Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Review of the module
I've written a review of the module here
Monday, 9 June 2025
The day of the exam
Saturday, 7 June 2025
Last revision week and the imminent exam
The exam revision is going OK, but I must admit that I did more last week than this. I think revision fatigue is setting in. I tried one of the specimen iCME exams and I'm glad I did because I assumed that all of the exam questions were drop down boxes, radio buttons, or one word answers, a bit like the quiz questions in the course material, but there are some questions that involve uploading files and/or photographs. It's not a massive problem, but I think its a bit over the top for a level 1 module. I remember the days when all of the level 1 modules (called courses in those days) were assessed by coursework only.
Saturday, 31 May 2025
First revision week and the return of TMA04
Saturday, 31 May 2025
The
appearance of 'seen materials'
Figure 1 is a diagram of a box being pushed by a human
figure, so that looks like a question on frictional forces.
Figure 2 is a diagram of a piston operated pump
and a bicycle tyre, so some sort of energy transfer or 'work done' calculation
here probably.
Figure 3 is a photograph of a carbon dioxide
cylinder, so probably something to do with molecular bond energies and covalent
bonds of this gas.
Figure 4 is a diagram of the emission spectrum of
hydrogen. This question comes up a lot, and I've seen it on numerous past
papers.
Figure 5 is a diagram showing the nuclear fission
of Uranium-235. I'm glad its on nuclear energy because the 'domestic energy'
topic was as dull as ditch water and the calculations horrendous.
Figure 6 is a decay curve for a radioactive
isotope, so I'm guessing some sort of half life calculation here.
Figure 7 is an infrared image of a galaxy. No idea
what the question could be at this stage, but I'm hoping it's a 'why do we put
telescopes in space' question.
Figure 8 is a photograph of Saturn and its moon,
Titan. These type of questions come up quite often so having a look at a few
past papers might help with this one.
Figure 9 is a photograph of a pair of interacting
galaxies, with a caption that mentions dark matter. Could be a calculation on
receding galaxies, the Hubble constant, rotating galaxies, or the role of dark
matter and energy in cosmology.
Figure 10 is a Python program that calculates and
plots the energy of a hydrogenic ion. It's similar to questions that have come
up in previous examinations but there might be a new angle on it this time.
Saturday, 24 May 2025
Letting
go of TMA04 and starting exam revision
I finally let go of TMA04 on Sunday night. It wasn't
perfect, but no TMA response ever is. I didn't want to fiddle with it anymore
because it gets counterproductive. The cut-off date was noon on Friday 23rd, so
it was only 4 days early really. I can now concentrate on revision, but that
really kicks off in earnest on Bank Holiday Monday 26th when I get sent the
'seen materials' that the exam is based on. The exam is exactly two weeks later
on Monday 9th June.
I had the first of the exam preparation tutorials last
Saturday with a very good 'student focussed' tutor who gave useful hints and
tips for the students who bothered to turn up. There were 18 students in all,
and I could tell by the type of questions asked that an entire range of
abilities and confidences were represented.
On Monday I had the second of the 'Get Exam Ready' sessions
which are run by the Physical Science faculty and are not module specific. This
one was slightly better than the first but it didn't inspire much confidence in
the Open University's IT when one of the tutors got bounced out of the Adobe
Connect software and disappeared from the screen for a while. Remote exams are
very technology dependent and this incident highlighted that very nicely.
On Tuesday I had an impromptu 'exam preparation' tutorial
from the tutor who did the one from Saturday. They did it very well but there
was a issue with the recording so the tutor repeated it just for one person who
wanted it. Talk about going beyond the call of duty. The tutor opened it up for
anybody who wanted to attend, so I did. I only had about 10 minutes notice at 9
in the morning, but that's fair enough given the circumstances. As always for
this particular tutor, it was very well done and very useful. On Tuesday
evening I had another so-called 'relaxed' tutorial on the same thing. The tutor
was much better than usual and there was some very useful information imparted.
It's worth going to these tutorials because even if they are a bit hit and miss,
there's always something you can take away from them.
