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Monday, December 21st, 2009
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12:27 pm
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| Thursday, December 17th, 2009
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12:56 pm
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| Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
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11:47 am - Changes to Presentation Patterns for Arts courses
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caramel_betty
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Something I just stumbled across in a First Class OUSA forum I read, and thought it might be useful to disseminate here:
http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=319957 Changes to Presentation Patterns for Arts courses
Over the next few years, all 60 point undergraduate Arts and Humanities courses will be moving to an October presentation pattern. The main reason for making this shift to October presentations is that we believe the current mix of February and October starts makes it harder to plan a clear pathway through the programme. Further to this, our experience suggests that the majority of students prefer and perform better on courses which run from October to June. In order to cause as little disruption to study plans as possible, the changes will be phased so that there is a gradual shift from February to October over the next four years. Follow this link to see which courses are changing...
The major exception to the change is AA100 The arts past and present which will continue to be available in both February and October. In addition, three courses will continue to start in February for the remainder of the life of the course:
- Total War and Social Change: Europe 1914 - 1955 (AA312) - available for the last time in February 2013
- Religion Today: Tradition, Modernity and Change (AD317) - expected to be available for the last time in February 2012
- Shakespeare: text and performance (AA306) - offered for the last time in February 2013
- Words and music (AA317) - available for the last time in February 2011.
With FAQs at http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=319958
The list of courses includes several each from Art History, History, Music, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, and some special handling of AA100.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
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7:00 pm - Reasons to be an OU Student
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jarethrake
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1. Cost. My entire degree should come in at under £5000, and most of that will be paid for by grants.
2. Freedom with timing. Although I do have to get assignments in on time, I'm very flexible about when I can work. Since I don't work much atm, I generally have my books open, and just study throughout the day. I also get the majority of the set books and the assignment leaflets at the beginning, so I can just get on with it. I like to study in the middle of the night, too.
3. I don't have to leave the house. Being out in public is quite stressful for me (I'm an aspie). A lot of the time, I'm just acting normal, and being away from home for too long - or having guests - makes me very stressed, because I have to keep it up. I went to college for a bit when I was sixteen, but, partly because I was still in the midst of depression, I found it hard to get up and leave the house everyday. And, once you'd done that a few times, you get so far behind you can't really catch up. And the work's designed to be done with a teacher, in a classroom, so you can't really take it home etiher. Now I've got absolutely nothing standing between me and the work but me.
4. Control. I know which courses I'm doing up to the end of my degree, and when. It's all about me. No one bugs me.
5. Time. Because I'm studying part-time, I'm able to slot in extra courses just for the fun of it, like the Welsh language and Welsh history. And they are fun.:D
x-posted to my own journal. Any other ideas?
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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1:55 pm - Another question
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monkeedreamer
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So, I have another question for you fine folks. Has anyone here taken beginner & intermediate language courses? (and this also half-applies to courses in general, too...) I am looking to take a beginners' language course (either German or French) in November 2010, but then the intermediate courses start in Feb.
Is it possible to do courses at your own pace and finish them sooner than the allotted time? Could I take beginners' and finish it prior to the start of intermediate? Or failing that, do they allow overlap where I could enroll in them both anyhow? I'd obviously try and finish it prior to the start regardless, but then just hand in things as they are due, however that works, while already working on intermediate... Are either of these options feasible?
If not, having to wait to do that one 30pt course will add an entire extra year to my completion time of the degree, as the Level 2 & 3 languages courses also begin in Feb!! This rigid -only in November & February- course start thing is making me nuts, it makes everything so freaking difficult!!
Any suggestions/advice?
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, November 30th, 2009
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5:12 pm - Questions
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monkeedreamer
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Hey all, I had some questions and was hoping maybe some of you could help me out.
I'm an American living in Belgium, and I want to get a degree so that I can potentially do TESOL in the future, in places where degrees are required to teach. I discovered the OU recently and it seems like a great place, but I'm a bit confused by a handful of things.
1) Some posts here have mentioned "tutorials" and going to things on campus, do all courses require these things? I thought the "distance" part of distance learning was that there was no on-campus (except possibly for some potential exams) stuff with it? How does this work?
