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Darryl Dyke

It's All Good

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Friday, 28 Nov 2014, 10:26

Well T319 did happen, in fact it's happening now and I'm already one TMA in and about to start Block 2.  Even better, I've just received a very credible 2nd pass for T307.

 

So, not only can I see the top of the mountain, I'm almost standing on itsmile

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Darryl Dyke

T319

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Will it or won't it.

After all the hassle I had a year ago, even to the point of considering suing the OU for misrepresentation, I've heard nothing about the roll-out of T319-Environmental Management 2.

It's the module I need to complete my degree and the only realistic option I can see from the corner I've been forced into by the OU.

Looks like I'll have to spend even more time chasing this up

 

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Darryl Dyke

Another Year, Another Module

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Wednesday, 22 Jan 2014, 12:08

It's that new module time again. This years lucky contestant is T307-Innovation:Designing for a Sustainable Future, a real mouthful and one I just had to read from the course book because I can't remember itwink.

This is a 60 point level 3 module so I'm easing myself into it.  This is yet another module I'm doing that's in it's final presentation. This'll be 3 in a row now. Maybe I'm a jinxbig grin.

Despite the fact that it's established though it still doesn't seem all that well organised. I downloaded and printed off thirty odd pages of assignment booklet and have just discovered that it may be the wrong one because somebody "forgot" to update the module website after last year. It's a new website that didn't open until last week. WHO CHECKS THESE THINGS?

Anyhow, I'm waiting to see if I have the correct version. Otherwise I've just wasted a pile of ink and paper (home printing isn't cheap) printing off the wrong document.sad

Not exactly an auspicious start.

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Darryl Dyke

Spoke Too Soon

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Well it's been a couple of months since my last blog post, not that I'm sure if anybody reads this but it provides me with some snapshots of my own progress if nothing else.

When I last updated, on November 27th, I was in quite a good mood. I'd just received a distinction in T211 and felt pretty good about things. That didn't last unfortunately.  Shortly after writing that post I left for work. I got 50 yards from my front door when some moron in a delivery van ran me off the road. £400 worth of damage to the suspension of my car and the arsehole didn't even stop!

I got to work late, on my motorbike which, because the roads were filthy, got covered in crud. If things weren't going badly enough at this stage I capped it all off by having an accident in work right at the end of my shiftsad. A faulty piece of access equipment slipped and dropped me from an aircraft engine. I was left dangling and damaged the rotator cuff in my left shoulder as well as minor injuries to my hip and head (caused by the "safety" glasses I was wearing.  As a consequence I haven't worked since, although I'm on full pay, and will only be able to return on limited duties in another couple of weeks.

Next time things are going well I think I'll keep my mouth shutblush.

 

 

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Darryl Dyke

More Letters

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I've had my results from T211.

All I can say is .......... WOOO  HOOOObig grin

I thought I was looking at 70 to 80% for the exam.  I'd have been happy with that.  A good solid second pass would have set up my degree target nicely.  So how happy was I when i returned from work late last night and opened my e-mail to discover that I'd achieved a score of 86% in the exam.approve

I'm still grinning now.  A distinction and a place in the top 8% of students on the module.

Better still I've just claimed my Diploma of Higher Education.  1/2 the point from unused modules.  This leaves my next goal of my BSc in Design and Innovation neatly with 1/3 of it's intended points coming from unclaimed courses.  Happily, 30 points are already in the bank,as I jumped over the DHE line with some clearancewink, and the next 90 should be done by early 2015.

So now I get to put Dip.H.E. after my name.

All in all I'm rather chuffed.

 

 

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Darryl Dyke

And Another One Bites The Dust.

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Many thanks to Queen for the Title.

And, after todays exam, T211 does indeed bite the dust. it's gone from my life and gone from the OU. Another module sacfrificed to "streamlining" and evidence to the OUs panicked quest to compete with brick universities who are now competing for the distance learning market.

Is the OU vulnerable?