On Wednesday evening there was the last of the 'exam
preparation' tutorials. This one was about average in terms of usefulness, but
the one thing I've noticed with all of them is the reluctance to go through
past papers or worked examples. This tutorial was the nearest we got to doing
that, but even so it fell short of the type of 'revision' sessions that I've
had with non-OU courses.
One Thursday evening there was a 'diverse careers in
physics' event which had so many technical issues that I gave up and abandoned
it. I genuinely can't tell you what it was about, but there's no doubt the use
of Microsoft Teams didn't help at all.
Saturday, 17 May 2025
The
last of the Python weeks and TMA04
The first tutorial of the week was on Saturday afternoon. It
was on Python 4 by a previously rated excellent tutor. It was plagued by
technical problems and there were many gaps in the early part of the tutorial
due to the really poor Adobe Connect software that the OU insists on using.
The tutor's laptop was being repaired so they were using an OU effort, which
had permissions and security issues. The tutorial was salvaged when last years
Python 2 based slides were used instead of what was originally planned. All
credit to the tutor for being so ingenious and resourceful. The tutorial
overran a bit to make up for the false start, which was most welcomed.
On Monday evening there was a skills tutorial on Cosmology.
It was OK but the the tutor wasn't as engaging as they could have been. It was
worth attending though, but as always with these enrichment tutorials, they can
be a bit hit and miss.
There was a TMA04 planning tutorial on Tuesday that I had
been looking forward to for quite some time now, as I needed a bit of guidance
with one of the questions. It didn't disappoint, and the tutor was one of the
better ones. There was quite a lot of information that I took away from this
tutorial and it was well worth attending.
On Wednesday evening there was a Python 4 tutorial with a
tutor that I have found difficult to follow in the past, and this occasion was
no exception. I abandoned it after about 30 minutes. There was another one on
Thursday, which was only marginally better. Some tutors like to take tutorials
in the direction of their own personal interests, and not cover what is on the
actual syllabus. This one was better than the Wednesday one, but I must admit
falling asleep part way through nonetheless.
On Friday there was the last of the TMA04 planning
tutorials. Although I'm not a massive fan of this particular tutor's style, it
was a very useful session and went over the TMA in a lot more detail than the
other planning tutorials. It was however well over 2 hours long, which after a
long eventful day is a bit demanding. Somewhat surprisingly and
disappointingly, only 6 other students attended for most of it, dropping to 5
at times.
Saturday, 10 May 2025
I've finished all of the nine module topics now. Next week
is the last of the four Python weeks and the week after is six days to complete
the final assignment TMA04, which has to be submitted by 23 May. Then two weeks
of revision which will lead up to the online exam, called iCME81, on Monday 11
June.
On Saturday morning I had the first of three anticipated
tutorials on Cosmology. It was taken by a tutor who I have previously rated as
excellent. Apart from a few self-indulgent moments at the beginning, it was
very interesting, and I picked up a few tips for one of the TMA questions on
nucleosynthesis. I adjusted my answer as a result of this tutorial, so it was
very useful.
The second planned tutorial on cosmology, scheduled for Bank
Holiday Monday never happened, probably because it was er ... Bank Holiday
Monday. Several students complained about this on the forum but there was no
communication from the SM123 course team about this at the time, which I think
is bad form. In fairness to the tutor, a few hours afterwards we all received
an email and a forum post saying that it has been rescheduled for late Thursday
morning.
I had a 'fun' skills tutorial on Tuesday evening called 'Number games'. It wasn't directly connected with the module syllabus as such, but it was another one of the enrichment events that have been put on to try to engage the punters. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but wasn't one of the better ones either. I think only 6 people attended, which isn't bad considering the time and date has been changed at short notice.
On Wednesday evening I had the second of three cosmology
tutorials with one of the better tutors. I missed most of it because I was out
and about on family business, but the recording was available so I was able to
watch and listen to the entire session. It was definitely well worth doing.
