Category: Studying Page 4 of 15

So back on June 1st 2015 having just finished my Open University module I signed up to this course for a bit of fun, then discovered a whole host of other courses which interested me…and signed up for a few more later in the year too!

This course took me back to the first love of my degree, the thing I really would have liked to focus my degree on: coding. Sadly with my health the way it is I couldn’t cope with the assignment deadlines, I was coding on the computer most days, dreaming about solutions at night and getting immensely frustrated when I couldn’t work out why the code wouldn’t work as it should! Combined with a relapse which meant I couldn’t spend too much time on the computer, I diversified my degree to include business and focussed on modules that complemented that; this meant little or no coding.

I found myself going back to those days of dreaming of solutions, and getting frustrated when the code didn’t work, but without the pressure of solid deadlines (it doesn’t matter if you fall behind on a FutureLearn course since you can always catch up and there’s no deadlines set in stone) I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I learned a lot and refreshed my memory of the basic programming rules.

The IDE used, Android Studio, was easy to install and use especially with the guidance provided via the videos on the course. Getting the emulator to work was however more of a challenge. It took me many hours, over several days, using different computers to discover that one computer didn’t support Virtualization Technology and then I had difficulty getting the emulator to launch on a second computer but by creating a user variable ANDROID_SDK_HOME and setting its value to D:UsersName.androidavd after about two weeks I finally got it working!

Building the game up week by week was fun and very useful in improving my confidence in the coding. It was nice to reach the end of each week with a (mostly) working game. I loved playing around tweaking some of the settings, layout and appearance. For example I changed the background colour from green to purple, just because I wanted to see if I could.

My finished game by the end of the course

That’s not to say this course didn’t have it’s drawbacks. I was always reluctant to do more than instructed on the videos because I knew by the end of the week I’d have to backup my code and revert to the code version issued for that week, thus eliminating the changes I’d made unless I reverted to my version and tried adding the extra bits I learned as I progressed through the course. This is something I would have loved to do but due to the screentime constraints I live with, it wasn’t possible. Hopefully it’s something I can play about with in any future spare time at the screen!

The support if something went wrong or didn’t work as it should, was hit and miss; sometimes you’d get a lot of responses both from the course leaders and other learners, other times you’d be searching your way round google trying to find an answer on your own. I realise everyone probably did there best but it could leave you feeling like you’d been thrown in at the deep end and were scrambling about for answers hoping one of them would actually work.

I think an actual beginner may have a hard time with this course but that’s not to say they shouldn’t give it a go! If you’re really interested in coding then this is a really good way to get started, but it can feel like you’ve been thrown in at the deep end with a new program and programming language to learn.

Overall it was a great course and like I’ve already said, I really enjoyed myself completing it. It has enforced my understanding of Java and introduced me to a new IDE in the form of Android Studio. It has also wetted an interest in developing Android Apps, something which I had been vaguely interested in but that interest has now increased thanks to this course!

Future runs of this course are available here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/begin-programming

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T320 Results…

By Clare

On 9th July 2015

In My Open University Journey, Studying

Around this time last year I was writing a blog post about how it felt to have only just scraped a pass on B203, but that considering the circumstances at the time I needed to remember just how amazing it was to have actually passed that module.

What a contrast a year makes. This year is a totally different story and I’m writing this still numb with shock and amazement. Not only did I pass T320 this year, I got a distinction!! Quite honestly I’m finding it hard to believe, so much so I had to get my Mum to read the results page to make sure I wasn’t seeing things!

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the circumstances surrounding my End of Module Assessment were difficult to say the least. My health had taken quite a significant decline following the sudden loss of my Nan, so I was working on my EMA while coping with that and attending her funeral. It was a bit like deja vu; I went through similar during my revision period last year with the loss of my Grandad on the other side of my family, the only difference being I managed to cope better this time round.

I still can’t quite believe I got a distinction in this course, although that result makes me feel a little more confident on embarking on a project in the subject for my next module. I’m pretty confident I have done all my family proud too.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t got the result you hoped for, I quote from my blog post last year:

“To anyone struggling to come to terms with an exam result that was worse than expected, don’t worry about it. What’s done is done. If you failed and you’re offered a resit spend the time revising and know you can do it. Someone somewhere will always be rooting for you. And if you’ve passed but not received the grade you expected, wanted or dreamed of it’s not the end of the world. It may well feel like it but it’s not. Focus on the fact you passed. You can put those course books away and move on to your next module or the next stage of your life. You did it. You passed. That’s all that really matters.”

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FutureLearn; Developing Your Research Project Weeks 1 & 2

By Clare

On 6th July 2015

In Studying

I recently signed up for a couple of online courses on FutureLearn.com a site offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as something to fill my time and keep my brain ticking over during my break between Open University modules. Two of these have now begun, one of which is Developing Your Research Project.

I signed up to this course in the hope it would help me in my next Open University module, TM470, which from what I can gather is an individual project where I have to choose the topic and research it, creating a final project to be assessed at the end of the module. Two weeks into this free course and I’m ever more hopeful it will help.