Well, YES.

Why is the OU vulnerable?

It's not really simple but, basically, it's because the OU always considered itself a non profit organisation and, with no competition, could provide a valuable and comprehensive educational service to its students. Now the brick uni's have to look elsewhere for income (Thank you very much Messers Cameron and Osborne who, incidentally, took full advantage of free university places despite being from wealthy families) and they are biting into the OUs student and, therefore, customer base in order to survive.

Sure, T211 is being replaced but with a module that's cheaper to run so the students get more "efficiency" of learning. Personally I think it's a shame. T211 did need updating and modernising but to ditch it completely is a really unnecessary and wasteful. So, thanks to the government for screwing up the OU, removing the best educational courses and modules and for doing your level best to return higher education to the domain of those with money rather than ability.

That, I'm sure will be the best policy for ensuring the future prosperity of the nation and, indeed, the entire world. 

Rich idiots running things. Anybody studying history want to elaborate?

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Darryl Dyke

Sunny Day Studying

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First, I'd like to thank those who've commented and given me advice on the issues I've been having with the OU.  I'll be sure and check out the forums from now on.  I would have posted a message sooner but I've been having a few problems posting on my blog. With the help of the OU computing helpdesk I'm now able to post again (Don't all cheer at oncewink).

So, how is T211 going?

Well, it's hard.  Don't get me wrong, the work is simple enough to understand and there's quite a lot that I've done before.  There's also some surprisingly relevant material in the course to business design which is a pleasant surprise as I wasn't expecting anything of much use in this area from a course primarily concerned with product design and the more "arty-farty" aspects of design.

 

The downside is the sheer amount of presented work required for the TMAs.  It's very time-consuming and uninspiring particularly when the sun is shining and I have a day off work.sad  The amount of sketching is particularly onerous and, in my personal view, a litttle pointless as I'm only demonstrating things that I already know and knew long before I started the module (orthographic/perspective drawing etc),  Again, it's one of those things I feel I should have been exempted from given my engineering background but the OU don't recognise my previous qualifications.

Another bugbear is the technical side of the module.  Most of the features on my DVD-ROM don't work, and I don't seem to be alone in this.  I have found the required material online but this is not made in any way clear in the module instructions.  Basically, as far as the DVD is concerned, the OU have sent me an attractively packaged coaster.  To cap it all, the CAD software is out-of-date and doesn't work well (read at all!) with modern browsers.  I've got the up to date version now but wasted a day and a half of precious study time sorting that out.

Don't get me wrong. It's not a very bad module.  For the very artistically inclined design and engineering novice with a lot of spare time it would be ideal but, for the majority of students it turns into a time-draining swamp very rapidly.  I'm just glad I didn't elect to do a second modiule alongside it.  To be frank, if it wasn't a compulsory module for my degree I wouldn't have taken T211 but I'm stuck with it.  On the bright side, for other students at least, this is the final presentation of T211 so next years students wont have to put up with such an out-of-date and badly loaded module.

 

 

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Darryl Dyke

Am I Misplacing my Trust?

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Never having enough time seems to be a symptom of being an OU student. That's why I never seem to have enough time to add to my blog.

I did get some answers from the OUs advisors although it seemed like jolly hard work to get there, for me and for the two hard-working ladies who went seeking information on my behalf.  It appears that, if you seek information about the OUs plans you must embark on a perilous quest involving monsters, riddles and portals into dark, unknown worlds in order to get a straight answer.

But, thanks to the persitance of Jo and Rosemary, I did get an answer.  It wasn't ideal but I will be able to finish my degree with something resembling a relevant module, albeit being forced to take at least 6 months longer over it, assuming the OU don't decide to alter the start date from the planned October 2014.  I wouldn't put it past them.

The planned course is T319-Environmental Management.  Not ideal, as I said, but it does include advanced management studies like systems thinking, which I was planning to do dedicated modules on.

But did I get this information in a timely fashion to make a decision about T211? No!

