Someone mentioned feeling patronised and I find that the overwhelming impression of studying at the OU. I have a degree and Masters from a traditional university, and although I didn't like studying for my degree, I loved my Masters course and decided to do a second one with the OU. I am enjoying the course materials, but I've found all interaction with the tutors here so far really patronising and disheartening, and I can't quite believe that all of tutorial time so far has been taken up with basic literacy lessons. It is a 'don't' approach - don't forget to write in paragraphs, don't make mistakes referencing, don't don't don't. I find it all so negative, like all the tutors are complaining in advance about how annoying they find marking TMAs. My first Masters was run by people who were absolutely passionate about the subject they were teaching, and the enthusiasm was utterly infectious. They were really interested in our research. I think this is why the atmosphere on the course is unbelievably negative. The forums are filled with people complaining, saying negative things about others on the course, and generally nagging. I'm already at the stage of keeping my head down, doing the work, and avoiding all interaction. Which is fine, just a little disappointing compared with studying at a traditional university, where there is such a strong community ethic.
Lightf00t - Sun, 28/11/2010 - 01:00
Referencing is a nightmare when writing essays. It completely spoils the flow and readability of a good essay, and it's so difficult to know what you can and cannot say without some pompous academic booming, "WHERE'S YOUR REFERENCE?"
I struggle to know when I have to reference. It gets to the stage where, when you're writing about something you have an in-depth knowledge about and what you're writing is 100% true, you have to go trawling through academic literature to find confirmation of what you've just said so that you can reference it.
David W - Sun, 28/11/2010 - 08:11
Arguably, if you don't reference correctly, you are plagiarising the ideas by taking credit for an idea that isn't yours.
Referencing barely needs to spoil the flow, especially in the Harvard style the OU typically uses. For example, taking a 2007 article by the OU's professor of law, Gary Slapper, I could write, "Slapper (2007) notes that...". The use of referencing software helps, especially if you have lots of references. Unfortunately, Microsoft Word's built-in referencing feature doesn't do Harvard style referencing, so I use EndNote X4 (click), which OU students can buy relatively cheaply via the link here (click).
The OU library provide some useful help on citation and referencing here (click).
cathabrown - Sun, 28/11/2010 - 13:41
Jack, many OU staff are passionate about what they do - they certainly aren't paid well enough to be doing it just for the money!
I agree that being told the basics is a bit annoying - but do remember the tutors have to deal with people who do not have your academic background, and they have to be careful to mention all that stuff so that people can't moan if they lose marks through forgetting to reference etc. Once the tutor gets to know you and your strengths & weaknesses, that's likely to change a bit - at least, that's what I've always found.
Whingeing fellow students? Yes, very annoying if that's all the forum contains - though it can be a useful way of letting off steam. The trouble is, that it's too easy to let people like that take over... you probably aren't the only one feeling that way. At the end of my last course, someone was complaining that the forums were boring - and I agreed - but on thinking about it, neither he nor I had tried to change their tone...
Annisa Peters - Sun, 25/09/2011 - 13:34
Yes recently I have just completed an early years course and was very disappointed with the materials. I think mainly because of all the teething problems as this was a first presentation. Why can't the OU ask (volunteer) students to roadtest new courses ?
Ella
- Wed, 01/12/2010 - 21:08
I was disappointed with one of my previous courses. The subject matter wasn't quite as interesting as expected but the thing that really let it down was the tutor.
I couldn't make it to tutorials as they were over 3 hours away, and £60 a return journey. At the time this was simply impossible. I sent an email to the tutor explaining this, however he made no effort to help me in any way, and didn't even bother to use my name properly. Tutors recieve a wage for their work, I felt like an 'easy buck' rather than a student.