2) I am, accordingly, looking at the degree plan for the BA in Modern Language Studies. Thing is, I want to get started on this, but it says only 60pts of Level 1 courses, but the beginner language courses are only offered at the end of the year! Which means I have to wait a full year before taking them. That seems incredibly backward to me, and is quite frustrating. The only 2 Level 1 course options left, then, are Introducing the social sciences (DD101) and The arts past and present (AA100), which are both 60 pts, and would leave me still needing to take the language courses! This would be a waste of my time and money, since it would be unnecessary and I'm guessing a decent workload, since it'd be a 60pt class. But the main point is, I'd still need to take beginner and intermediate language (I'm thinking German), which ridiculously I cannot do for another year. Is it possible to take a Level 2 course (Exploring the English language (U211) is the compulsory Level 2 for that study path) before the Level 1s? I know it'd have a heavier workload, and it says you should have prior classes, but I've gone to university in the US years ago, it's not like I've never done this before...
3) I'd really love to actually TALK (just through email) with an actual person there, not these stupid contact form email things. I'd like to be able to actually discuss this stuff with someone! Especially about the courses, which I know the site mentions advisors, but it looks like that is more geared towards those in the UK only? Either way, it'd be nice to discuss the "can I take this course while I wait for those??" questions to a real person who works there, and have a back&forth with them. Is this at all possible?
I think that's essentially what it comes down to, right now. Can any of you offer me any insight here? It'd be much appreciated.
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(17 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
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6:15 pm - Law
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stephyslim
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Hello Everyone!
I am brand new to this so please excuse me if I flout any rules :-S
anyway, i am hoping to study Law starting with W100 in February of 2010. I say hoping because, although I have sent off my financial support information, I still haven't received my registration documents- despite requesting them twice..eek.
Iim so excited to get started and get on with it, just wondering if there is anyone else here studying Law, and how they're finding it it, and tips/advice at all?
Thank you!
current mood:  curious
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, November 14th, 2009
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1:48 pm - IT grumble
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dotty
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My open.ac.uk site is down, and so is my FClass software. I just wanted to check how bad I did on my first eTMA assignment! :-(
current mood:  Cheeky
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, October 2nd, 2009
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12:50 pm - Government funding updates?
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silver_daisy
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Hi, can anyone point me at anything official and recent regarding the OU and the government funding cuts for people with existing degrees? All I can find is plans to drop some residential schools and change the science degrees. I have a degree from over 10 years ago and was hoping to start the OU literature degree, but if they have to put the fees up too much it seems pretty pointless to start :(
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, September 24th, 2009
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4:09 pm
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petite_star
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I've started T189 Digital Photography : creating and sharing better images.
Has anybody done this short course before or is currently doing it?
I'd just like to know what other students thought about the course.
It's a shame they don't offer any other photography courses.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, September 6th, 2009
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10:50 pm - U211 Exploring the English Language
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swirlingmuse
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I'm coming towards the end of the U211 Exploring the English Language course which has an exam and I just wanted to know if anyone who has taken this exam has any advice in regards to revision?
I've struggled with the course as a whole and I'm feeling rather overwhelmed by the amount of material to cover in preparation for it!
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, August 28th, 2009
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9:41 pm
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curiositykate
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Is there a deadline for applying for financial support?
I really want to study EA300 Children's Literature this October but am worried I may have left it too late. I sent off my financial support application form today, but am a bit wary of registering for the course in case I then get my financial support application refused due to it being too late. If it came to it, I could just about manage the OUSBA payments but if it's definitely too late for financial support I'd rather just wait until February and be more organised next time. I'm pretty sure I will be approved for financial support -- providing I'm not too late -- as I was last year and my financial situation hasn't changed since then.
I can't remember how long it took to get my financial support through last time, but I don't think it was more than a few weeks so it should be fine, right? I'm probably worrying about nothing, I just wanted to be sure before I register and enter into a contract with OUSBA.
TIA! :)
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, July 6th, 2009
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5:16 pm - MU120
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jarethrake
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Last CMA was in on the 18th of June, last TMA on the 11th. Just biting my nails down waiting for the results now.
Really, I should be confident - I've been scoring well above the pass mark on the others - but still, scary. This is the first course I've finished.
