My marks for TM47 went as follows: 70, 81, 66 and then 63 for the EMA. This is annoying because I needed 70 for a grade 2 pass (and a 2.1). As it is, I got a grade 3 which leaves me with a 2.2. I should complain.
Comments on TM470? As an experienced project manager, I wasn't at all surprised at the way that TM470 was set out. I expected it to be report based and that was how it was. What left me with a reduced mark was because of the topic that I chose. There is not a lot of literature out there that meets OU criteria for citation regarding the routing of US outline model railroad freight cars! Neither could I get anyone to join in and validate my ideas and progress (the demographic for model railroads is not on the side of computerisation overall). Lastly, as I was writing something purely for my own use, the LSEPI (Legal, Social, Ethical and Professional Issues) weren't very relevant. I scored low on these in TMA 03 (hence the drop to 66) and obviously my attempt to justify the lack of content in these areas within the EMA didn't impress either of the markers. Never mind, I never did have my studies as critical to my professional developments and, as discussed below, my involvement in computing was a by product of my job rather than a planned career move.
I left grammar school in 1961 having hated school, finishing up with four (old fashioned) GCEs (English, History, Biology and Maths). At 16 I went to work for a bank in the City and stayed in banking until 1985 - 24 years, of which 20 were spent trading currencies and managing trading rooms. I am sure that my parents would have been thrilled that I finally have a degree. I came from a hard working environment without a lot of money (Dad was a bus conductor and Mum worked in a factory). I am sure that if I had got 7 GCEs they would have had a hard time keeping me at school for A-levels. (For more on my life, check out my - ongoing - autobiography.
Anyway, this is my final OU record:
The computing and IT project (TM470) Jan 2017 30 credits Grade 3 Pass Web, mobile and cloud technologies (TM352) Oct 2016 30 credits Grade 3 Pass Data management and analysis (TM351) Jan 2016 30 credits Grade 3 Pass The digital computer (TM221) Feb 1979 30 credits Grade 2 Pass Mathematics: a foundation course (M101) Feb 1978 60 credits Pass Telecommunication systems (T321) Feb 1977 30 credits Grade 2 Pass An algorithmic approach to computing (M251) Feb 1977 30 credits Grade 2 Pass Electromagnetics and electronics (TS282) Feb 1976 30 credits Grade 3 Pass Instrumentation (T291) Feb 1976 30 credits Grade 3 Pass The man-made world: a foundation course (T100) Feb 1975 60 credits Pass (I put my grade 3 results in TM351 and TM352 down to their terrible first year presentations and my age!)
What now? Well, as I have said, my wife's put a veto on me carrying on with anything like the last few years. I was thinking of doing an electronics course but, at the moment, finding it more fun to get on with my scale plastic modelling or my model railroad. I also play the concertina, for fun and spend time either sewing tapestries or completing jigsaws so you can see that I have plenty to do.
As I have said before, the OU taught me how to program, just as the first microcomputers were coming available and, with some bank funding, I ended up owning one and writing software for my employers. The first computer that I used and then owned was a North Star Horizon - Z80 - 48K - Twin 80K floppy disks! The bank bought two; one for me and one for them. The cost of each was around £1,200 which, whenaccounting for inflation, would be £6,864.00 in todays money! A couple of years later, the bank bought a 5MB hard disk which was also £1,200 which equates to £4,740.00 today!
My first software was a suite of calculators for the various inter-currency and inter-market relationships and my second was for a front office trading room suite that included deal capture, counterpart risk and trading risk/profits. As a result of this, on my 40th birthday, I resigned from my position as Chief Trader at one of the large French banks and went into business writing software for banks on a commercial basis. This is what I did in various roles until I was finally made redundant at 55. Remember that you can't understand technology or cope with it if you are over 50 supposedly!
Additionally, I have been operating as a consultant for the Smalltalk language since 1990 and still have one major client in the USA. All of my banking work was carried out in either Basic or Pascal (I was at one time both the Chairman and Treasurer of the UCSD Pascal user group in the UK) but outside of that I have been a steady user of Smalltalk. My TM470 project for my Model Railroad is written in Smalltalk and I am continuing to develop that.
There is still one blog entry to go. I will take that opportunity to look back over my 42 years of OU connection and compare then to now. As it is, I will stop now and come back to this in a couple of days.
Yes, it really is it!
