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Leticia Briscoe

Same place different name

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Here we go again is an overused phrase but very apt here.

I'm on the apprenticeship scheme! It's been hard going sorting this out. Although my company was paying the levy they had not set up access to the account or had anyone do any courses. It took a while to get it all sorted and just when it was approved and I applied COVID hit and doing anything at all became like walking through treacle.

So I'm here, a week in and terrified. I love computing. I would do anything related to computing - apart from networking. Also, Cisco is a dirty word and so we don't use it around me. I sign into my first week of the first module and what do I see? Welcome to the Cisco Networking Academy. Anyone else would groan but not me. Bring on the panic attack.

I was sitting here just now feeling particularly overwhelmed. I feel like I am going to fail at the first hurdle. That all my learning and physical disabilities and upcoming surgeries mean that I am bound to fail and with Networking as the first point of call they are going to see me as the failure I am right out of the gate. I know this is all the negative part of my brain talking but I can't silence it. Right in the middle of this train of thought, I got an unsolicited call from the Apprenticeship team. They let me know that my alternative materials were running late, I'd already seen the email so that was okay. But the lady on the phone also outlined all kinds of extra support and one to one sessions I could have if I need them. I wanted to scream HOW DID YOU KNOW?!?! Talk about things happening at precisely the right time (Thank you, Father)

I am a little less nervous now and I have booked Thursday and Friday this week to work on my course. I hope that I can get my head around it all and that I will be wise enough to ask for help instead of falling behind through not understanding the activities.

Having a minor surgery yesterday has not helped my mojo today. Nor has the news that I will need at least one but probably two further surgeries. I refuse to be diverted from my course and I hope to get the great mark that I need. I will be the oldest graduate in my immediate family but it beats being the only one without a degree!

Wish me luck and see you next time.

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Leticia Briscoe

To answer Simon's question...

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Edited by Leticia Briscoe, Tuesday, 17 Jul 2018, 15:37

So, Simon Reed was wondering what I meant with the log book comment in my blog on June 11th. I'll explain. When I studied at London South Bank University I had two Software Development modules in my first year. SD1 in the first semester and then SD2 in the second. Firstly, I will say that I copied my first program on my Commodore 64 when I was 9 years old. I then wrote my own programs in Basic. The earliest evidence I can find is one I wrote when I was 12. My interest in computing went in and out but I believe that learning so young means that programming is like learning French or Spanish to me. When I read things they just make sense to me. It's like logical English. It may not be my first language but if I slow down and read slowly I can always work out what the program is trying to say.

Anyway, I digress (pause for quick Google search to make sure I'm using that in the right context). So, I went to college and did some Java and VB. I went to Roehampton and moved onto SQL and C++. I went back to college as a mature student and it was VB.net and then at London South Bank it was Python. Now, as I said before, I feel I have quite a good understanding of programming to an extent but at college I failed my programming module. That was amazing to me! (There may have been other unethical factors; not mine) It was my strongest subject. So when I went to South Bank my confidence was a bit shaken. 

I did well in lessons and for assignments my mark for each was in the high 90% but I was always terrified about exams. From our first lesson we were encouraged to keep a log book. In lessons we would write down things that we learned or were unfamiliar with. How to declare a variable, how to call a function, the different types of loops. These were things that were easier for me but as I learned new things I would jot them in my book.

When it came time for exams I was like an English speaking student trying to write a dissertation on Ethics in French. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and I understood what I wanted the program to do but I couldn't get the language straight in my head. Sometimes I would mix up one language with another or just get a couple of words wrong from each language so the whole line would be wrong in any language. My log book was a life saver in those instances. 

I am hoping that we are able to take our own reference type document into the exam for M250. That's the only bit that worries me because my memory does get really muddled. The only good thing is that I get extra time to muddle along due to my dyslexia (I think the fact that word is so hard to spell is cruel. Like calling a lisp a lisp)

Simon, I hope that answered your question.



