Welcome to the pleasure dome ... er ... breakout room

I had a couple of tutorials last week, which were both very different to each other. One was on Python and run by a very seasoned OU physics tutor. It was very basic, but in the past students have struggled with the Python component of the course so I can understand why these events are put on.

The other tutorial was a 'deep dive' into the Topic 1 - Forces part of the course. I wasn't looking forward to it because the tutor advertised the use of 'breakout rooms' with students working in small groups. That really isn't my thing at all but in the end it wasn't that bad. It was a bit more advanced than what was actually required to understand that part of the course, but it was still very good nonetheless. I've had that tutor before and this tutorial was just as good as the previous one.

Next week is 'Python week' and I'm looking forward to the tutorials on computer programming as a bit of light relief to the last few days. I've struggled a bit with the 'baked bean can on a chopping board' practical write up even though it should be familiar material to me. A combination of looking for properties to buy and coping with what appeared to be gastric flu, or something similar to it, has really not helped at all.

TMA01 returns

I had an email on Friday asking how SM123 was going. It was more of a questionnaire really. I said the tutorials were a bit disorganised and the skills development component was a bit over the top, which is fair enough, I think.

I made a very preliminary start on TMA02 by looking at the Python question and the practical work involving a baked bean can sliding down a chopping board. Both are manageable, just not particularly interesting.

There was a ‘Forces’ tutorial on Monday which is Topic 1 of the course, and the first of the real science bits. It wasn’t too bad but I fell asleep after about 30 minutes, more due to tiredness of the house hunting than anything else. It attracted about 70 students, which was about 10 times the usual number. I listened to the recording shortly after transmission and it was OK apart from a couple of annoying people who kept asking attention seeking questions.

I had a skills tutorial on Tuesday which was about OCL/Jupyter notebooks. The tutor was very eloquent and really knowledgeable. The quite complex information was put across really well. Python was only briefly mentioned but the tutorial was well worth attending anyway. About 9 others attended. 

There was yet another tutorial on Forces on Thursday but this one was a bit basic and really aimed at absolute beginners. In fairness, it was advertised as a ‘relaxed introduction’ so in that sense it did exactly what it said on the tin. The tutor had a cat called Rico that was put on camera, presumably to make the session as informal and accessible as possible. It wasn't the best tutorial I've had, but not the worst either.

TMA01 was marked and returned on Friday. I got 94% which is fair enough. Nothing wrong with the tutor's interpretation of the marking scheme, it was the marking scheme itself that was a bit odd. I got full marks for the collaborative practical work, so I definitely can't complain about that.

TMA01 - Gone but not forgotton

I've sent TMA01 off a bit early. It didn't need to be submitted until noon on Monday 4th November, but I've done the best I can and if I keep it any longer I'll just keep tinkering with it and probably end up losing as many marks as I gain. The entire assignment is only worth 7% of the total course mark, so I'm not sure it's worth worrying too much about. 

I had another skills tutorial yesterday, but this time on how to write, especially 'reflection'. It attracted a grand total of 9 students and it really wasn't one of the better ones that I've attended if I'm entirely honest. The first few minutes were bordering on dire in places and involved us writing on an electronic whiteboards in pretty colours. I managed to endure it for about 30 minutes before just leaving it and having a bit of a moan to my wife. The tutor was a very experienced hardened OU stalwart and although the tutorial may have been useful for some people, it really wasn't for me. I might take a look at the recording at some point, but I'm in no rush.

A couple of days ago I was sent another list of upcoming skills tutorials but it appeared to be a bit of a rushed effort. Lots of formatting errors, duplication, missing information, dates in the past etc. I added them to the list I already had but not sure how useful they will be, or if they will actually take place at all. The organisation of these tutorials is a bit questionable to say the least.

The collaborative weather station data activity appears to be well and truly finished now with the two bickerers producing a time consuming detailed 'final report' that wasn't actually asked for or as far as I could tell, going to attract any marks. A few students from the other practical groups appeared to have dropped out and have not shown up to do it at all. A couple have shown up too late to be able to collaborate with others. It's all very odd.

Write-up week

I had another skills tutorial yesterday on maths for SM123. It was really just a review of rounding numbers, significant figures and standard notation etc, but it was very good for what it was. The tutor had a lovely Irish accent and was really easy on the ear. The only thing about it that was disappointing was the number of participants. It varied between three and five throughout the hour long tutorial, which out of 670 or so potential students, really is dire. I don't know if it is due to poor advertising or just student apathy, but it's not a great use of the Open University's limited resources.

However, the main news since the last post is the progress of the 'group of four' collaborative weather station data activity. One hasn't shown up, one of them is me, and the other two appear to be bickering. The main problem being that they overcomplicate everything. If you are looking at hours of sunshine for example then you don't need to look at rainfall and temperature, but some people think otherwise. It's really frustrating. This 'activity' should have finished on Friday, but it's still rumbling on and that eats into write-up time. Luckily I've been writing up TMA01 as I've been progressing, so no great panic, but it would be nice if I could just finish it off and get it out of the way.

Other groups are just as bad, if not worse, and have turned 'over egging the pudding' into a whole new ball game. They have brought in statistical analysis from other modules, rolling averages, multi-coloured trendlines, and more graphs and variables than you can wave a stick at.

Group practical work

Yes, I know it isn't popular but collaboration is one of those skills that employers look for, and although I'm unlikely to work in science again I can fully understand why it's in a level 1 science course and I intend to give it my best shot.

8 (out of nominally 20) of us have thrown their hat into the ring and told our group tutor that we are up for it and ready to go. We work in groups of 4 and there is, unfortunately, very little activity in either of the two groups at the moment. I hope things liven up soon.

Typing of which, I attended (remotely of course) the third of the 4 skills tutorials that were hastily put on for us. The second one on Microsoft Excel didn't happen because the tutor didn't turn up. No explanation given for that, which I think is a bit of a poor show really. This one however was very good. It was on Microsoft Word, which didn't sound too exciting but it was all stuff relevant to submitting TMAs and how tutors like them set out. Can't fault either the content or the delivery and I told the tutor at the time that the presentation was excellent, which it definitely was. It was a shame that only 9 students attended out of about 670 or so.

My first tutorial

There are several tutorials on this course and most of them are module wide. There is a minority which are tutor group wide and I had one of those yesterday evening. Out of a potential 20 students, only six attended and that dropped to five about half way through.

Despite that, there were some useful tips about the components of TMA01 and I will modify my partly completed assignment as a result of this information.

Being an OU student

There was an optional 'skills tutorial' this morning and to be honest it didn't sound promising. With the title 'Being an OU student' I really thought it would be dreadful but in fact it was very good. It was more of a combination of how 'Adobe Connect' works together with a bit of pastoral stuff, which is really what the tutor group tutor should be doing. This tutor did it very well, and in my opinion is a real asset to the OU. It was a shame that there were only 9 students (out of potentially 670) attending, although it was recorded so others can see it at a later date. The tutorial wasn't particularly well advertised and I got the impression that it was a last minute rushed afterthought.

Having looked back on it, 'being an OU student' is the title of an Openlearn course, which the tutor was alluding to, and in a way was semi-advertising. I thought it sounded familiar and having looked at my study records it turns out that I did it a while ago, even though I forgot all about it until I made a point of looking it up.