Category: My Open University Journey Page 15 of 16

Well it’s been longer than I planned since I last wrote! Christmas as always was really draining but reasonably enjoyable as well. New Year’s eve was spent curled up under a blanket on the sofa, half-asleep! I hope wherever you were, however you celebrated, that you had a good New Year! I hope 2013 brings health and happiness to all!

I’ve had virus after virus this Christmas and New Year period which has made the festivities even harder to deal with! However I did manage to enjoy myself for at least some of the Christmas traditions etc.

2013 for me is going to involve studying from January right through til October, hopefully be going on a holiday with the family at some point as well – it’s been 4 maybe 5 years since I’ve been on holiday so it’s certainly something to look forward to and aim for! The main problem is deciding on a destination that has everything we need – entertainment on site, a ground floor apartment or chalet or bungalow, and preferably some form of internet access on site because I will probably have to do some studying whilst there! Of course the travelling time/distance plays a part but I think I could cope quite well with a long drive now – definitely much better than I could a few years ago anyway!

I’ve recently decided to take up meditation and mindfulness to help me cope/deal with the pain and everything living with a chronic illness brings. I’m hoping this may also lead to an improvement, as I learn to keep calm and accept the situation I am in. Whatever happens, as long as it doesn’t make me worse I think I shall stick to it.

That’s all I’ve got for now! Posts from now on might be even more sporadic, as I soon start my next Open University module which will take priority over everything else except obviously my health!

Well the start date of my next module T215 Information and Comunication Technologies is drawing ever nearer and this Saturday just gone the first block of materials arrived in the post! The rest of the course material should arrive at the beginning of February.

Pretty apprehensive about starting this course – it’s my first Level 2 module but not only that, it’s the first time I’ve studied at University Level whilst being so ill. A relapse in October and virus after virus this winter have left me more ill then when I first started doing my degree. I’m hoping I will be able to continue my study and hopefully improve health wise as well this year. I’m going to have to be careful not to do too much though as I certainly don’t want my study to make my health worse.

However I am also excited to start this module – not only is it computing and technology it has a fair amount of maths in it! Exponent notation, algebra, and Binary!! I absolutely love that side of things!

I’m hoping to update this blog again soon, but obviously it depends on my health and how well I cope with studying. For now I shall leave you with a picture of the Block 1 books that arrived on Saturday.

Well I’m posting here again earlier than expected, my results for DB123 You and Your Money: Personal Finance in Context were due out ‘by December 14th’ but were released early – 4th December!!

I am pleased to say I passed!! 😀 Which I am very pleased with especially as I completed that final assignment whilst I was pretty ill and sleep deprived. I was only 5 marks off getting a distinction grade as well! Not that it matters to the classification of my degree at this stage but it is a little frustrating to have been so close!

Still over the moon with the fact I passed as I wasn’t all that confident that I had written anything near good enough to pass let alone get the score I did!

This means I have gained a Certificate in Business Studies on route to my degree!

Oh well it made my day on Tuesday, brightened an otherwise pretty rough day or make that week so far! The cold is seriously getting to my joints at the moment and I’m in a fair amount of pain constantly. I’m hoping come January when I start T215 Communication and Information Technologies I will be in less pain and a little better.

Next week I have my Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) equipment being delivered and set up to make studying my next course that bit easier!

I’ll keep you updated with how things go.

So I’m just starting my 3rd year of doing my degree through The Open University and have decided to start a blog tracking my progress, thoughts, and everything else in between that comes to mind in the process of completing it.

I started doing my degree back in 2010, after spending the 5 years previously virtually bed bound with M.E. Throughout those years I did an hour of home tuition a day and managed to gain a single GCSE in 2009. I took a year out, without the pressure of education I managed to improve significantly so much so I managed to do 2 courses at the local adult community learning centre.

In August 2010 I decided I would start doing a degree through the OU as there was no entry requirements and I would be able to study from home, attending face to face tutorials if I was well enough. I’d do my degree part-time over 6 years. I started thinking of what degree to do, given my interest in computers and the fact I hope to one day start my own business I figured I would combine the two into my degree so decided on doing BSc (honours) Computing, I.T. & Business.

So in October 2010 I began my journey with The Open University studying M150; Data, Computing and Information. It was a bit of a shock to my system after having a year out of formal education. But I coped very well, getting good marks despite being ill.

In December 2010 I learnt that another course required for my degree was being presented for the final time in February 2011 which would mean an overlap of 5 months with M150. I decided it had to be done. BIG mistake.

I started T175; Networked Living, in February 2011. Juggling the two courses proved harder than I thought it would be and caused a relapse in the M.E.
However I still managed to get pretty good assignment marks, although I was barely doing anything else other than studying.

Come August 2011 I got my results for M150 and I had passed! In December of that same year I got my results for T175 which I had managed to also pass. This meant I had gained a Certificate in Computing & I.T. on route to my degree!

In November 2011 I started my 2nd year of OU with B120; An Introduction To Business Studies. I found this course slightly harder than the computing courses as the reading was more intense. I also had a hard time with my health through November through till April when the course ended – I was catching virus after virus which was making the M.E. worse as well. My marks for this course weren’t as good as I got for the computing course but I still managed to pass easily – that always makes me wonder what I’d be able to manage if I didn’t have this illness!

In May 2012 I started DB123; You and Your Money: Personal Finances in Context. I had improved a little since finishing B120 but was still struggling a bit. However DB123 turned out to be a much more enjoyable course (for the most part anyway). I got some of my best marks on my tutor marked assignments (TMAs)! In September I had another relapse making studying very hard, and struggled to get my End of Module Assessment (EMA) (the examinable component of my course) written and submitted by the October deadline. But I did it! Not convinced it is my best work but hoping I will manage to pass.

I had hope to be able to aim for a distinction in this course because my TMA scores indicated I would be able to, but as I struggled a lot to get the EMA written I am now just hoping I get enough marks to pass the course. At this stage it doesn’t matter if I do or do not get a distinction as these have all been Level 1 courses and have no bearing on the overall classification of my degree. It would just be an added bonus and something to be incredibly proud of.

Right now the waiting has commenced – results are supposed to be out in just over 4 weeks time, although have been known to be out later than expected!

I’m registered to start my first Level 2 module T125; Information & Communication Technologies in January 2013. So guess it might be a while…just over 4 weeks…until my next post! 😉