Its a shame, but hasn't put me off. 3 courses later and I have found the support much more helpful. Just goes to show how important the job of the tutor is though.
cathabrown - Thu, 02/12/2010 - 18:59
I've always thought it's my job to approach the tutor if I require help - I wouldn't tend to expect a tutor to be offering help on anything unless I specifically requested it. Obviously if they don't respond to requests, that's a different matter!
sab668 (not verified) - Mon, 06/12/2010 - 15:39
I love the OU and all it stands for. I am a science student but while waiting for my next course to start in Feb, I thought I'd brush up on my writing skills. I signed up for a course which is now on its last presentation and if this had been my first contact with the OU, I'd run a mile. The course materials are badly organised, there is very little interaction on the forums either from the tutor or other students. Thankfully the student cafe is buzzing! I have not progressed to complete this course as my time is better spent revising previous course material and practising study skills on my own. I feel agrieved that my course fee has been wasted, particularly as I am the single earner within my family.
Hey ho! Here's looking forward to February !
Steven Ray - Sat, 02/04/2011 - 01:23
Most disappointing OU course...most likely M257. Instead of the usual 30 points, it was only 20, although there isn't much selection at level 2 to fill the remaining 10 points. Also, it lasted as long as a 30 pointer, and with an exam that was just as demanding...
And the over-whelmingly bad reviews for M253 aren't exactly inspiring for those taking Computing degrees or Diplomas, to make up those missing 10 points... o_O
Emily Munro - Tue, 12/04/2011 - 11:07
Not disappointed as such, but I am finding T175 incredibly dull, as are a lot of others on this last presentation of it. Having done M150, it was a case of take this or risk covering old ground when the two are combined, so a lot of us took the plunge and did it.
I find I'm having to remind myself constantly that this, as a Level 1 module, is as much about teaching me the academic skills I'll need going forward as it is about ICT.
Approximately half the material is online only, there are very few books. This in itself posed a huge problem when smack bang in the middle of Block 2, the online material suffered some gigantic error and took nearly a week to be fixed - not helpful when you're supposed to be studying it.
We're using VLE now, as well, which I do prefer to FirstClass, just because it's nicer to look at and navigate. However, we have a 'Module Discussion' forum, and I'm struggling to see the point in it; because everytime someone asks a question the standard response is something like 'oooh, you shouldn't be asking that here, contact your tutor!'
I just feel the whole thing has been a disorganised experience with vague (at best) responses to questions and next to no updates on errors in the material, or indeed when the material will be available to us at all (some if it still isn't).
Hey ho!
Steven Ray - Wed, 08/06/2011 - 00:16
Agreed, Emily, that T175 isn't the most thrilling of courses. I regret not having taken MU123 or DSE141 instead...
Block 3 , I felt, was an improvement, and Block 4 seems a bit more text-based as well. Perhaps the end of T175 will make up for the first half.
Someone mentioned feeling patronised and I find that the overwhelming impression of studying at the OU. I have a degree and Masters from a traditional university, and although I didn't like studying for my degree, I loved my Masters course and decided to do a second one with the OU. I am enjoying the course materials, but I've found all interaction with the tutors here so far really patronising and disheartening, and I can't quite believe that all of tutorial time so far has been taken up with basic literacy lessons. It is a 'don't' approach - don't forget to write in paragraphs, don't make mistakes referencing, don't don't don't. I find it all so negative, like all the tutors are complaining in advance about how annoying they find marking TMAs. My first Masters was run by people who were absolutely passionate about the subject they were teaching, and the enthusiasm was utterly infectious. They were really interested in our research. I think this is why the atmosphere on the course is unbelievably negative. The forums are filled with people complaining, saying negative things about others on the course, and generally nagging. I'm already at the stage of keeping my head down, doing the work, and avoiding all interaction. Which is fine, just a little disappointing compared with studying at a traditional university, where there is such a strong community ethic.
Referencing is a nightmare when writing essays. It completely spoils the flow and readability of a good essay, and it's so difficult to know what you can and cannot say without some pompous academic booming, "WHERE'S YOUR REFERENCE?"
I struggle to know when I have to reference. It gets to the stage where, when you're writing about something you have an in-depth knowledge about and what you're writing is 100% true, you have to go trawling through academic literature to find confirmation of what you've just said so that you can reference it.
Arguably, if you don't reference correctly, you are plagiarising the ideas by taking credit for an idea that isn't yours.
Referencing barely needs to spoil the flow, especially in the Harvard style the OU typically uses. For example, taking a 2007 article by the OU's professor of law, Gary Slapper, I could write, "Slapper (2007) notes that...". The use of referencing software helps, especially if you have lots of references. Unfortunately, Microsoft Word's built-in referencing feature doesn't do Harvard style referencing, so I use EndNote X4 (click), which OU students can buy relatively cheaply via the link here (click).