And entirely down to people at the OU being cagey about their future plans and by an amazing lack (or apparent lack) of anybody actually being able or willing to give out any solid information.  It seems to me that many people at Milton Keynes don't give a monkeys about students getting to study the modules they want to study or are relevant to their goals so long as they study something and keep paying for modules. So I've commited to another module costing £775 as it was too late to get my money back if I wasn't able to complete my degree.

Do I trust this information?

Enough to get it in writing, save it, back it up and print off a hard copy.

Legal action may only be postponed!

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Darryl Dyke

Fraud!

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Monday, 21 Jan 2013, 13:43

I am getting a bit pissed off with the OU. 

I started my degree course in 2010 with a 4-5 year plan to a degree.  I had modules and timescales mapped out plus alternatives if my circumstances changed.  Within the first 6 months this course had become focussed on one route.  I knew exactly what I was going to do and when I was going to do it.

 

Then the OU started "restructuring"

 

I watched as modules I had planned to do were removed from my degree pathway.  I tried to circumvent this by taking alternative modules and taking some out of sequence, simply so I could take them before they were discontinued.  I took B322 even though it was irrelevant and awful and I gained nothing from it academically. I've even been forced to add another year to my study plans. Through all this the OU kept silent about it's future plans while all the time screwing with my degree plans.  Attempts at getting any straight answers out of their helpline were futile.  Nobody knew (or was letting on) what was going to happen.

At the start of the month I hit a dead end.

I need more points at level 3 but there are now no more modules relevant to my original plans or even any alternative options I considered.

So where am I left now?

I've spent in excess of £4,000, invested countless hours over 3 years of my life and for what?

I'm now not in a positon to achieve the qualification in the form I originally started.  The OU has cut modules at 12 months notice.  Not much use when your study plans stretch over 5 years.  I've tried to get some sense out of the student advisors.  My first call got me promise that I would be "contacted with some solid information".  That was 12 days ago and nobody's got in touch.  I called 30 minutes ago and after giving all my details again was transferred to somebody's answering machine.  I called again, really annoyed by know, and was asked for a contact number.  Then I was told that someone would ring me "soon".  So I'll sit here and wait to see if I'm going to get any info. I'm not holding my breath but I'm supposed to be starting another module in 10 days.  If I can't get my degree I'm not wasting my time on T211.  I'll pull out and get my money back before the course starts.  I wonder if that's why they're delaying.

I'm so irritated by all this that I took the liberty of getting some legal advice about their actions.  It seems that, as the OU made claims that these courses would be available for the duration of my degree, and that I could take them as part of my pathway, then they are contractually obliged to provide them.  Furthermore, by taking payment for courses initially, with the proviso that I would get the modules I wanted, and then cancelling these modules, the OU is de facto taking money under false pretences, also known as fraud, a criminal offence.

Personally I'm getting rather inclined to go down this legal route and drag the OU through the courts with all the great publicity that would attract.

Has anybody else had the same experience?  If you have, send me a message or comment and we can compare notes.

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Darryl Dyke

A New Start

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Wednesday, 22 Jan 2014, 11:46

Well, my exam happened. Was it as bad as I had feared? NO.  It was worse.

The whole experience verged on traumatic.  Less than half our original learning group attended, such was the dropout rate.  The paper was unrealistically difficult with questions on parts of the coursework that were barely touched upon while leaving out huge swathes of important work that was given considerable attention during the module.  I really think that the level was unfairly set, particularly given that this is the last time T206 is being run.

Talk about a parting shotangry.

That said, I did pass comfortably(63%), gaining a good second in conjuction with my OCAS score and putting me in the top 10% of students so, on a personal level at least, I am pleased with the result.

At least the aftermath was easy.  I've taken a much needed study break since T206.  The first month or so was spent untangling myself from studying, something that has been a considerable part of my life for two and a half years, non-stop, and getting to some state of normality while simultaneously trying to calm down after the exam (I didn't sleep for dayssad).  I did eventually manage to relax and had a nice enjoyable Christmas but now the time has come to start studying again.

