Sesame April/May 2002 - The Open University

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2 Sesame April/May 2002 Issue 208LettersShort summerresearch projectsI am a social sciencestudent currently studyingDD201. Last year I studiedDD100 and DXR220.DXR220 is a one weekresidential course thatexamines the issue of TheInformation Society. Moreimportantly than that, itaddresses the issue of researchmethodology. In oneweek it gives a ‘crash course’in what most other studentsin conventional university settingsdon’t get to examine indetail until at least masterslevel. In my new course thisyear we are only beginningto touch on some of thesemethods that are so vital toWrite to: Letters, Sesame, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AAe-mail: M.D.France@open.ac.uk Fax: 01908 652247 . Please supply your full postal address ifyou want your letter considered for publication. Letters without full addresses will not be considered.the social scientist.Would it not be possible tohave some residential weeksset aside in the summers p e c i fically for short researchprojects?Don’t underestimate thepower of the undergraduate.New ideas are the lifeblood ofthe corporate world.Some of us choose toexplore our potential later inlife. This doesn’t makeo u r ideas any less valid.Mixed with a huge dollop oflife experience, this couldmake for a potent recipeindeed!Kate AshWiltshireThe point of timeplanning quest i o n sLast year I studied MU120 and like Charley Stone(S e s a m e letters 207) I stopped sending in TMAs afternumber 4 because of the ‘time-planning’ questions, andconstant requirement to detail my ‘study problems’, my‘progress’, my ‘aims’ and my ‘objectives’.Having studied continuously with the OU for 14 years andacquired both a BA and BSc Hons and two Diplomas along theway, I just wanted a modern maths update. I have no planningor organising ability but have never missed a deadline, andhad no problems with the maths content of that course, butjust restating this over and over was not what the OU wanted.Like Charley, I just wanted to be assessed on my mathsanswers and not lose marks because I would not construct astory of an anguished, striving student, so that my tutor couldprovide ‘personal counselling’. So I completed my study of allthe course material without any assessment. As I only studyto keep my brain active this is a tactic that will be used in futurecourses if they contain study skills sections.Mike ReederLowestoft, SuffolkSesameis produced by thePublications Team of theOpen UniversityEditorJane MatthewsManaging EditorMalcolm LaneAdvertisingManager/PhotographerSheila FormanPublicationsAssistantMaxine FranceViews expressed in signed articlesare those of the contributors and notnecessarily of Sesame or the OpenUniversity. Publication of an adver -tisement or loose insert in Sesameshould not be taken to implyUniversity approval or recognition ofthe goods or services advertised. Inparticular courses advertised byother institutions relating to OpenUniversity courses are not in anysense part of those courses; nor, inthe University’s opinion, is attendanceat any privately arrangedcourse necessary for the successfulcompletion of Open University studies.Students should decide for them -selves whether they wish to attendsuch courses. Sesame is printed onpaper made from trees of managedforests or waste-based products.SesameThe Open UniversityMilton Keynes MK7 6AATel (01908) 652585(Sesame only)e-mail (editorial only):Sesame@open.ac.uke-mail (display advertising only):S.K.Forman@open.ac.uke-mail (classified advertisements)M.D.France@open.ac.ukP l a n n i n ghelps someWith reference to the letterin Sesame 207 complainingabout the ‘time-planning’question of many Level 1TMAs.I feel the reader is missingthe point of them. They arethere to help students whohave not studied for a longtime and also help to get intothe OU way of thinking.John PeachLondonRAF trainingI am a second year student with the OpenUniversity and a SNCO Air Loadmaster (ALM)on helicopters in the RAF. I recently madeenquiries into how I might be able to havepoints accredited towards my OU degree frommy RAF training.I have discovered that the Defence HelicopterFlying School multi-engine training course, whichI completed in 1999, allows a credit transfer of 20points at level 1 for pilots and navigators (commissioned),but not for ALMs (non-commissioned).There is also a credit transfer allowance of 15 pointsfor Initial Officer Training but not for the AirmanAircrew Initial Training Course.It is of great concern to me that in this age ofequal opportunities, which the RAF and the OUare extremely keen to support, some opportunitiesare