My understanding of the continuity techniques:

For our preliminary task, we were given a simple brief to carry out in pairs - to film and edit a short sequence, showing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down on a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of duologue. The main aim of our task is to include the continuity techniques that we learnt in one of our previous lessons, and to demonstrate these techniques effectively. 

The 180 degree rule
The "180 degree rule" is where the camera has to stay on one side of the line which cuts the shot in half. If you want to cross this line, you must show the transition in which the camera is doing so. This is used to orient the viewer and give a sense of geography. The video below explains this technique very clearly:

Shot/reverse shot
A "shot/reverse shot" is a shot commonly used when conversations between characters are being shown; for example, one character is shown looking at another character, usually off-screen, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing each other, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. Here is an example of a short clip where this technique has been used:

Eye-line match
An "eye-line match" shot is a shot to enable the viewers to see what the characters in the scene are seeing. For examples, a shot could begin with a character looking off screen at something (say, a picture), then the next shot will show the picture that he/she is looking at, in order to inform the audience of what is happening. 

Match-on-action
This is cutting from one shot to another, using a view that matches/carries on the previous shot's level of action. This technique gives the impression of continuous time, and often, this technique isn't even noticeable, as it is just so subtle.