I've made a start on TMA01 which consists of two questions, a short question worth 8 marks, and a longer one worth 24 marks. Question 1 involves performing relatively simple calculations using data obtained from astronomical databases. Question 2 involves analysing data from the Gaia satellite using software called TOPCAT.
I had my first tutorial on Monday as well. I didn't attend live, I just watched the recording a few hours afterwards. It wasn't an easy task though. The tutor gave the wrong link and having corrected it when I contacted them about it, the recording itself hadn't been uploaded. After a second prompt, it was corrected and all was well. Only three punters attended live, out of a potential twenty. It was mostly aimed at students new to the OU so not that relevant to me really, but it was still worth a viewing, if only to hear my tutor's voice. Something the tutor said was a bit disturbing however. They said they aimed to get TMAs marked and returned within two weeks of the cut-off date, as if they were doing us a favour, but since they are contractually obliged to do this anyway, it seemed a little odd to say it. It could be that this particular tutor has taken on too many groups and has predicted that they won't be able to keep up with demands of the role. I really hope this is not the case.
While attempting to access external material through the S284 module page, I was getting a 403 forbidden error, and so were some of the other punters according to the forums. I investigated and it appeared to be a library systems issue. In fairness, it was resolved in a couple of hours, but for a module that is delivered entirely online, it's not great.