Hi guys,
I'm a 31 year old California girl studying mainly for personal enrichment purposes (although who knows what the future holds). Where are you guys?
I'm finishing up S207 right now. I'm planning on talking more physics courses down the road, and if OU ever offers more math maths (ahem, lol) to those of us in the US, I'll probably take a couple of those modules too. What are you guys studying?
OU is great, isn't it? I know we have online colleges here in the states, but I wish they followed OU's example. I love the variety of courses they offer. I also love getting to know these guys and gals hearing about their adventures at the pub. Their slang is great too, isn't it? Bugger this... Bloke that... Bless their hearts! Despite my love for my new UK friends, it would still be nice to hear some American voices, so please let me know if you want to link up via Facebook. Afterall, we share the very unique experience of being stay-at-home foreign exchange students. How weird is that, lol?
Is it just me or is the British/Scottish educational system vastly superior to what we get here in the US? As an American, I hate to admit it, but based on my experience with OU, our friends across the pond are much better at teaching the material in a more understandable, simpler, and more clear way all while covering more topics in more depth (I don't know how they manage to cover more material in a less painful way, but they seem to do just that!)... I was sort of worried that they'd be stuffy or snobbish before I started, but I can't get over what a wonderful experience I've had with the folks in the UK. All the tutors and most of the students are such wonderful down-to-earth people. When I tried to learn physics here in the US, I had trouble because it was explained in such a pretentious fashion, but the UK treatment of the subject has given me hope that I can actually understand this stuff! What has your experience been like with your UK studies?
Hi Tara,
My apologies for not replying sooner. Life's been hectic with my job (I did travel a lot) and now that I'm officially unemployed as of yesterday, I have just found the time to catch up these forums. You and I are the same age (32 on July 29th) so we have that in common at least. lol
I generally had great instructors here in the US during my time at my local state college for my Associate's degree, though that changed drastically when I transferred to a university my junior (3rd) year. My teachers weren't nearly as understanding, quick to explain things in a way I understood, and just generally standoffish. My experience is that the UK -- and the OU -- in general provides a better quality of education, with the tutors far more understanding of life circumstances and far more willing to explain the material so that everyone can comprehend it. My Religion Today course is quite literally kicking my butt, but I'm enjoying it. The scoring system is stricter than the US on essays, but I expect that regardless with any British university. (I'm quite utterly appalled at the scoring of US college students' essays, their quality of writing, and what passes as high marks here.)
I have taken a few online courses with a one of the many state colleges in Florida and I absolutely hated the format. I did well, but I still hated the format as I was so used to the OU's online courses.