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 year.
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 learn
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Good job on "tenterhooks"
Kept my blood pressure down
Thanks
Les
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I took B322 last year. It had mixed reviews but I thought it was really good. Hope you get your results soon. I'm waiting for one as well and it's frustrating. I don't know why I'm waiting - I already know the due date is 16th December. I keep seeing other people getting their results early though, so I keep thinking, just maybe....U101 review?
Hi Darryl, any advice or tips for those about to start U101? I'm going to be studying for a BA in Design and Innovation (aka arts pathway) and am looking forward to the course starting in October. In the meantime I'm looking for any preparation that I could be doing in advance.Kind regards,
Samantha
U101, or any x101, preparation
Samantha, you're possibly not asking in quite the right place, but you might find these links useful:
U101 Design thinking: creativity for the 21st century - You will needU101 Student and tutor module reviews
But mostly the stuff here:
Study support in particular the links about time management and friends & family.
Also:
The "Are you ready?" checklist
The x101 modules are all about getting you ready for the degree journey. It is where you will work out how to find study time, how you will protect that study time, organise your study area (it's so much easier if you can have your own permanent space), how to deal with friends and family being offended when they realise they are actually less important to you than your degree for the next few years.
It's a bit like learning to drive a car. No amount of staring at traffic or reading the Highway Code will really prepare you for that first driving lesson. And those first few lessons are HELL! All those pedals and levers and wheels and mirrors and nagging instructor and omigod-other-traffic and I CAN'T DO THIS IT'S TOO HARD!!! I have a suspicion the hardest module is the first one. That's the one where you have to juggle family, holidays, time management, demands from friends, guilt, dividing housework, house-space, timetables, priorities, work, sleep, access to the internet (e.g. no online games or watching videos for anyone else while you are on an online tutorial), being frustrated / elated / angry / disappointed (sometimes all on the same day) and a score of other things.
Once you've sorted out all that stuff, the studying is the easy and fun part! Life is a serious inconvenience for the OU student.