Self Managed Learning Plan

For the Self Managed Learning Plan (SMLP) I will be learning PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor). PHP will allow me to create more dynamic websites, since the language can be used for many things, from making the website more appealing with photo galleries and feedback forms, or creating more advanced features such as shopping baskets and forums.

After searching through a number of jobsites I found that the vast majority of available employers required you to know how to code PHP. Learning PHP now will give me a higher chance of gaining employment after this course.

After some research I have found that a large amount of people who learnt PHP said it was easy to pick up. So it makes me more confident that I too will be able to pick up PHP without too many problems.

It also has many similarities to other programming languages, such as C, Java and Perl. So after learning PHP I will have an opportunity to expand my knowledge into these other languages. This will increases my employment prospects if I venture into other languages.

There are many tutorial websites available online along with a number of dedicated books that I will be able to use to learn PHP.

I will also learn MySQL (Structured Query Language) alongside PHP as the two languages work together and will enable the use of databases alongside the website.

I feel learning PHP for my SMLP is the correct choice because:

• It will enable me to create more dynamic websites.
• There are many employment prospects for people with PHP skills.
• It is easy to learn.
• It has similarities with other programming languages.
• There are many tutorial resources available.