The materials for my next course, T211-Design and Designing, arrived 3 days ago and I've been busily setting up my study area again.  I've reviewed the workbooks, downloaded the software and watched the first few videos.  Disappointingly, much of the early stuff is lifted straight from U101 which I completed in 2011 so this will just be an exercise in repetition, for a couple of weeks at least.

Another thing with T211 is that it looks to be the most "arty-farty" of the modules I've done (bearing in mind that this is number 8) and, looking at the work required, I wish now that I had registered for another module to run alongside it as I still need to pick up another 30 points at level 3, after the OU moved the goalposts and messed up my original planned study routeangry.  A return of the Systems module would be nice, especially if it's split into 2 30-pointers.

Don't get the wrong impression though.  I can't wait to get started with T211 and have already made inroads into the early work.  I just need to be patient now and let the course catch up with mewink

 

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Darryl Dyke

A Looming Exam

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Wednesday, 10 Oct 2012, 12:56

It's just over 48 hours until T206 draws to it's conclusion with the dreaded exam.  I'm not that worried though. In fact, I'm pretty confident about it.  I've got some past papers, analysed them, took them apart, learned from them and applied the work I've done for the past 8 months. 

One thing I would change is that I'd like the exam to be today or, better still, have happened 2 weeks ago because that's when I was at my peak as far as knowledge retention is concerned.  Since then I've been treading water in the learning department and this is extrmely difficult.  Trying to retain facts in a world full of distractions, each of which threatens to push vital exam knowledge out of your ears, is a frustrating balancing act.  There are only so many times you can re-read sections of textbook and I've seen the DVDs more times than I've seen Star Wars, and I can remember more from Star Wars.

So this morning, having decided that all I'm now doing is revising in circles, I've put the textbooks away and will just keep my cribs to hand for casual reference.  A bit of a jog for fabric heat loss calculations, nuclear decay, hydrocarbon combustion and hydro calcs might be advisable in the last few hours.

Another thing I'm not so keen on is the exam location.  A multi-cultural faith centre in the suburbs of Cardiff?  There are a plethora of colleges, schools and universities with suitable facilities in the area so why this?  It's difficult to find and awkward to get to, particularly by public transport.  A message to the OU-THIS ISN'T IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF YOUR STUDENTS!!.  Worse for me is that it's right by the hospital in which my father died from a hospital borne infection 2 years ago so, if there are windows in the exam room facing it, I'm going to have to ask to face away from it.

I'm under enough exam stress as it is.

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Darryl Dyke

Another Result

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There I go moaning that my B322 result is taking it's time and it arrives later that day.  To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it.  OK, a grade 3 pass isn't bad but I felt a little cheated by the ocas score of 64%. I personally don't think that the tutor really understood my business idea in that she kept comparing it to another type of business that was, in her mind at least, related to the type of business I was proposing.  The only real similarity was that they were both restaurants.  Because of this, I lost points on my TMAs and the value of the feedback I got was significantly diminished.sad

What's even more galling is that, having got a respectable 74% on my EMA, my score is on the borderline for a grade 2.  Basically, the subjective nature of the marking on B322 and a lack of appreciation of the basic premise of my business proposal has cost me a grade level.

My whole experience with B322 has put me off doing any more business studies courses.  The module is subjective (you're marks are down to the basic understanding of a particular tutor), poor value for money(no tutorials, not even online ones) and, if you've done a couple of business modules already, teaches you absolutely nothing. Rather it just goes back over subjects a student will have already covered at level 1.

From now on my degree will be focussed on design and engineering.