Early, or perhaps I should say, very early on
Thursday morning I had the the first of the three TMA04 Planning tutorials
with a very good tutor. There were some very useful tips in there that I will
implement in my assignment, but 7.30am on a Thursday is probably not the best
time for me to hear them. Six people attended which is good going for a
tutorial at the best of times, let alone the worst. The 'breakout room' for
only six students in total wasn't the best idea though. A few hours later I had
the third and last of the cosmology tutorials, This was the one that was
postponed from Monday. The tutor only picked out a few selected sub-topics to
go over, but it was useful and interesting nonetheless.
Saturday, 3 May 2025
Still
not back to normal but we plod on with TMA04
The Easter break, which is now over, seems to have put the
SM123 module team on hold. Still no proper tutorials this week, just a 'skills
tutorial' on exoplanets. These skills tutorials started life as a 'taking it
further' initiative but aren't part of the curriculum as such. I think they
should be regarded as enrichment activities, to put it in modern parlance. The
tutorial was OK. The subject was interesting, but the tutor, although
undoubtedly knowledgeable, didn't have a teaching or delivery style that I
found particularly appealing. I think less than 10 attended.
This week, I have been mostly finishing off bits of TMA04. I
completed the multi-part question on the nucleosynthesis activity of stars
(Q5), the computer program to calculate the temperature of space (Q2) and also
the Python peer review exercise (Q1). One student reviewed my efforts, which I
wrote a reflective paragraph on, and I also reviewed the code of a random
student because the one that I had been allocated hasn't produced anything. I
completed the 'skills audit' questions (Q6) a few days ago. I hope I never see
the like of these again, because I'm not really into the self-criticism
malarky. I think the late Sean Lock had the right idea when he was asked if
there was one thing he could change about himself what would it be, and he
replied, "the front - obviously". On Wednesday I finished the
'calculating the distance of the moon from earth using a coin' activity
question (Q3). I am quite pleased with my progress as I've done five questions
out of the six to completion (they might benefit from a proofread though) and I
have made a reasonably good start on the remaining question (Q4) which
estimates the relationship between dust size and crater diameter.
I also amended the batch file code that backs up my OU work
to include another module that has a February start, such as MST124, should I
decide to do it.
I had a strange email in the form on a survey on Tuesday
asking me how the assessments and end of module exam went. Thing is, I haven't
finished all of the assessments, and the end of module exam is about 6 weeks
away, so unless I develop some time travelling skills, I'm unable to answer it.
Saturday, 26 April 2025
The OU academic year is about 32 weeks, give or take, and
there are two study breaks for October starters. The first is a two week break
at Christmas time (the first week has Christmas Day in it, and the second week
has New Year's Day in it). The second is a one week break at Easter and is in
the week that has Easter Sunday in it. Most students use these weeks wisely.
They can be used to catch up if falling behind, or to get ahead and have some
time in hand. If life gets in the way of studying, which of course it always
does, these weeks are invaluable. They can allow more time for revision, or
finish off a TMA, especially the last one which is almost always a fag paper's
width away from the end of the module.
A disadvantage of break weeks is the lack of
tutorials. These can be useful because they can sometimes clarify a topic
or at least give a clue as to what part of the topic is the most important,
i.e. likely to be examined in the end of module exam. They can also provide a
few pointers for the assignments, if you are lucky. Despite this, I have
however made a start on the cosmology topic. It seems slightly better written
than the previous two astronomy-type topics and I tackled the accompanying TMA question
on nucleosynthesis. It was only the rather convoluted gimmicky interactive
activity on the big bang that spoilt it really. I've also completed the
'reflective skills development' question of TMA04. Hopefully this will be the
last time I will have to do such things.
