Open University - Who's doing it?

just looked it up, it's based on household income total so with both the GF and me working full time I'll get nothing :(
 
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JHeaton said:
Could you let me know what this is like? Considering doing it as part of the free choice credits. :)
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I did this knowing nothing but batch and hated it for the majority of the course, it wasn't until the end when I realised how easy it is to add a GUI with Netbeans (GUI is not taught) and how useful Java actually is, that I began to enjoy it and wish I'd chosen to continue with the follow on course.

I've just written a web based stock management applet that I'm pretty pleased with, all from the course + a bit of googling.
 
Have been giving some thought to doing one of the introductory courses(one I've been looking at starts in March) and seeing how i go with it.

It has been a long time since I've done any studying so hoping this will be a good way to ease myself back into it.
 
SoundsGood said:
I did this knowing nothing but batch and hated it for the majority of the course, it wasn't until the end when I realised how easy it is to add a GUI with Netbeans (GUI is not taught) and how useful Java actually is, that I began to enjoy it and wish I'd chosen to continue with the follow on course.

I've just written a web based stock management applet that I'm pretty pleased with, all from the course + a bit of googling.
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Curious, how come you hated most of it? Was it the way it was taught?
 
I've just started an Openings course just to see what it's like to study this way as I didn't enjoy college when I was younger.

Doing Y162 - Starting with Maths and it's easy peasy so far (pretty much what I expected tbh). I'll be discussing with my tutor later on in the course about my suitability for an Engineering degree.
 
JHeaton said:
Curious, how come you hated most of it? Was it the way it was taught?
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Yeah, the books are really pretty dry during the middle of the course and they have stupidly long "activities" where you're basically doing baby steps and therefore learn nothing. Some of the TMAs were good fun though and made up for the boring reading.
 
VeNT said:
how does everyone over 21 pay for these? can you still get a student loan or do you have to cough up the fees?
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I negotiated my degree with work.
They were pushing "training" so I applied for some.
They came up with the following deal for me:

We both pay 50/50 for each module.
Then, as I pass a module they refund me the 50% fees I paid - so they are sponsoring me to do it, but I only get my contribution back if I pass.

I am of course now tied to my place of work for 3yrs or else I'll have to pay back my fee's - but really cannot complain at the deal they gave me.
 
SoundsGood said:
Yeah, the books are really pretty dry during the middle of the course and they have stupidly long "activities" where you're basically doing baby steps and therefore learn nothing. Some of the TMAs were good fun though and made up for the boring reading.
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Ah, I see. I'll keep that in mind when coming to decide, but that won't be for a year or so at the very least. :)

stoofa said:
I negotiated my degree with work.
They were pushing "training" so I applied for some.
They came up with the following deal for me:

We both pay 50/50 for each module.
Then, as I pass a module they refund me the 50% fees I paid - so they are sponsoring me to do it, but I only get my contribution back if I pass.

I am of course now tied to my place of work for 3yrs or else I'll have to pay back my fee's - but really cannot complain at the deal they gave me.
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That's pretty neat. Sadly, I wouldn't be able to negotiate any deal like that with my employer as the subject I've chosen is unrelated (I'm doing this for myself because I'm interested), but it would certainly be interesting to see if other employers would be willing to do that for their employees. :)
 
I started in May 2008 and have done:

Ø M865 Project Management
Ø M882 Managing the Software Enterprise
Ø M883 Software Requirements for Business Systems
Ø T846 Technology Strategy
Ø M876 Relational Database Systems
Ø M886 Information Security Management
Ø T853 Information Systems Legacy and Evolution

Just waiting on the result of T853 to complete my Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Software Projects. Had planned on topping it up to a MSc in February but decided to leave that until October now as my employer won't contribute towards it (despite the CEO standing in front of us about 18 months ago saying we should be doing OU courses and the company would fund it within reason).

One regret I have is that I didn't start my OU courses when I was on a crap salary, could have sponged a bit off the state in that case (it's cost me over £5k to date).

General point I would make, in the majority of my courses the TMAs have been easier than the exams. It's pretty much impossible to fail the TMAs providing you answer all questions fully and to the point based on the course materials, whereas I've had a couple of close shaves on the exams. Don't worry about TMAs too much, the word limits are a bit prohibitive but I nearly always get Merit scores (70%+) or above for them without doing much proper study, just reading the relevant bits of the course material required to answer the questions.
 
I've started my first course this month, B120 intro to business. Must say its the first thing i've learn't in years and trying to sit down and study is quite hard.
 
How's everyone doing so far.

I'm halfway through my first 10 credit module, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami's. Tougher than I thought it would be to be fair.

Been accepted onto Exploring Science in January. That's a biggie. 60 credit course.

1 credit is 10 hours of study, so it's a 600 hour study course.
 
stoofa said:
I negotiated my degree with work.
They were pushing "training" so I applied for some.
They came up with the following deal for me:

We both pay 50/50 for each module.
Then, as I pass a module they refund me the 50% fees I paid - so they are sponsoring me to do it, but I only get my contribution back if I pass.

I am of course now tied to my place of work for 3yrs or else I'll have to pay back my fee's - but really cannot complain at the deal they gave me.
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sadly not an option for me.
seems mad that people over 21 can't get a student loan!
 
Ou loans

As far as I am aware there is no age limit on the new loans for part time students starting next year
Will confirm when I get into work tomorrow , at the OU
 
I'm 4 years in to my BA History degree with the OU. It has been consistently difficult :p

I'm going to start my fifth 60-point module in Feb after having a few weeks off. I am full-time dad to my 10 month old son and I am finding the going very tough at the moment. I need to put in at least 15 hours per week but quite often, especially during a TMA week it's a lot more than that.

As for time off, I struggle taking a week out when I am doing the module - it's so easy to get behind.

But good luck it is so rewarding.
 
It's a shame they don't teach more academic side of computer science rather than business stuff.

It's relatively useless outside of academia, but much more interesting =P
 
Just waiting now. Course starts in February and I'm quite excited! I know it's probably going to be a difficult few years, but hopefully the end result will be more than worth it. I may have to uninstall Skyrim and Empire Total War in order to be able to get on with it, though... :p
 
Well, I got my study materials for MU123 yesterday. There are four course books, a handbook, study guide and DVD. Having had a quick flick through, it all looks pretty good and should fill me in on the stuff I didn't do at A-level. I'm really looking forward to making a start on this. Need to get myself a new calculator though... :p

Is anyone else due to start on their soon?
 
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