The OU library provide some useful help on citation and referencing here (click).
Jack, many OU staff are passionate about what they do - they certainly aren't paid well enough to be doing it just for the money!
I agree that being told the basics is a bit annoying - but do remember the tutors have to deal with people who do not have your academic background, and they have to be careful to mention all that stuff so that people can't moan if they lose marks through forgetting to reference etc. Once the tutor gets to know you and your strengths & weaknesses, that's likely to change a bit - at least, that's what I've always found.
Whingeing fellow students? Yes, very annoying if that's all the forum contains - though it can be a useful way of letting off steam. The trouble is, that it's too easy to let people like that take over... you probably aren't the only one feeling that way. At the end of my last course, someone was complaining that the forums were boring - and I agreed - but on thinking about it, neither he nor I had tried to change their tone...
Yes recently I have just completed an early years course and was very disappointed with the materials. I think mainly because of all the teething problems as this was a first presentation. Why can't the OU ask (volunteer) students to roadtest new courses ?
I was disappointed with one of my previous courses. The subject matter wasn't quite as interesting as expected but the thing that really let it down was the tutor.
I couldn't make it to tutorials as they were over 3 hours away, and £60 a return journey. At the time this was simply impossible. I sent an email to the tutor explaining this, however he made no effort to help me in any way, and didn't even bother to use my name properly. Tutors recieve a wage for their work, I felt like an 'easy buck' rather than a student.
Its a shame, but hasn't put me off. 3 courses later and I have found the support much more helpful. Just goes to show how important the job of the tutor is though.
I've always thought it's my job to approach the tutor if I require help - I wouldn't tend to expect a tutor to be offering help on anything unless I specifically requested it. Obviously if they don't respond to requests, that's a different matter!
I love the OU and all it stands for. I am a science student but while waiting for my next course to start in Feb, I thought I'd brush up on my writing skills. I signed up for a course which is now on its last presentation and if this had been my first contact with the OU, I'd run a mile. The course materials are badly organised, there is very little interaction on the forums either from the tutor or other students. Thankfully the student cafe is buzzing! I have not progressed to complete this course as my time is better spent revising previous course material and practising study skills on my own. I feel agrieved that my course fee has been wasted, particularly as I am the single earner within my family.
Hey ho! Here's looking forward to February
!
Most disappointing OU course...most likely M257. Instead of the usual 30 points, it was only 20, although there isn't much selection at level 2 to fill the remaining 10 points. Also, it lasted as long as a 30 pointer, and with an exam that was just as demanding...
And the over-whelmingly bad reviews for M253 aren't exactly inspiring for those taking Computing degrees or Diplomas, to make up those missing 10 points... o_O
Not disappointed as such, but I am finding T175 incredibly dull, as are a lot of others on this last presentation of it. Having done M150, it was a case of take this or risk covering old ground when the two are combined, so a lot of us took the plunge and did it.
I find I'm having to remind myself constantly that this, as a Level 1 module, is as much about teaching me the academic skills I'll need going forward as it is about ICT.
Approximately half the material is online only, there are very few books. This in itself posed a huge problem when smack bang in the middle of Block 2, the online material suffered some gigantic error and took nearly a week to be fixed - not helpful when you're supposed to be studying it.
We're using VLE now, as well, which I do prefer to FirstClass, just because it's nicer to look at and navigate. However, we have a 'Module Discussion' forum, and I'm struggling to see the point in it; because everytime someone asks a question the standard response is something like 'oooh, you shouldn't be asking that here, contact your tutor!'
I just feel the whole thing has been a disorganised experience with vague (at best) responses to questions and next to no updates on errors in the material, or indeed when the material will be available to us at all (some if it still isn't).
Hey ho!
Agreed, Emily, that T175 isn't the most thrilling of courses. I regret not having taken MU123 or DSE141 instead...
Block 3 , I felt, was an improvement, and Block 4 seems a bit more text-based as well. Perhaps the end of T175 will make up for the first half.
Page 2 of 2