Hi,
My name is Karen! We relocated to the US in July 2010 as I was part way through my Masters course. I took study leave as I could not cope with working full time, looking after my family and packing up the house to sell but now I am back studying and struggling with the isolation.
Of course, I cannot attend any of the day schools and therefore haven't really got to know anyone in my tutor group that I can chat with - especially since there is also the five hour time difference to deal with. At this level, I really feel the need even more to bounce ideas around with but I'm missing out on this.
When I did my undergraduate degree with the OU, I managed the isolation through making sure that I attended as many of the tutorials as I could and keeping in touch with other students online and I thought I was used to managing distance learning this way. However, its not working for me this time, so if anyone has any tips, I would love to know!
Karen
(MA Literature A815)
Hi Karen,
Welcome! It is lovely to see you here! I do hope the forum can help you.
I have felt all too well the isolation you now feel when I first moved back to the US in April 2007. I not only had a major move, but I was dealing with an impending divorce as well on top of taking two literature courses for my BA Open degree. The time difference does nothing to help either. I am here in Florida and I travel quite a bit for my current job, which makes it extremely difficult to even take part in my course discussions.
I think you could take part in your course discussions as much as possible. Even email your tutor would be beneficial about it. My course tutors were so understanding. I was so grateful to them. Also, perhaps your tutor could arrange for an online tutorial through Elluminate or some other similar type of program? I'm not sure if the OU has anything comparable.
If anyone else has any ideas that could help Karen, please feel free to reply with your suggestions and advice.
Take care,
Melissa
(AD317 Religion Today)
Karen
How about getting involve in community service or joining a network where you live? You can find out a lot of networking groups near you.
Look for networking at:
http://www.meetup.com/find/
That's a great idea, Ngoc! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Ngoc. I will certainly look into this although as it is always good to meet with new people.
I think what I haven't found yet is any one else who is studying at Masters level. I have met some wonderful people and have made some great new friends but I haven't yet found anyone who can discuss Masters level literature with me and in particular about the works that we are currently studying. What I would like is a study buddy since they will be familiar with the course so that we can chat about it. I think that I will ask someone on my tutor forum if they would like to do that as I am really struggling at the moment.
Thanks again!
Karen,
I completely understand. Even though I'm only working on my BA Hons, it would be nice to have someone in my own time zone to chat with about the course reading material. I hope you find someone!
Hi There,
Well I am a new kid on the block so to speak. (Actually a 36 yr old mature student just starting my journey with the OU.)
I am waiting for my US visa and anticipate it will be through within the next 2 years. In the meantime I have started an Openings Course in Psychology which finishes in October.
I am then looking at starting a full time degree either in Psychology / BA or BS Opens Degree or similar.
My concerns are that I know I will be moving mid study and was wondering if you had any advice for me on specific degree to study bearing in mind I will need to complete in the USA. How do you deal with the tutorials? What about exams taken?
Also any general advice on studying in the US an OU degree.
Thanks for your help and I wish you all the success.
Samantha
Samantha,
Welcome to the OU and may the visa come through sooner rather than later!
The OU is pretty understanding if you move abroad to the US and are in mid-study. I was in the midst of two Literature courses when I moved to the US. I found my tutors to be extremely flexible and so understanding. I can't fault them at all. Of course, I'm not sure how the OU views it if you are in mid-course and need to do a residential. I have been lucky that I chose courses (and a degree) that offered alternatives to that. There are some courses that offer an online residential to their in-person residential. I took a few for my Open degree.
As for exams, you can reschedule to have an exam taken in the US at an alternative site (usually a university). I had one in Florida and it was hosted at DeVry. There is a fee, though. At the time it was about £200.
Perhaps undertake the courses you would need during the visa waiting period that would require a residential, etc. Of course, that may prove difficult too.
Also, most tutorials are optional and most tutors actually will send out what was either covered or will be covered.
Good luck with your courses!
Hi Samantha - and welcome to the OU!
Moving to the States sounds fab and the good news is that you can still study with the OU while you're there, should you decide that's the best option for you. You can find out which courses are available to study in the US at the bottom of this page: http://www8.open.ac.uk/study/explained/where-can-i-study?
I hope that helps a bit.
__________________
Robyn Bateman (member of the Platform team)
Karen
I think this isolation is a key issue, and not something to ignore. Contact with others really helps with motivation and greatly improves your learning - helping you spot where you've got the wrong end of the stick and hearing things expressed in a different way. Talking with someone about a topic helps you get clear and remember it, I find. It's just less boring than more reading!
My bit advice is get a study buddy. I stumbled upon this a couple of years ago when I hit it off with a summer school project partner and we kept in touch before the exam. She lived in Europe with little tutor support and we did skype calls on each section of the course to discuss structure, key themes, likely exam questions and what our answers would be. We both found it immensely valuable. So the next year, I made a point of seeking out students who I felt were about the same level of understanding as me (this is important, otherwise it is frustrating) and asking if they wanted to be study buddies and do a call once a week or once a month or revise together before the exams. Each time we called we'd go over a topic and then decide what we'd do next time. I tried it with a group of three, but it was a bit harder to manage the phonecall and skype wouldn't do video for 3.
So I'd recommend chatting with people you see on the course forums who sound like they're at your level of understanding (or higher!) and if they are responsive, see if they'd be on for being study buddies. Most people like the idea, if they can just fit it in to their schedule.
Good luck