Open University
Milton Keynes
BSc - Natural Science (Q64) - Biology
Having finally made the decision to study this a degree with the OU, I'm really looking forward to starting this course in October but, since it's still a good 4 months off, I'm planning on doing some preparatory studying beforehand to brush up on my skills and get myself ready for the good hard slog over the next year.
Is anyone else taking Natural Science this year or are you currently enrolled? Are you following the biology route? What did you do to prepare for S111 or the degree in general? Were there any books you found useful or did you study any MOOCs before the course?
Is anyone else taking Natural Science this year or are you currently enrolled? Are you following the biology route? What did you do to prepare for S111 or the degree in general? Were there any books you found useful or did you study any MOOCs before the course?
Original post by halcyondaze
Having finally made the decision to study this a degree with the OU, I'm really looking forward to starting this course in October but, since it's still a good 4 months off, I'm planning on doing some preparatory studying beforehand to brush up on my skills and get myself ready for the good hard slog over the next year.
Is anyone else taking Natural Science this year or are you currently enrolled? Are you following the biology route? What did you do to prepare for S111 or the degree in general? Were there any books you found useful or did you study any MOOCs before the course?
Is anyone else taking Natural Science this year or are you currently enrolled? Are you following the biology route? What did you do to prepare for S111 or the degree in general? Were there any books you found useful or did you study any MOOCs before the course?
You may find the following links useful. The first is to a diagnostic quiz entitled Are you Ready for S111. The second and third links will direct you to some preparatory information.
http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/view.php?id=2197
http://stem.open.ac.uk/Preparing-for-Study
http://stem.open.ac.uk/Preparing-for-S111
Regards
Open University
Milton Keynes
Hello Iain,
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
Original post by halcyondaze
Hello Iain,
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
If I were you I wouldn't waste my money. The OU have very specific essay writing skills they develop in their modules. Read as much science as you can if it interests you, otherwise enjoy the break before the studying starts.
Original post by halcyondaze
Hello Iain,
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
Thank you for the links - I had already read the information you suggested and completed the AYR quiz but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I'm thinking more along the lines of additional studies - books, courses, useful websites to find out more before I begin the course to give myself the best start possible and maximise the free time I have right now.
As an update: I have now got about 110 hours of free courses on Open Learn lined up (including all the maths ones), I am going to start using Khan Academy and I have been looking at the Introduction to Science MITx course but it's 12 weeks and I'm not sure I'm quite there yet as I think that will drop me right in at the deep end, although maybe that would be a good thing?
For books, I heard about Molecular Biology of the Cell which I think is too advanced and too specific for anything I need right now and I'm also looking into a good essay writing book.
It just dawned on me that there is so much information out there but I can't see the wood for the trees so I'm looking for suggestions as to which areas would be the best use of my time and most applicable to the course I'm taking.
I think that Khan Academy will serve you well for anything up to A-Level maths. I used it to shore up my under-prepared skills for MST124 and feel I've done alright on the module. I do recommend this if there's a confidence barrier with maths skills.
In my experience, the OpenLearn resources have been very basic. They've broken module materials into chunks which just don't stand well on their own. FutureLearn courses always left me feeling I'd learned something (except some University of Leeds ones about study preparation). MIT OCW (and their edX counterpart, which you've found) is phenomenal. There can be a bit of an entry barrier of requisite knowledge, but if you can get up to speed, there's some powerful learning to be done there. Would I recommend it? Or other MOOCs? Maybe. Probably not (for study preparation ... They're awesome for general personal development). It may help to be familiar with the information before you get to it in your module, but I've found the modules to be well paced.
I agree with with SuperCat007 about the essay skills. You may (or may not) want to check out the Good Study Guide in the OU Students shop. I used it before my first module ... It's better to use it a bit after you have some essays written to evaluate, and continue to evaluate your progress as you go on. But I found it useful for understanding how OU questions should be interpreted, as well as how to give an answer the tutors are looking for. It's good information, but maybe not £13 good. Then again, I'm cheap. The information in the Good Study Guide has often been embedded (or maybe vice-versa) into Stage 1 modules, but it's generally not all in one place.
Practising with MOOCs the summer before my first module helped me develop some good study habits and gave me insight to keeping my motivation focused. But the pace of the OU should suit most people without it.
Thanks to both of you for the tips regarding the essay writing book - I will check out the Good Study Guide as you suggested. I have been writing essays as part of a project I'm involved in so it will come in useful as I do have that frame of reference to work with and it will help iron out any bad habits while moulding me into the OU way of interpreting questions.
So far, I have completed the Maths for Science Open Learn Course which was a bit like teaching Granny to suck eggs, and I began MIT's Introduction to Biology which I am finding interesting, engaging and pretty addictive. I will check out Khan Academy for the maths because, despite having taken maths at A-level, it was ... a few (side-eyes) ... years ago. I didn't think I had a confidence barrier with maths but after having just perused some algebraic equations that blew my head apart, it's not so much a barrier now, but more like a 300-mile ice wall.
I've already made out my whole study timetable down to the nearest hour so I can be fully ready by the time the actual course starts. I don't know why I'm telling you about my OCD
So far, I have completed the Maths for Science Open Learn Course which was a bit like teaching Granny to suck eggs, and I began MIT's Introduction to Biology which I am finding interesting, engaging and pretty addictive. I will check out Khan Academy for the maths because, despite having taken maths at A-level, it was ... a few (side-eyes) ... years ago. I didn't think I had a confidence barrier with maths but after having just perused some algebraic equations that blew my head apart, it's not so much a barrier now, but more like a 300-mile ice wall.
I've already made out my whole study timetable down to the nearest hour so I can be fully ready by the time the actual course starts. I don't know why I'm telling you about my OCD
Your biggest help would be learning about how to write academically and content and process words. Get some books you think would be interesting to you to read, but don't take it all in like you have to learn it. Your course will likely start off very different to what you've read anyway.
I've studied both S111 and S112 for my HNC in Natural Sciences, soon to be doing the BSc in Biology! I came straight out of college into the degree but I found it fairly easy to complete both modules! The assignment writing skills aren't difficult, I just wrote the answers I thought with as much detail as the question required and then your tutor would feedback on what you had written! Overall it isn't something to stress out about and a lot of S111 and S112 is basic knowledge of science and anything that is slightly more advance has lots of resources to help and if it's maths calculations there are always practice ones available with step-by-step help! The workload is also quite simple to manage as they plan your weeks for you and so long as you stick to the planner you'll be fine!!!
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