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Leticia Briscoe

A Victory!.... or is it?

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So while checking my student study profile every day (as you do when you are waiting for your credit transfer to be approved) I was delighted and overjoyed to see that it had been approved! although I had more than 120 credits they were all at level 1 so I just the 120 at level 1 and am clear to study level 2, or so I thought. 

See, I have had a bumpy road where I had tried to study with OU before and had a personal tragedy and so stopped studying but didn't withdraw and so I had a restriction marker put on my profile. This was almost 10 years ago. Not long after that I got myself into trouble was given a custodial prison sentence. While in jail I considered studying with OU and looked into it but wanted to wait until my life was back to normal, well stable and better than the previous norm anyway. 

In 2014 I studied a HNC at South Thames College to see if I could handle study before going back to a degree. I manged to get my credits and follow through to the end. So then I decided to give it a couple of years to get my career cemented then go back to my degree. Things were notched up a gear when I ruptured a disc in my back and now walking is difficult and going to a normal uni is out of the question. 

Trying to get back into OU is been a trial that I would have given up on  a few years ago. There are so many hoops to jump through!!! Firstly I was told that I was still on the system as a student in custody and I would have to get my probation officer to confirm that I am now in the community and allow to study independently. That would not be a problem If I were still on probation but I had long finished my probation and my officer had moved to a different department and getting through to her and getting her to fill the form took months! Especially as she filled it out incorrectly and I had to go back and forth. Luckily enough the department dealing with it was great (SSE?). Anyway. Finally that was done and then I was referred to another department as a progression restriction was on due to failed modules. I had to fill out a form to say how my situation had changed and how I could be sure that I would be successful this time. I filled out the form and wrote my statement and sent it off. 

I was contacted by another adviser who said he would be happy to help me but as I have studied since then I would have to do my credit transfer before he could lift the restriction. I had to go back to the college to try and get the certificate I had never received, only to find out that they had sent it to the wrong address but because I had not addressed it earlier then I had no way of getting a new one through them. They gave me a Notice of Performance and i had to send that through to Credit Transfer. After a while I got an email back saying that that would not be sufficient. So I had to go to Pearsons and buy a new certificate and that took about 3 weeks. Once I got that through I sent that to Credit transfer which took another few weeks. Now it has all come through and I was ecstatic. I have had an email that my restriction will now be lifted temporarily.

Talk about letting the air out of my balloon! I wanted to register on 3 modules for this year as I want to study 120 credits per year. I am hoping that there will not be too many more hoops to jump through - I don't think my back can take anymore!

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Leticia Briscoe

Still waiting anxiously

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Edited by Leticia Briscoe, Thursday, 12 Jul 2018, 18:55

Sitting at work today and I have checked my study record again on the off chance that my credit transfer has been done and I didn't get an email. I really want to get all this started. I cant wait to begin. I know initially that the adviser was asking me why I was applying so early as there was plenty of time but I am glad that I did. I knew that my situation was unique and it would take ages.


I finally got the copy of my credit from Pearsons and now the CT team have agreed to transfer 60 credits from my old credit transfer. That's good because I have 60 with my HNC and so that should allow me to go straight into the 2nd year as planned.
I have bought a couple of note books and I'm rearranging the front room next weekend to set up my study area. When I think back to when I studied before I managed to get a first on two modules with half-hearted efforts and going through so much other stuff. I have high expectations for myself this time around, especially with the programming modules.


I am a bit nervous about the exams I know how rubbish I am when I have to use my memory for things but I am hoping that I will be OK. Maybe they allow a log book or reference papers like LSBU. I should be OK in that case. We will see.


Financing is worrying me. I know I will get tuition fees but I don't know what I have to supply to prove that I am studying at a distance because of my back injury. I think that is pretty clear due to when I started pursing this and the Access to Work stuff that my injury is hindering my attending a normal uni. Well, we will wait and see

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Simon Reed, Thursday, 12 Jul 2018, 06:35)
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