Any idea how long I can expect to wait? Anyone else waiting? And good luck to anyone starting it this September - I see the new course website is already up.:)
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
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10:44 am - u212 childhood
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fear_inferi
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I was wondering if anyone can tell me their experiences of this course? I am planning to study the course materials as well as I can at home on my own, buying the books online from amazon. I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to tell me what the TMA questions were when you did this course as it would help me to study the books if I had some direction. The reason for this is that I have one more level 3 module to complete to achieve an open degree. I hope that If I can achieve a good level of understanding of this level 2 course I may be able to do a level 3 course in the same area to complete my degree.
Thanks.
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, June 15th, 2009
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8:54 pm - Dropping out of a course
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pinkfriction
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If I drop out of a course after starting am I still eligible to redo it at a later date?
I am currently doing D844 (Ethnography) towards an MA in Social Science, but I have not been in the best frame of mind and got really behind. TMA01 is due tomorrow and I have done hardly anything on it. I emailed my tutor this morning to ask for an extension but had no reply yet. However, I have begun to realise that I am just putting myself through too much atm, and that it would be better just to take the stress off and drop out. I only want to do this though if I can redo this course at the next presentation or next year. From reading the Student Regs it suggests that I will be able to get a 60% reduction of course fees for a subsequent course, but doesn't specifically say if you can reregister for a course you have dropped out of.
TIA.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, June 4th, 2009
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2:22 pm
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pomkeygeekange
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Hi helpful folks.
If the deadline for the final assignment was last month (I met it, I suspect it may raise a few eyebrows to say the least!) when can I roughly expect to find out the results. Or is it all course dependant. The bumph had months that where not last month as a guide but I am all confuddled.
It was advanced creative writing level three if that helps.
Thanks
Ange
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, May 25th, 2009
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1:54 pm
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x_inspire
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I've just registered my first module with the OU - Data, computing and information (M150). I want to link it to BSc Computing or BSc Information Technology and Computing. Does anyone have any experiences or opinions on either of those? I'm assuming that Computing will be more highly regarded by employers, but I have the feeling I'd enjoy Information Tech and Computing more - I'm especially interested in the 'Technologies for digital media' and 'Ebusiness technologies: foundations and practice' modules, which I can't fit into the Computing one. So I'm still rather undecided - I could do those modules as extras I suppose, but I'd rather include them in a degree.
So, yeah, just looking for any experiences with either BSc Computing or BSc Information Technology and Computing, and/or recommendations for modules (or modules to avoid!)
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
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5:50 pm - Questions
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jarethrake
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I'm doing a maths degree, but on the degree plan, it keeps saying that my courses don't fulfill the residential school requirement. As an experiment, I tried creating a plan which included every single recommended course, and it still kept saying that. There's no residential school requirement listed on the qualification description - is that just a glitch, or will I need to make it up with short courses as my optional extras?
(My local OU centre has an open morning on Thursdays, so I can go see an advisor tomorrow. I just thought I'd see if anyone on here knew. Just discovered the community. Hi!)
Now, second question. I applied for financial aid two weeks ago today. I went into the OU centre with the evidence, and the nice lady there photocopied it, id'd it, and sent it off. How will I find out if my application's been accepted, and how long should it take?
And finally; I'm doing A182 and L196 later this year and next year (I can fit them in around my degree by doing a couple of 70 point years - two 30 pointers and one 10). Those are both Welsh (history and language respectively). Anyone else doing those?
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, May 17th, 2009
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10:40 pm - Advice
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digitalangel
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Can anyone give me any thoughts on the OpenDegree please? I did plan to study for a BSc in Environmental Science but my other big interest is IT and I'd love to combine them.
Also has/does anyone study through the OU full-time?
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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10:31 pm - Anyone doing A215 Creative Writing?
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maymorning
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I was wondering, how much work is it? I know, that's probably like, how long is a piece of string! The reason I'm asking is that I really want to do the new children's literature course, starting in october, and I thought I would also do the creative writing course as well, at the same time. Which is probably nuts.
I know that no one can tell me what the children's literature course will be like, but I just wondered if the creative writing is one that could be done alongside another.
Thanks.
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(17 comments | comment on this)
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