The Student Room Group
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes

Open university experience?

Where I come from there's no such thing as open university so I haven't got a clue what to think. Could someone please tell me what it's like, how do you learn and keep yourself motivated? Anything as little and simple would help
Original post by Zoozi
Where I come from there's no such thing as open university so I haven't got a clue what to think. Could someone please tell me what it's like, how do you learn and keep yourself motivated? Anything as little and simple would help


What degree/subject are you doing?
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes
Reply 2
Avatar for Zoozi
Zoozi
OP
1
I'm planing to study early childhood
I am Starting a Diploma of Higher Education in Early Childhood, starting in October 2017.
I've just finished my first module with the OU, so I can give you a basic rundown of how you learn and how the courses seem to be structured (although this may differ between modules, so I can't say that this applies to EVERY module). Once you have enrolled in a module, you will receive your study materials from the Open University and your module website will open. This usually happens a few weeks before the course actually starts. For example, my next module (A230) starts October 7th, and my study materials are on their way to me now. The module website will open next Wednesday. This gives you some time to familiarise yourself with the textbooks and the website.

The module website has access to most of the resources you'll need, including PDFs of textbooks, online activities and online versions of any DVD ROMs you get in your study materials box. There will also be a study planner specific to that course. This planner goes week by week and breaks down all of the studying you need to do that week. For example, in week 8 of the module I have just finished (AA100), it listed reading chapter 7 of textbook 1 and watching a DVD video relevant to that chapter. It also had a link to an online version of the DVD, a link to some 'useful websites', and a link to a forum for discussing that chapter. Once you've completed a section of the list, you can 'tick' it off. This is reflected in a 'progress bar' at the top of the module website that shows you, in percent, how far you are through the course.

You may also have face-to-face or online tutorials with a tutor and some of your classmates. These were based around assignments for AA100, and it was really helpful to speak to other students and have active discussions instead of just working by yourself. I know that some modules have group work and forum work that you need to do in order to pass, so please keep in mind that you may not manage to avoid interacting with others if that's something you don't like.

You are assigned a tutor when your module starts. This tutor is the person who will mark your assignments and is your first port of call if you need any help understanding the material. You're not completely alone when it comes to learning - if you don't understand something, ASK. That's what your tutor is there for! Usually, you'll get an e-mail address for the tutor and a phone number, either a mobile number, home phone number, or both. These tutors are valuable resources and if you put effort in to your studies, they'll be happy to help you.

I hope this quick rundown helped you a bit!
Reply 5
Avatar for dayganna
dayganna
5
Original post by PocketGinger


I hope this quick rundown helped you a bit!




Can I just say... your answer cleared up loads of questions I had so thank you! I'm starting Arts and Humanities in a few weeks time, but worried about losing track if any progress... Your answer clarified this too. THANKS AGAIN!

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you