Week 1

The first week was mostly introductions; introducing yourself to other learners, videos introducing academic research and transferrable skills, that sort of thing. But I learned a lot from it. We were also asked what we thought we could gain from undertaking a research project; initially I didn’t think this would be an easy question to answer but thanks to the videos I’d watched that week especially the one about transferrable skills, I was able to come up with what I thought was a suitable answer:

“I think I will gain skills which will be transferable to a lot of aspects of my life, whether that be in a future career or finding a way to make a living from home if necessary”

Finally there was a very useful checklist provided as a Microsoft Word document or PDF (depending on your preference) which covers some of the basic questions that need to be answered when preparing any research project, this included Overall Deadline Date, How it will be assessed, What format the project will be presented in etc.

Week 2

This week was another very interesting week and I learned even more. So much was covered and it was done in a way that meant it was easy to absorb the information, so easy in fact that time flew by and I only realised just how much I had learned when reflecting back on the week!

The use of a learning/research log was discussed, and essentially that is what I’m hoping these blog posts will become. I never realised my blogging about my Open University modules was also a learning log, but having read about learning/research logs during this course I realise it actually is one. Perhaps not the most detailed since I note down a lot of things on paper, but it is a form of a learning log.

We looked at how to pick a topic for your research project, which included key questions to narrow down interests, academic strengths and personal gains from undertaking a project. We were asked to share our thoughts one these key questions in the comments below the article, which elicited some interesting responses. Mine was:

“I am interested in E-business Technologies particularly how implementation of which can improve existing business practices but I am also interested in how the use of e-business technologies makes it possible to build an e-business from scratch. I think one of my academic strengths is report writing which is likely to be useful in my project. I’m hoping undertaking the project will help me towards gaining a decent overall grade in my degree.”

The most important lesson I learned from the course this week is how to narrow down my focus for the project. Going from a broad subject and context down to a topic and draft hypothesis. Something I had always found difficult in the past. This led on to a peer review activity in which you submitted a draft research proposal to be reviewed by another learner or learners on the course. This was a very interesting and beneficial exercise which helped me not only develop my skills as a reviewer of someone else’s work but also gave me confidence that I was on the right track with my draft hypothesis.

Now I’m looking forward to the start of Week 3!

Current and future runs of this course are available here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/research-project-3/details

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The End of T320 and Plans for Summer!

By Clare

On 8th June 2015

In My Open University Journey, Studying

Well I did it. I’m not sure how, but I got my End of Module Assessment submitted a week early. I can’t say I’m 100% happy with what I submitted, but it’s too late to change that now. I’m glad I got it in that early as the following week there was DIY happening in the house; when you have M.E. just coping with the noise and disruption DIY causes is exhausting in itself, let alone trying to finalise an assignment while it’s going on!

So yes, my EMA is in and it’s that time when I reflect on the module and declare my plans u til my next module begins.

T320 has been an interesting, engaging and challenging module. I can’t say I found it easy, even though it was the only module I was studying at the time. My health (or should that be lack thereof?) as well as other circumstances, including the sudden loss of my Nan, have made this module more of a challenge. But it’s a challenge I’ve risen too, and I hope I have done enough to achieve a result my Nan would be proud of.

The module itself, I thought was well written. I have learned heaps about eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and its uses, along with XML Schemas and Business Process Engineering Language (BPEL). The practical side of this module I loved and hated in equal measures; when something wouldn’t work and I couldn’t work out why I hated it with a vengeance but when I finally worked out the problem, fixed it and got it working there was an amazing sense of achievement and I loved it!

Like I said, this module hasn’t been without its challenges but overall it hasn’t been as difficult as I anticipated based on what I’d heard about it. Here’s hoping I can say the same thing at the end of my next module!

No sooner had the official deadline for my EMA passed, than I decided to look into some free courses to complete during my break. I’ve found a couple online which I’ve signed up for and registered interest in a few others. One in particular I’m hoping might help with my next module: TM470 The I.T. Project, which is my final compulsory I.T. module of my degree. It is an individual project, and the free online course I’ve signed up to later this month is all about developing a research project. I’m hoping it will help me prepare for TM470 which starts in Jan 2016 but if it doesn’t, at an hour of study for about four weeks I won’t have really lost anything.

On the subject of my next module I’m still nervously waiting for news on finance for it. I had to resend the forms after the university said they hadn’t received them, and now it’s just a waiting game. Whatever happens I will find a way to fund my next module and the one after that in order to gain my degree. But any financial support I can receive, makes things a little easier and less stressful.

Anyway, health wise I’m not doing too well right now. I’m remaining positive and still smiling but my energy reserves are low and symptoms are high. I probably shouldn’t have jumped in and signed up for these extra courses so soon, but then again there’s no real pressure to complete them, or get a particular result. Hopefully I’ll still be able to get enough rest for my health to improve while completing those courses. For now the wait for results has begun, I plan on doing a few blog posts during my break including some about the courses I hope to complete and of course one about my results when I receive them!

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Living Life, Within the Limits of Chronic Illness

Category: Studying Page 4 of 15

FutureLearn: Begin Programming: Build Your First Mobile Game

T320 Results…

FutureLearn; Developing Your Research Project Weeks 1 & 2

The End of T320 and Plans for Summer!