more equal than others.Tim Reid, Hook, HampshireResults are recognition enoughI came close to sympathising with MickMcGuinness’ letter (S e s a m e 2 0 7 )defending the ‘whinger’ brigade untilI read the ‘Star Letter’ on the samepage.Michael Herrington takes issue with thefact that ‘undergraduates’ do not receive a‘certificate’ for completing a 30- or 60-pointcourse. Why should they?Are not undergraduates presumablystudying to graduate, which in our casemeans to complete the full 360 points?E l e c t ro n i ccopies ofT M A sPam Jarvis of Sheffield(S e s a m eletters, 207) hasmade a valid point. Inthe current climatethings are very ‘up inthe air’ with the postalsystem. Consignia isshowing no ‘quick fix’ tothe situation, and so itwould appear that thingswill not get better soon.As a new student to the OUI am, of course, even moreparanoid about TMAs reachingmy tutor in time than mostand so have sent my TMAspecial delivery. This, it wouldappear, may have caused mylong-suffering tutor to trudgedown to the post office toretrieve it, much the same wayas Pam Jarvis has.Surely the opportunity tosend electronic copies of ourprecious TMAs to our tutorscan solve the problem. I cansee that this would help invarious ways:1) With a return of receiptthrough the email, the studentis relieved of the worry ofwhether or not the TMA hasreached the tutor.2) It saves the legs and patienceof the tutors making multiplevisits to the post office.3) It saves the students theprice of a stamp.I appreciate that not allstudents have these facilitiesavailable to them so the postalsystem cannot be abolished assuch. However I would suggestthat electronic media shouldbecome an option to solve theproblems.Charles WilcocksonHarrogateI’ve done it again – forgotten toset the video and now find thattransmissions for A316 are notrepeated.I have two weeks to go before myassignment needs to be in andalthough I’ve just sent off my postcardrequesting a copy of the video I doubtI’ll get it back in time to use the materialin my TMA. Am I alone? I doubtit. So why doesn’t the OU distributethe TV programmes on video with therest of the course material? They areobviously produced on video, videotapes are now very cheap, and if thematerial is important why not includeit with the rest of our material?Bernie DoeserCheshire£10 book token for published letters and£5 book token for contributions to just a thoughtI do not recall during O or A levels beingfeted six months into the thing; and noram I aware of students in ‘conventional’universities thumping the desk for wallornaments prior to completing theirdegrees.The little brown envelope, especially if itcontains notice of high grade, is all the‘recognition for success’ that’s reasonableor necessary.David GlenWhaddon, HertsO ptional exa m sI write in support of Ascott Thomas Harris (S e s a m e207) regarding examinations being optional. Havingcompleted my OU degree in the early 1980s, Ireturned to study on my retirement in order toupdate myself, and found that I was required to sitthe examination, although it had little relevance tomy reasons for taking the course.When I was studying as an undergraduate, it waspossible to enrol for individual courses as an associates t u d e n t , which meant that you were not particularlyworking toward a degree. These s t u d e n t s had the optionas to whether to take the examination or not. If they satt h e paper then they received the same pass award a sundergraduate students. If they did not take the examthen they received a Certificate of Course Completion,provided they submitted and passed the requisite numberof TMAs.I wonder if anyone can advise me as to when thisfacility ceased and the reasons for doing so, as, ifreinstated, it does seem to fit in well with what somestudents want.Reg TomblinPeterboroughD i s c r e t i o n a r ypass marksFirst of all, thank youfor providing an interestingand informativelink, via S e s a m e, to allthings OU.Reading the letters in theFeb/March issue of S e s a m eabout examinations hasspurred me to write to you. Ihave great news to spread –apparently the examinationpass mark of 40 is ‘discretionary’!Surely it would benefit theOU to advertise this discretionarypass mark, as morepeople would complete theircourses and the OU wouldachieve better results?I did not think I would passmy module and deliberatedabout taking the exam at all.G et it ta p e dHowever, I stuck at my revision,kept writing until thebell went and I achieved 42 inthe exam – I was thrilled toscrape a pass. Well, I thoughtit was a scrape pass but nowI know that I could haveachieved as low as 35 and stillstood a chance.There were many absenceson exam day and I