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Darryl Dyke

No Mojo

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Tuesday, 19 Jun 2012, 12:41

Having finished B322, and still waiting for the result two months after submitting my EMA, I'm enjoying my studies much more.  I'm on TMA04 of T206-Energy for a Sustainable Future at the moment and, despite a few hiccups with TMA03 (caused by my PC going pop), the module is going very well.  TMA04 is half done as I did the essay question last week (with 3 weeks to go) leaving me with just the question bits to get through. It's also helped by having a great tutor.  Someone who explains things clearly, from different angles if necessary and who is easy to communicate with.  This makes a tough, but interesting, module much clearer and more accessible.

 This morning, however, despite my best intentions, I have no inspiration, if that's the right word.  I sat there for an hour before deciding that enough was enough.

It's happened before though.  Mind's wandering and I'm not focussed.

I'll have another go tomorrow and, in the meantime, I'll take the textbook to work this afternooon and try a little "light" reading about tidal energy and heat pumps during my breaks.

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Darryl Dyke

Got it licked

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Sunday, 1 Apr 2012, 16:49

Well it seems that sitting out the sunshine was worth it.  I've just read over my B322 EMA and it seems to be in the bag.big grin (Where's the jumping up and down going "Woo Hoo" smiley when you need it?)

I've still got more than 3 weeks until it's due in though so I think I'll hang on to it in case I want to tweak anything, but it looks pretty good to me.

Finished.

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Darryl Dyke

And Just to Rub it in...

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Sunday, 1 Apr 2012, 16:48

.....the sun is still shiningsad.

I'm sitting by my computer, looking out of the window at a glorious day while I'm stuck indoors wrestling with my EMA. 

Still, just another thousand words to go.

 

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Darryl Dyke

A Month of Hell?

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I'm coming to the end of B322 now with just the EMA to go. Trouble is that it coincides witht he second TMA of T206 so I've decided to "switch my life off" for a month to get these assignments done and dusted. That'll put B322 out of the way and allow me to devote all my study time to T206, a course I'm quite enjoying.  Not surprising really as it's basically a course about energy generation and i worked at a power station for 10 years. Not bad preparation as far as I see itsmile.

This coming month will be pretty hard though, what with a level 3 and a level 2 course on the go as well as working shifts full time.  Time to roll up my sleeves and get on with it.

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Darryl Dyke

The Results Are In

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Friday, 16 Dec 2011, 11:13

Last week was a good weeksmile

I got my results from U101 and I'm really pleased with them. Who wouldn't be happy with an average over 80% between OCAS an EMA.  So I now have a Certificate of Higher Education (Open) (K05) comprising modules in design, engineering and business. Not bad considering I didn't even register for this qualification.

If that wasn't enough, I also got my result for B121 and, again, I was pleased with the mark at around 80% average. This meant I qualified for a Certificate in Business Studies (C63). So, after 20 months of studying, I have my first qualifications but, of course, they won't be the last and, just to gild the lily even further, my first TMA from B322-investigating entrepreneurial opportunities, has been marked. I was a bit apprehensive about B322. It's my first level 3 course and I jumped straight into it from level 1 so I was concerned about whether I could work to the required standard. It seems that my worries were unfounded as I got 76% for TMA01. I'm realy pleased with this and it's given me a great confidence boost for the rest of the course.

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Darryl Dyke

The Waiting Game

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It's been quite a while since I added anything to this blog, in fact I can't believe it was July when I posted last.  A lot's happened since then of course.  Best of all is that, after been out of work due to illness for an extended period, I've got a new job with British Airways starting in the new yearbig grin.

On the studying front, I finished both B121 and U101 with time to spare and now I'm waiting for the final results.  I must say that I hate this bit.  I finished both courses at the start of October so it's been two months now.  Of course I've been here before, waiting on completed marking, but what's making it more aggravating this time is that these two results will get me a  Certificate of Higher Education (Open) and a Certificate in Business Studies, my first actual "on-paper" qualifications from the OU. So right now I'm on tenterhooks and checking my Email every 5 minutes, itching to be able to update my CV with some new and up to date qualifications.

