It’s always a little nerve-wracking when I notice my deadlines creeping up on me. I work hard to stay on top of my work, but life has a funny way of disrupting my plans. Consequently, I typically end up a bit stressed during midterm week.
This quarter has been different. Most of my classes replaced traditional exams with projects, and I’ve found that to be a refreshing change of pace, especially with such a dense course load. My IT-320 reflection feels especially meaningful because it pushed me to apply what I’ve learned in a real, hands-on way rather than just memorizing material.
In the Context of Projects:
Working through projects like this WordPress CMS site for IT-320 has reminded me how much I enjoy applying technical concepts to practical challenges. I’ve realized this idea connects a lot of my hobbies to my work too. I’ve gained a deeper understanding of how plugins, design, and content management systems fit together in a real environment. Seeing it all come to life has been substantially more rewarding than any written test.
It’s also been incredibly practical. Many of my classes overlap in concepts, allowing me to strengthen and refine my technical skill set as I go. This IT-320 reflection reminds me how far I’ve come since starting the program, each time I progress in my project it builds confidence for the next step!
Some Past Examples:
- During my internship at a data management firm, I used many tools. Later, those same tools showed up in my classes and personal projects. For example, we used Google Analytics to gather information from our landing pages. Because this process has many steps, team members work together in real time to keep the data current for clients.
- During my capstone project, each person on the team had a different role. I served as the proposal manager. I gathered all requirements and organized them into a clear proposal for our client. My role was not directly tied to front-end or back-end code. I still wanted to understand how my teammates communicated. Listening to everyone’s workload and combining it into one strong product pitch was another big lesson in teamwork.
Reflection:
I am still getting used to this hands-on assessment style, but I feel proud of my progress. If all goes well, I will graduate this quarter. These will be the last “midterms” I take for a long time!
If you’d like to learn more about my background, check out my About Daniel Costello page, or browse my Projects to see more of what I’ve been working on this year, though admittedly I’ve been so busy that this project might be all I have up right now :’)