assumethe missing students feltthey had no hope of passing,so didn’t bother to turn up.If only they had knownabout the discretionarypowers of the Exam Board,the room would have beenfull of nervous yet hopefulstudents.Alison PateyBristolT u t o r i a lsystemsWhat is the OU policy on thetutorial system? In my final yearwith the OU, I find 29 in mytutorial group for A354, far morethan in previous years.I gather that in the first year ofthe course in my region there werethree tutorial groups. Now there isonly one. Why not abandon the tutorialsystem and change to studydays with lecturers? A morning andafternoon session would make thetravelling more worthwhile. I haveno complaint about my tutor.Indeed, he has my sympathy.Imagine marking 29 essays!Derek HoldsworthSheffieldjust athoughtI’ve just read the letterfrom Janet Wheeler inS e s a m e207 about OU studentsbeing potential proofr e a d e r s. She suggests providingcorrection sheetswith dispatches so thate r r o r scan be notifie d .On T205 last year andT306 this year I havefound that the block specificFirstClass conferencesare a good way ofnoting errors: both tocheck that my understandingis correct despite themistake, and to notify themistake to the course team.If we all did this thecourses would be word perfectin a couple of years!Viv EverestHantsAs a committed AppleMac user of many years,it is always annoying toread that the softwarerequired for a course willonly run under Windows.Having spent many anhour trying to re-installWindows and other PCsoftware (when I couldhave been studying) onlybecause my trusty G3Macintosh won’t run thesoftware, this annoyanceis amplified whenS e s a m e shows picturesof two people clearlyusing Apple Macs!Please OU, let us Machuggershave more Maccompatible software.John MorrisonWidnes, CheshireIn the article “Pleasuresand perils of life online”(S e s a m e 207), it is a pitythat the picture illustratesthe perils, rather than goodp r a c t i c e . I spotted threeobvious problems in howthe user illustrated is usinga laptop PC at home:1) No rest for wrist or arms.2) Insufficient space forbooks, reference materialand making notes.3) Hunched position maymean incorrect chair ordesk height.Mike Lloyd, ReadingHaving recently started anew job whereby attendanceis compulsory duringschool terms, it isgoing to be quite diffic u l tfor me to arrange time toattend my exam this year.Would it not be possiblefor the OU to schedulefuture examinations onSaturdays and Sundays?After all, the OU takesgreat pride in publicisinghow its students cancombine full-time workwith study so weekendexams would fit in wellwith this philosophy.There must be agoodly number of fellowstudents in a similarsituation so let’s have adebate on this.Ian Tafano, W. Midlands
Issue 208 April/May 2002 Sesame 3NewsC o u rses movef rom tape tom u l t i m e d i aMultimedia CD Roms and DVDswill replace audio and videotapes in OU course material,under a new deal which heraldsprofound changes in the 30-yearrelationship between the universityand the BBC.The BBC will continue to broadcast OU TVprogrammes but there will be a shift overthe next few years, away from course-relatedprogramming and towards ‘primetime’ broadcastssuch as Rough Science (below) whichare not related to specific courses but aredesigned to entice more people from a widerrange of backgrounds into higher education.Under the new deal, from August 2003non-print learning and support materialswill be produced within the universityand supplied to students in multimediaformat, both on disc and directly across theinternet. Production of new audio and videocourse materials by the BBC at its ProductionCentre on the Open University campus, willcease.“New multimedia materials have been usedsuccessfully by Open University coursesfor several years, and the decision to replacetraditional audio-visual reflects advancesin technology, and the UK population’sever-increasing access to personal computers,”said a University spokesperson.