I do have one or two things to keep my mind off it though. Not least of which is that, despite my vow to take a few months off studying, I signed up for B322-investigating entrepreneurial opportunities, which, through some kind of perverse OU logic, counts towards a degree in Design and Innovation.  The process of choosing this course came from what I learned on U101-design thinking.  I did a problem solving exercise based around what course to take and this came up as the best option. I wouldn't have considered it otherwise.  Who says you wont apply what you learnwink

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Darryl Dyke

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'.

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Thursday, 21 Jul 2011, 11:14

Ah that nice "up to date" feeling.  My TMAs are in and I,m actually a week ahead on U101.  I've adapted to life without an engineering course and have a targeted study plan for the next three months.

To get here, of course, I had to buckle down and finish the B121 TMA early and then move on to U101.  The B121 had to be finished a week early because it was way too big to be uploaded, a point I had raised in the first tutorial, so I had to post it and posting requires a little more lead time than uploading. Then you entrust it to the Royal Mail and keep your fingers crossed.

Then it was time to get on with TMA03 of U101 and this is where the rollin' started.  TMA03 is about designing a board game (rollin'=dice, gedditclown) and putting your "role" into that game. After a false start that cost me about 9 hours work, and nearly made me give up, I came up with a gardening game which, while starting off slowly, gathered momentum swiftly and really got me rollin' along.  The course guide says that a student should take about 50 hours to complete this TMA and, I can tell you, that's a pretty good estimate but it all seemed to roll along nicely.  The exercise was, ultimately, enjoyable.  Once the initial idea started to develop, the project took on a life of it's own so, at the moment, I'm buzzing with enthusiasm for U101.

Unfortunately my next target is to get a chunk of B121 (Managing in the Workplace) done and I'm finding it drier than a mummy's armpitsad.

Oh well, back to willpower.

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Darryl Dyke

Extraction

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:49

Well, I sat the exam for T173 and I'm pretty sure I've done well.  It wasn't a breeze, in fact it was so cold in the exam hall that it was more of a FREEZE, but I shivered my way through it and was quite happy with the result. I just wish that, in the advice booklet about what to take to the exam, it had said "wear a coat and thermals". It would have been a lot more useful than "bring a HB pencil" I can tell you - I didn't use the damn pencil once!

Of course, finishing the exam is all very nice because it marks an end to the course and you can move on to other things with a few points in the bag towards your degree, but no-one talks about how you extract yourself from a course.  Much effort is made by the OU to help ease students into courses with lots of advice and reassurances, even the courses themselves seem to be designed to start off gently, for the most part, before building up to more complex matters, to get everyone used to the workload.  But what about when a course ends? Obviously I can't speak for others, but I find it a huge anti-climax.  The studying which has become a big part of my life has now stopped.  I don't automatically reach for the engineering course books when I have a bit of spare time.  These sacred items now have to be stored away to make room for the next (or current) course and, to be honest, it's a bit of a wrench.

I went through the same thing with B120 last year. Something which has been a big part of your life for months (eight months for T173) is no longer there.  It's like losing a pet. Yet there's no support to help you. Even the course site dies a death and disappears along with all the ticked boxes and TMA marks that you work so hard for. 

So this ending has caused a bit of a hiatus in my other course work for a couple of weeks as, without T173 in my study plan, I'm having to adapt to not having a comforting engineering course to fall back on when the others (particularly B121) start to "do my head in".  At the moment, I've caught up with B121 and , in fact, got a little way ahead after four solid days of headaches and swearing at it. Now I have to put some effort into LOLA (U101) and catch up from two weeks behind.  All these problems are caused by "end of course withdrawal".

So how about it OU.  Let's have a clinic for those of us who are "course addicts" to get us unhooked cleanly and safely!wink

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Darryl Dyke

Time Squeezing.

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:50

You know, there is one over-riding problem I've come accross with the way the OU works these days. It is, basically, that more and more of it is online.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for technology.  I think the internet is a marvellous tool for all sorts of applications but, it can be inconvenient, if not disasterous, when it goes wrong.

