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Name: Paul Dunlea
Student Number: B00064568
Date due: 27/04/2015
Assignment Title: Reflection on Practice
Word Count: 1512
CA Number: Final CA
Module Title: Introduction to Digital Media
Course: BSc in Horticulture
Cover Page
Introduction
For the purpose of this module, I was given the task of creating and designing a
comprehensive website that I will use to demonstrate my personal and professional interests
in horticulture. I used this opportunity to focus my website on the common pests and diseases
found in Ireland and how to identify, control or eradicate them. Pest and disease control in
plants is a subject of great interest to me and could be a possible career choice in my future. I
created the site as a guide on how to manage the pests and diseases by adding detailed
descriptions on their identification, susceptible plants and host plants which may be affected,
the possible symptoms and signs of decay and disorders and a range of control methods
which can be used, including; chemical, non-chemical and biological control. I also added
many images illustrating the pests and diseases, videos on the control methods which may be
used and relevant content supporting the topic.
1. Description
Each week I was tasked with creating a new webpage containing information on my subject
of choice; common pests and diseases found in Ireland. Each webpage I created contains a
title; this allows the user of the site to see the webpage name in the tab on their browser. I
added various levels of headings, paragraphs, breaks and approximately two hundred words
of original and relevant text to each of my webpages. Through the use of headings,
paragraphs and breaks I was able to divide the content of the webpage into different sections
and apply suitable headings and information based on the title of the webpage. I decided to
add a banner and hyperlinks to all of my webpages; hyperlinks allow the user of the site to
jump to another website by simply clicking the relative link. I created a horizontal list at the
top of my webpages with hyperlinks to each of my weekly assignments, reflection on practice
and the ITB homepage. I used banners to add colour and texture to my webpages; banners are
used to break the users’ vision from the text on the page and enhance the overall aesthetics of
the website.
In order to create a detailed website that informs the user about the various pests and
diseases found in Ireland, I added a number of images using absolute and relative references
to illustrate them and to help the user with the identification these pests and diseases. The use
of good quality photographs was necessary when creating my website; I needed to be able to
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illustrate the exact pest or disease in the topic and as some of these pests and diseases are
almost microscopic it was difficult to take many of these pictures myself. Therefore I used a
large amount of images from the Royal Horticultural Society website. I also added a number
of youtube videos based on the title of the page (Red Spider Mite etc.), and the various
control methods that can be used, including; chemical, non-chemical and biological control.
Lists are a great way of displaying information on the website, the information within the list
stands out more to the user than if the same information was in a paragraph. The two types of
lists which I added to my site are ordered lists and unordered lists. Tables are also an
excellent way of displaying vital information to the user. Tables can be created in conjunction
with hyperlinks to enable the user to jump to another page within the same site or jump
straight to another site on the same subject. During the fourth week I learned to use new tags
such as “meta”. Meta provides information to the browser about the data on my webpage. I
also learned how to select and insert text and background colour to my webpage through CSS
styling. Once I had created my CSS styling I applied it to each of the webpages. I registered
with SurveyMonkey and applied surveys to some of my webpages and I have already
received replies to these. Surveys are a great way of interacting with the users of the site. I
used the surveys to ask question about pest and disease control methods used in Ireland and
most common pests and diseases found in their gardens. I have already received some replies
to these questions and I am looking forward to adding more surveys and receiving more and
more responses.
By adding these vital pieces of information to my site, I was able to create a detailed and
professional website based on how to identify and control common pests and diseases in
Ireland using active styling and colour, tables, images, videos, surveys, lists and hyperlinks.
2. Feelings
At the beginning of the module I felt overwhelmed at the thought of creating a website. I had
no previous experience in writing code and when given this task, I did not think I would be
able to. After completing my first webpage I still didn’t feel confident in writing code and
found the process extremely difficult to complete. Through the use of the W3schools website
and the in class tutorials I found myself becoming more familiar with the process. Through
the weekly exercises I felt that I was gaining the skills and abilities necessary to create an
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original, unique and professional website which will be of great benefit in my future career in
horticulture. By the third assignment I felt more competent and confident with the process of
coding and found myself wanting to add more. As each week passed and each continual
assessment became more complicated I found myself enjoying the process of writing code
and creating websites. I am now committed to enhancing this website through regularly
updating the data and adding more webpages. I feel that through completing this module I
have achieved something I thought previously impossible, I can now have the skills necessary
to write code and build exciting, visually appealing and professional websites.
Through constant practice and repetition I was able to create a website that is visually
appealing by applying colours that blend well together, applying text and font that is easy to
read, adding good quality photographs and keeping the website visually simple. By creating a
CSS style sheet I was able to add background and font colour as well as borders and margins
which greatly increased the aesthetics of the website. I am now confident that I have created
an attractive and professional website that will hopefully give many people sound and helpful
advice on how to identify, manage and control pests and diseases.
3. Evaluation
I thoroughly enjoyed this module but found it extremely time consuming. I found it difficult
to keep up to date with the content of my other modules but overall I found this module to be
greatly beneficial. I found the process of writing code extremely difficult at the beginning of
the module but through constant practice and the weekly exercises I was able to build a
website that I am proud of. By adding many different links, videos, images, tables I was able
to develop my website into an attractive site which is user friendly and informative. The
website I created is an efficient guide on how to identify, manage and control a range of pests
and diseases in Ireland. Through the use of surveys I am able to acquire valuable information
from the user about pest and disease problems they are having. From this information I will
be able to create new webpages based on the information collected and in time post new
webpages on the requested topic.
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4. Analysis
Creating a professional and attractive website can greatly benefit your business as it is more
likely to generate a positive impression and keep the user on the site for longer. The
challenge of creating a professional website is the ability to attract the user to the site and
once on the site keep them there as long as possible. The longer the user remains on the site,
the more likely they will purchase an item or continue to use the site as a guide in the future.
If the website is simple and easy to read and understand, the user will return if they are
satisfied with the content. The content of the site is just as important as the layout and
appearance. The content of the site should be relevant, informative and descriptive in order to
attract more and more users.
5. Conclusion
I would like to have had more time to spend on this module but as the college semester was
so hectic, I didn’t feel that I had enough time to put everything I wanted into my website. I
am now determined to constantly add to this website and attract more users. Through adding
surveys and receiving responses already informs me that this is a site which people could
greatly benefit from. I now have the skills necessary to develop this website into an even
more attractive and beneficial site by adding more content, webpages, images, videos, links
and surveys.
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Reference List

W3schools (2015) HTML [online] available from http://www.w3schools.com/
[accessed 18/04/15].

Royal Horticultural Society (2015) Rose Black Spot [online] available from
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=270 [accessed 18/04/15].
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