“The new materials – which include webproducts, DVDs, CD-Roms and other interactivesoftware – offer a more advanced andinteractive form of learning than can be gainedfrom video and audio programmes.”The university and the BBC are nowdeveloping a new partnership agreement – thefifth in their long association – which will seemore OU programmes being broadcast atpeaktime slots. Broadcasting of OU courserelatedprogrammes is set to continue untilat least 2006, but few, if any, new courserelatedprogrammes are likely to be made asthis is no longer seen as a prime means ofreaching students.According to the university: “Some courserelatedprogrammes will continue to be shownin the BBC’s late-night Learning Zone,although, with the high level of home VCRownership, broadcast is no longer relied on todeliver courses to OU students.”Research awardsavailable for ALsin arts facultyA special research scheme for associatelecturer staff in the arts faculty is lookingfor applicants for its 2002 awards.The scheme aims to recognise and supportresearch activity among part-time tutorial stafffor whom the OU is the only or primary HEemployer. ALs with evidence of researchachievement and/or research potential, at alevel comparable with that of full-time staff ofthe relevant department, are invited to applynow.Research Associateships are for three years.The benefits are access on the same terms asfaculty full-time staff to the baseline personalresearch funding allowance (currently £300a year); and the title ‘Research Associate in(subject) at the Open University’.The number of appointments is limited.Contact Yvonne Fox, email: Y.P.Fox@open.ac.uk, telephone 01908 659010, for anapplication form and further details. Theclosing date for applications is May 7 2002.MBA graduates eligible tojoin chartered managersDeborah with stag beetle and larvaAll MBA graduates of the Open University BusinessSchool are being offered automatic full professionalmembership of the Chartered Management Institute.Formerly known as the Institute of Management, theorganisation has just been granted its Royal Charter andwas re-named on April 1.Members are entitled to use the letters MCMI aftertheir name. To take up your membership contactChristine Sargent at the OUBS Alumni Association, emailc.sargent@open.ac.uk, or see the Alumni website:http://css2.open.ac.uk/oubs-alumniGrant up by £6mThe university has received £6 million more than last yearin its annual government grant, announced recently.This will enable the equivalent of 800 more full-creditstudent places to be made available. However, in line with otheruniversities, the OU has seen its research grant cut by £1million.The University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Geoff Peters said: “Itis clear that in a tighter year generally, the OU has done verywell in financial terms.” But he warned of a widening gapbetween fee income, the cost of growth and expenditure.If you see a stag beetle, tell DeborahHarvey. The former OU student isinvolved in PhD research which couldhelp to preserve Britain’s largest beetle,whose numbers are in decline.The stag beetle, which grows to aboutfive cm long, can be recognised by its large,antler-like jaws. “The People’s Trust ofEndangered Species, my research sponsors,are monitoring the beetle’s numbers,”says Deborah. “Its role in nature is to help toPicture: Ian StrattonAppeal to join beetles fan clubThe Open University is asinnovative as the Eden Project,the John Lewis Partnershipand easyJet, according to a listpublished in The Guardiannewspaper in March.The University was identified asone of the top 100 UK organisationsin the Vision 100 research andawards programme for 2002, whichis organised by BT. The accolade isgiven to organisations that haveachieved strategic goals throughinnovative activities over the previous12 months – regardless of size,age or sector.The OU was selected for successfullyincreasing student numbers ininnovative ways, notably throughnew technology and overseasexpansion. Recent innovations haveincluded the provision of more onlinefacilities for students, includingdecompose wood, and we want to investigatewhy stag beetles are attracted to certain typesof wood.”She is very keen to receive samples of deadbeetles from readers, with details of where theywere found but, she pleads: “Don’t kill them. Ifanyone finds dead ones, please send them tome.” Deborah runs her own website:w w w . s t a g b e e t l e h e l p l i n e . c o . u k and canbe contacted on 01372 379390 or at deborahjharvey@btopenworld.comOU among top 10 0‘ v i s i o n a ry’ bodiesonline registration.The OU is the largest university inthe UK, with approaching 200,000students, and now offers 168 ninemonthcourses, 30 two-year diplomasand more than 20 degrees atundergraduate level, as well as postgraduatequalifications. It employssome 10,000 people across the UKand Ireland.The university is also expandingacross the world and has thousandsof overseas students in, for example,Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore,studying in partnership with localorganisations.Welcoming the award ProfessorGeoff Peters, Pro-Vice-Chancellor,said: “The Open University isan amazingly revolutionaryconcept, which has been copiedaround the world. It is not just aUK phenomenon – it is a globalp h e n o m e n o n . ”
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