Back to OU study

I love studying at the Open University, but I don't love paying its course fees quite as much (if you think the UK fees are stiff, check out the continental prices...). So, after paying back the student loans incurred for my undergraduate degree, I had to take a hiatus from OU study. Sorry folks, food first, OU second :-) Finally, though, I have scratched together enough money to pay for H809 "Practice-based research in educational technology".

The course material went online yesterday, so I'm currently feeling like a child in an (educational) candy store. So much interesting stuff! Ah, good to be back :-)

OU courses tend to start very slowly. All courses within MA ODE can be taken in any order, so the course designers can make basically no assumptions about existing knowledge (such as simple statistical concepts) - or even about whether students know the basic online tools and can find their way around StudentHome and the (virtual) university library. Also, students find themselves in a new tutor group with every course they take, so there's always some time spent on getting to know your fellow students and your group's tutor. After a couple of repetitions, this gets a bit tiresome, but I imagine that a mixed group - more experienced MA ODE students and total MA ODE beginners - helps a lot with the "socialization" of newbies. If you cannot imagine how to e.g. do academic work through blogs and forums, you can gain a lot by studying the interactions of those who are used to this approach. Still, what is a steep learning curve for first-semester students can be a bit boring for continuing students. The course designers do make an effort, though, to mix enough content in right from the start, to keep old-timers happy :-)