All Entries In Education Category

I received back my TMA02 for my M150 course this morning. I scored 87% and most of the marks that I lost were in my Javascript implementaions; which didn't really surprise me. I'm not too keen to learn JavaScript; or any other programming language, more than I have to, and am trying to make do with the knowledge I have or that the course imparts. If I can scrape by with what I have then so much the better as far as I'm concerned.

I got my CMA41 result back earlier this week for my T175 course and scored 100% which is fantastic. Yesterday I got my TMA02 result back for the same course and scored 96%. TMA02 involved a discussion of virtual worlds, designing a web page about cloud computing and discussing the advantages of WiMax over other services such as 3G and WiFi. I'm really enjoying the course and am already starting to look forward to the next section of the course.

The cut-off date for the next TMA for my M150 course is due next week. I was rather concerned with my health and made a point of getting it in early. I should get the results of that back within a couple of weeks.

I'm also adding a OU Bloggers section to my Blogroll. If you're an OU Blogger that reads this blog then please get in touch via the feedback form and let me know. I would like to add links to as many OU Bloggers as I can.

I received my first TMA back off my T175 tutor today. She seemed pretty pleased with the work I had submitted and had included some very useful advice along with her marking. Anyway, I am well pleased with the 95% mark that I received.

My first M150 assignment is due in at the end of this month and I can then get knuckled down to progressing with my next T175 assignment.

I was in Carlisle yesterday morning for a T175 tutorial. Unfortunately, only the tutor, one other student and I turned up. It seems that with Cumbria being a fairly sparse region the OU places foreign-based students in Cumbrian tutor groups to make up the numbers. This obviously means that the foreign students are more than likely going to be unable to attend tutorials.

Anyway, even though there was only the tutor and 2 students in attendance I still felt it was a useful exercise. I got to know a bit about both the tutor and other student and they managed to allay my concerns about getting back into a study mindset. It would appear that Lynn, the other student, started doing M150 back in October and had similar concerns. We also briefly discussed time management issues and the first TMA and got a clearer idea of what sorts of things we should be doing.

I've been thinking for quite a while now that I would really like to try my hand at studying towards a degree with the Open University. Back in November I decided that with being out of work for a year and having no luck at interviews that now was the time to do something about it. I ordered a prospectus and sifted through the courses on offer. I'm not really an Arts kind of guy and tend to lean more towards Sciene and Technology. Anyway, I orginally liked the look of the BSc (Honours) Information and Communication Technologies degree and signed up for the 2 courses that they suggest you start with. Thinking on what sort of optional courses I could bring into the degree to make up the 60 point shortfall led me to some of the Astronomy courses. After a bit more digging I came across the BA/BSc Open degree, which allows you much greater flexibility to tailor the degree to your own liking. You still have to take courses at levels 1, 2 & 3 to meet the point requirements but the choice of courses are virtually wide open. This has given me much greater flexibilty in how I structure my degree and I have come up with the following plan:

Level 1
Data, computing and information (M150)30
Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies (T175)30
How the Universe works (S197)10
Introducing astronomy (S194)10
Planets: an introduction (S196)10
Using mathematics (MST121)30

Level 2
Computers and processors (T224)30
Exploring mathematics (MS221)30
Planetary science and the search for life (S283)30
Astronomy (S282)30
Observing the Universe (SXR208)15

Level 3
Computer algebra, chaos and simulations (MS325)30
Graphs, networks and design (MT365)30
Natural and artificial intelligence (M366)30
The energetic Universe (S381)30

Total points in this qualification plan: 375

This is 15 points over the 360 total that I need but includes the two courses that I originally signed up for, and an optional residential course based at an observatory in Mallorca; an opportunity not to be missed. The main bulk of the course is Astronomy and Computing but with the addition of the complementary Mathematics that I am going to need for the level 2 & 3 Astronomy and Computing courses. I have concerns that S381 appears to have been pulled from the prospectus and I may need to pick another level 3 course but nothing is set in stone yet.

My first 2 course, M150 and T175 both start next month and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into them. My only real concern is trying to ensure that I don't get too distracted to study.