What's included
Study book, study guide, online activities and a website.
You will need
A basic scientific calculator and access to a digital camera or scanner.
You may be required to draw diagrams or to annotate diagrams that you download, and then to use either a scanner or a digital camera to produce electronic versions of these diagrams for inclusion in your assessment. Alternatively creating diagrams electronically will be acceptable.
Computing requirements
You will need a device with internet access to study this module as a web browser is used to access learning materials and activities. Any other computer-based activities you will need to carry out, such as word processing, using spreadsheets, taking part in online forums, and submitting files to the university for assessment, are specified in the module materials. If any additional software is needed for these tasks it will either be provided or is freely available. You may need administrative privileges to install the software.
Suitable devices are:
- A Windows desktop or laptop running Windows 7 or later operating system
- A Macintosh desktop or laptop running OS X 10.8 or later operating system.
Some software will not run on Linux, iOS or Android devices.
A netbook, tablet, smartphone or Linux computer that supports one of the browsers listed below may be suitable. However, these devices may not be suitable for some activities. If you intend to use one of these devices please ensure you have access to a suitable desktop or laptop device that uses the Windows or OS X operating system in case you are unable to carry out all activities on your mobile device.
Recent versions of the following browsers are suitable for carrying out web-based activities:
- Safari
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Edge
Or Internet Explorer 9 and above.
Using a browser upgraded to the latest version will maximise security when accessing the internet.
Using company or library computers may prevent you accessing some internet materials or installing additional software.
To be able to talk and listen in our online discussions you will need both a microphone and speakers/headphones.
Devices with small screens may make it difficult to view the material provided and carry out the activities. However, a device that has a resolution of at least 1024 pixels horizontally and also at least 768 pixels vertically should be adequate.
See our Skills for OU study website for further information about computing skills for study and educational deals for buying Microsoft Office software.
If you have a disability
A proportion of the module is delivered online so you will have to make considerable use of a computer and the internet. If you have severely impaired sight you may not be able to achieve some of the module learning outcomes, as the module relies heavily on coloured images, video sequences and visual identification.
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the module materials may be available in the future.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Find out more about our services for disabled students.