In addition, I semi-seriously thought about studying two 30
credit modules next year. S283 Planetary Science and the Search for Life, which
starts in October 2025, and MST124 Essential Mathematics 1, which has a presentation in
February 2026. The two modules overlap but are nicely staggered such that there
are only a few weeks where I need to study both at the same time. MST124 opens
the door to level 2 maths, such as MST224 Mathematical Methods, in the future. This is a
prerequisite to some of the more mathematically demanding level 3 modules such
as SM380 Quantum Physics and SM381 Electromagnetism. I've got until next January to
decide what to do, and I will see how demanding S283 turns out to be before I
commit to anything else. MST124 has a sort of boot camp, which isn't advertised
as such, but is a bit of pre-module engagement that bridges the gap between the
maths in S111 (hardly any) and MST124. I think this has been
put on as a confidence booster more than anything as I believe that MST124 is
generally regarded as a well taught module.
Saturday, 19 April 2025
Week
26 - the week before the Easter break
I had a tutorial the other night on Python 3 that got a bit
heated in places due to students wrestling with the answers that the tutor was
giving to really irrelevant questions. I could tell that the tutor was getting
annoyed, especially towards the end, where the tutorial ended a little more
abruptly than usual. There was no 'any questions' time allowed. I think Python
is bringing out the worst in people.
I have had three tutorials on Topic 8 - Exploring the Solar
System over the last few days. The first was with a previously rated good
quality tutor. It overran quite a lot, probably because the tutor took the
session in the direction that they wished to take it, i.e. personal interest
stuff, and not necessarily bothered about the syllabus and the course
materials. The second tutorial by a very eminent member of the OU physical
science team went very much the same way really. They talked about their favourite
aspects of the topic rather than what is in the module materials, but in
fairness both were done very well, so I can't complain really. The third was
the most disappointing of the three. It concentrated on just on one very small
aspect of the topic. The tutor seemed a bit nervous and flustered in places and
it wasn't helped by the audio dropping out every few seconds. All three
tutorials on this topic were opportunities to explain the material, but these
were missed as far as I was concerned. I suspect if I watched the recordings
again it wouldn't make much difference to my opinion.
My Wednesday lunchtime tutorial on Excel advanced was
postponed by the Microsoft employees who were running it on behalf of the
university. Although slightly disappointing it was no loss really because the
first one, which I saw the recording of but didn't attend live, was very poor.
I uploaded my Python radioactive half-life isotope program
to the OpenStudio area of the website but I’m not expecting any feedback. One
of the students that I'm paired with, who is normally quite inactive, has
suddenly sprung into life, but the other one is yet to show signs of engaging,
as far as I can tell.
I had a National Student Survey (NSS) invitation sent to me
the other day. Some of it was standard stuff about what I thought of the
quality of the course etc, but an alarming proportion of it was about having
sexual activity with staff and students and asking if I ever had something
unwanted pushed into a personal orifice by anybody connected with the
university. Totally surreal and totally unnecessary. Nothing whatsoever to do
with standards of higher education or student satisfaction.
Saturday, 12 April 2025
TMA04
- The last one of the module
Having got TMA03 out of the way, it's time to start looking
at TMA 04. This TMA contributes up to 13% of the module score and must be
submitted by Friday 23rd May 2025. Submission days have been Tuesdays up until
now, but I suspect the reason for the slightly earlier than usual submission
date is to allow the tutor to mark it and return it with, hopefully, useful
feedback in time for the final exam.
Question 1 (20 marks) This involves writing a Python program to plot radioactive decay graphs of various radioactive isotopes, which is then peer reviewed. I have to reflect on their critique of my efforts and suggest how I would modify my code in light of this. I am then expected to peer review somebody else’s Python code, who will undoubtedly have to reflect on my criticism.
Question 2 (20 marks) This involves writing a Python program to determine the best-fit blackbody temperature to some cosmic microwave background radiation data obtained by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. This is quite difficult, but the hardest part is understanding what the question is actually asking for. Parts of the question appear in at least two places, the TMA question paper and the online Jupyter notebook.
The second part of the question then asks how the program
can be adapted so that it automatically finds the best-fit temperature, without
the need for the user to input trial values.
Question 3 (16 marks) This question concerns writing up an experiment to measure the distance to the Moon. This is performed by holding up a coin of a known size to the night sky and looking at it so that it just obscures the image of the moon seen by eye. By using a bit of theory on angular measurements and doing bit of maths it’s possible to estimate a value for the distance of the moon from the earth. Its one of those 'kitchen sink' type activities that has S112 written all over it.
