlier for Expert Game. Now what madam did was, she gave us a paper, pen, Thread and a Selotape. Now what we asked to do is we want to plan a strategy and wrote down the word "Viper" on the paper without touching the pen and the paper with the use of Thread and the Selotape. Luckily all the teams were managed to do that work correctly. From both of the games we learnt how to work as a team, how to manage given resources.

Thank You.

WSO2 Session

This time, SETU (Software Engineering Teaching Unit) of University of Kelaniya scheduled an interesting session on Technical Writing at WSO2.

Session time: 9:00 am to 12:00 noon

Date: 12th September 2018.

Venue: WSO2, 20, Palm Grove, Colombo 3.

Agenda:

Introduction to Technical Writing

Grammar Lab (Hands-on session)

Write to Win (Group competition)

Refreshments/Tea

Technical Writing as a Career

Fun activity
Gifts and Conclusion

This is a very exciting moment, because for the first time I went to WSO2. We reached that place exactly 8.55 a.m. The workshop planned on the topic of technical writing. I didn't know about a technical writing and job position called technical writer before the workshop. It was a good opportunity to learn more new things.

First they gave some speech, and then they started to teach us about the technical writing.

Technical writing is a very important thing, as a software engineering we should know about it. As a software engineer most of us like to be a developer in future. but they told us we can start our career as a junior technical writer. In that path also we can go some higher positions in future. Our English speaking and writing skills are very important things for start our career in this path.

The things learned from the workshop were valuable. It was not like a regular lecture, but there were many things. We learned some English grammar areas. Then there were some exercises to fix some grammar errors.

After the exercises we had a small competition and it was a group activity. We were asked to write a user manual for a user who wants to withdraw 1500 rupees from an ATM.

After the competition we got some refreshments and after that there was a fun group activity. In the fun activity we had to think about an object as a group and write four sentences about that object to describe it. Other groups want to tell a correct object using that describe. Actually it was very fun.

By the time, we reached the end of the session. finally, they announced that winning team of the ATM activity and the fun activity, and then they provide some gift for them.

At last we took some photographs with them. This is a very interesting session and we have learned many new things.

Emerging Technology Trends

We get a new and better experience in every PPD session. At this time, we had a very important industrial session. It is based on Emerging technology trends. This session was conducted by Dr. Srinath Perera, Vice President of Research at WSO2.

It was full of knowledge and an interesting session. At first he explained the history of technology trends.Then he explained the trends that he understood.

After that, he explained the key trends of the two sections. Current trends and growing trends. Each of the current trends and emerging trends are well explained to us.

Finally, we had the opportunity to resolve our doubts. Some of the students asked their doubts from him.

Also we got a beautiful pen from WSO2.