Take yesterday for example.  I sat down in the morning with the intention of getting a good chunk of the coursework for U101 (Design Thinking) done ready to move on to the TMA. Now, the thing about U101 is that all the coursework is online, there are no books.  This has been commented on in the forums about why, when we are paying the same for this course as we do for similar 60 point courses, don't we get any books. The plausible explanation is that because design changes so often then the coursework needs to be updated on a frequent basis so it would be uneconomical and impractical to have printed coursework.

Of course, every student has the option of printing the online pages for themselves but, given that the course is not cheap to start with and that there are a great number of pages to print, the cost of doing this would be difficult to justify. So U101 is a strictly online experience, which is fine.  Right up until you log in and find out that because of a "system error" your course site is down and you are left sitting twiddling your thumbs waiting for the OU tech staff to sort it out.

Now, personally, I do a lot of my studying during the day. It's when I get peace and quiet and I have the time to do some quality studying, not something half learned with family life carrying on noisily in the background but real learning where I am able to take things in and reflect on their place in the coursework.  Unfortunately, it's also the time when most of these "shutdowns" occur.

Yesterday I missed an hour of quality study time because I couldn't access the course materials.  On other courses this hasn't been too much of a problem as I can just get the books out and work on a different element until the system comes back online. When you don't have books this isn't an option.

I'm not advocating cutting down lots of trees to make books with a limited useful life but, as a suggestion, and a bit of design thinking, how about a mirror or Beta site so that the course materials are accessible when they are required and when students can fit studying into their lives.

This is, after all, what the OU is about!

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Darryl Dyke

Motivation...or not.

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:50

Well I submitted my last TMA for T173 today. It's a long way from my best work and will probably get me my lowest mark so far but, in all honesty, I found getting motivated for this one to be a bit of a struggle. According to the predictor I've got 81% without doing the last TMA. Top that off with the fact that it's all about PV cells and electrical theory is just about the most frustrating thing I've ever come accross (how come whenever some scientist found a different way to combine units he got to present this combo as a new unit and name it after himself?). At least with physics you have consistency in units.

The upshot of this is that I've been trying for a week and a half to get this TMA done. Now it's done and there's just the exam to get through, T173 looks to be all over bar the shouting.  The exam doesn't worry me as I have a background in engineering and could have passed it without doing the coursework.  Don't want to sound cocky but that's just the way it is - most of the course has just been a repeat of ground I've covered at least twice previously.

One thing I have learned is that three courses at once is too much. It's too stressful to worry about falling behind with one because you're working your bits off trying to keep up with the others.

Now all I've got to do is find a few days to get a handle on B121!wide eyes

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Darryl Dyke

Phew

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:50

Eight solid hours of U101. I'm a week ahead now so I can give myself a bit of time with B121 tomorrow. So much for enjoying the sunshinesad.

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Darryl Dyke

The Books Are In!

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:50

A nice delivery man just came with the course materials for B121.  It's the first course I've done which has entry requirements - in my case completeing B120 - so I'm pretty revved up for this one.

It's like moving from juniors to big school.smile

It's going to be bedtime reading for a couple of weeks and, as T173 will soon be confined to box files, B121 will get it's own shelf space next to the PC.

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Darryl Dyke

Am I Mad?

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Edited by Darryl Dyke, Saturday, 25 Jun 2011, 08:51

  Like it says elsewhere on this blog, I'm currently doing two courses - U101 and T173.  They're both pretty time consuming, especially U101, but, as T173 winds down towards it's final exam in June I took the decision to take B121-Managing in the Workplace and have a manically busy Summer but finish my Certificate in Business Studies early.  Originally I intended to take a couple of ten point courses from October to February but this would have meant continuous study without a break until October 2012.

  The way I'm going now gives me a few months off studying over Christmas this year in exchange for being tied to my computer for the next six months. 

  Never mind - valium on standby!thoughtful 

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