My marks for TM47 went as follows: 70, 81, 66 and then 63 for the EMA. This is annoying because I needed 70 for a grade 2 pass (and a 2.1). As it is, I got a grade 3 which leaves me with a 2.2. I should complain.
Comments on TM470? As an experienced project manager, I wasn't at all surprised at the way that TM470 was set out. I expected it to be report based and that was how it was. What left me with a reduced mark was because of the topic that I chose. There is not a lot of literature out there that meets OU criteria for citation regarding the routing of US outline model railroad freight cars! Neither could I get anyone to join in and validate my ideas and progress (the demographic for model railroads is not on the side of computerisation overall). Lastly, as I was writing something purely for my own use, the LSEPI (Legal, Social, Ethical and Professional Issues) weren't very relevant. I scored low on these in TMA 03 (hence the drop to 66) and obviously my attempt to justify the lack of content in these areas within the EMA didn't impress either of the markers. Never mind, I never did have my studies as critical to my professional developments and, as discussed below, my involvement in computing was a by product of my job rather than a planned career move.
I left grammar school in 1961 having hated school, finishing up with four (old fashioned) GCEs (English, History, Biology and Maths). At 16 I went to work for a bank in the City and stayed in banking until 1985 - 24 years, of which 20 were spent trading currencies and managing trading rooms. I am sure that my parents would have been thrilled that I finally have a degree. I came from a hard working environment without a lot of money (Dad was a bus conductor and Mum worked in a factory). I am sure that if I had got 7 GCEs they would have had a hard time keeping me at school for A-levels. (For more on my life, check out my - ongoing - autobiography.
Anyway, this is my final OU record:
The computing and IT project (TM470) Jan 2017 30 credits Grade 3 Pass
Web, mobile and cloud technologies (TM352) Oct 2016 30 credits Grade 3 Pass
Data management and analysis (TM351) Jan 2016 30 credits Grade 3 Pass
The digital computer (TM221) Feb 1979 30 credits Grade 2 Pass
Mathematics: a foundation course (M101) Feb 1978 60 credits Pass
Telecommunication systems (T321) Feb 1977 30 credits Grade 2 Pass
An algorithmic approach to computing (M251) Feb 1977 30 credits Grade 2 Pass
Electromagnetics and electronics (TS282) Feb 1976 30 credits Grade 3 Pass
Instrumentation (T291) Feb 1976 30 credits Grade 3 Pass
The man-made world: a foundation course (T100) Feb 1975 60 credits Pass
(I put my grade 3 results in TM351 and TM352 down to their terrible first year presentations and my age!)
What now? Well, as I have said, my wife's put a veto on me carrying on with anything like the last few years. I was thinking of doing an electronics course but, at the moment, finding it more fun to get on with my scale plastic modelling or my model railroad. I also play the concertina, for fun and spend time either sewing tapestries or completing jigsaws so you can see that I have plenty to do.
As I have said before, the OU taught me how to program, just as the first microcomputers were coming available and, with some bank funding, I ended up owning one and writing software for my employers. The first computer that I used and then owned was a North Star Horizon - Z80 - 48K - Twin 80K floppy disks! The bank bought two; one for me and one for them. The cost of each was around £1,200 which, whenaccounting for inflation, would be £6,864.00 in todays money! A couple of years later, the bank bought a 5MB hard disk which was also £1,200 which equates to £4,740.00 today!
My first software was a suite of calculators for the various inter-currency and inter-market relationships and my second was for a front office trading room suite that included deal capture, counterpart risk and trading risk/profits. As a result of this, on my 40th birthday, I resigned from my position as Chief Trader at one of the large French banks and went into business writing software for banks on a commercial basis. This is what I did in various roles until I was finally made redundant at 55. Remember that you can't understand technology or cope with it if you are over 50 supposedly!
Additionally, I have been operating as a consultant for the Smalltalk language since 1990 and still have one major client in the USA. All of my banking work was carried out in either Basic or Pascal (I was at one time both the Chairman and Treasurer of the UCSD Pascal user group in the UK) but outside of that I have been a steady user of Smalltalk. My TM470 project for my Model Railroad is written in Smalltalk and I am continuing to develop that.
There is still one blog entry to go. I will take that opportunity to look back over my 42 years of OU connection and compare then to now. As it is, I will stop now and come back to this in a couple of days.