My first 2 months as an OU student
This is my first post on Medium. I’ve dipped a toe into blogging before, but never stuck at it for long. So I make no promises.
In February, I started my first module with the Open University. It’s called Technology-enhanced Learning — the first module on my MA in Online Teaching. I’ve just finished my first assignment and am anxiously waiting to hear if it passes muster.
My cohort is filled with experienced teachers, many of whom have fascinating stories to tell. The course involves lots of discussion that takes place asynchronously on forums. There are a handful of synchronous online tutorials, and the rest is all reading. It’s all organised using Moodle, a Virtual Learning Environment.
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Since I work full-time, and the course is 16 hours per week, that means I spend all weekend on my studies. I’ve been trying to do more during the week to carve out some free weekend time, but not very successfully. When I get home from work, I rarely feel in the mood for studying.
Luckily, although I work full-time, my contract is term-time only. So I get a bit of time off here and there. Easter half-term lined up perfectly with my assignment — this time. Next time, I’ll need to be more organised.
The part I’m dreading is at the very end of the course, when our final assignment is due in early October. Which means I’ll be completing it in September. You know, that month when everyone in Further Education is scurrying around like ants on fire. Perfect timing, OU!
Topics that I’m finding especially interesting so far:
- Open learning
- Social constructivism
- Accessibility
That’s about all I have time for at the moment, and I don’t see a “save draft” button around here, so Publish I must.