Question 4 (16 marks) This involves estimating dust grain size by measuring the diameter of craters on photographs of aluminium foil caused by the impact of high velocity dust particles and displaying the results as a histogram. There is also an equation that relates particle size with crater size which is used in the calculation.
Question 5 (16 marks) This is composed of several 'short answer' questions on the processes and events that have occurred in the Universe throughout its history, focussing on nucleosynthesis, which is the name given to the creation of new nuclei.
Question 6 (12 marks) This is the obligatory ‘self-reflection on skills development’ and posting radar diagrams part of the assignment, which is easy marks if you don’t weaken. Unfortunately, many do, and don't bother attempting it.
Saturday, 5 April 2025
S283
Planetary Science and the Search for life
Last Saturday morning I had a tutorial associated with Python 3 week. I had completed the Python 3 activity a few days earlier, so this was only of a limited interest to me, but I attended anyway. It was a bit disorganised, which surprised me really, because this particular tutor is usually very good. I think a combination of the timing (Saturday morning is never a great time) and the Python changes didn't help matters. This is the first year that SM123 has used Jupyter notebooks (Python v3), whereas previous presentations have used Trinkets (Python v2). There are a lot of similarities, but many differences, and several tutors have not updated their notes and PowerPoint slides, which means making adjustments as they go along. This tutor, on this occasion, seemed uncharacteristically a little underprepared.
On Sunday, my tutor posted the student names for the Python
3 peer review exercise. The student who has been allocated to review my program
rarely engages with the rest of the cohort. I am expected to review the program
of somebody who isn't significantly better at the 'cooperation' aspect of the
module either. The anticipated outcome of this malarky is very much unknown at
this stage, but I suspect the tutor will post further details about what to do
if I'm met with non-compliance.
The same tutor as the one allocating the names for the peer
review exercise held a Python 3 skills tutorial on Monday. Only 3 other
students attended, which is par for the course with these badly advertised
events. I'm not entirely sure what they are for. I think they started off as
some sort of pedagogic enrichment activity which has morphed into a 'I'm
contracted to do it so I'd better get on and do it then' sessions. As with a
lot of these initiatives, the senior academics who dreamt it up meant well, but
it didn't quite turn out as they had hoped. I've attended all of them, and
while none have been truly ghastly, some have definitely been better than
others. Monday's effort was about average in the range. Python is definitely
something that a lot of students struggle with, so the more tutorials the
better really. Each tutor has a unique style and explains things in a slightly
different way, so there is bound to be (at least) one that resonates and is
useful to somebody. There is yet another Python 3 tutorial next Monday and I'm
sure I'll be all Pythoned out by then.
Saturday, 29 March 2025
This week I started to get to grips the Python part of the course and dabbling with the Components of the Universe topic, which I started last week. Python 3 was really just leading up to a program to plot a decay curve for a radioactive isotope which I found relatively easy. I've read ahead a bit to Python 4 and it seemed difficult to get a handle on it at first because the computer programming material isn't very well written. Once I got going, I managed to complete it, but it was a bit challenging in places. That means I've finished all of the Python on the module now, so I can concentrate on the astronomy and planetary science, which are the last two concluding academic topics.
The tutorial on Python 3 by a normally good tutor was OK but
a bit self-indulgent in places. It was useful, but it could have been even more
useful still if it had focused a bit more on the course materials and not on
just Python in general. Last Monday there was a faculty-wide tutorial on how to
cope with your online exam. I must be honest and say it was a very long hour of
two tutors saying not particularly very much, and I took it more as a box
ticking exercise for the OU to cover themselves if students don't follow the
correct procedures on the day and muff the exam for procedural reasons rather
than academic ones. Not much applied to SM123, it was mostly aimed at
examinations for level 2 and level 3 modules.
Saturday, 22 March 2025
Registration
for 25J modules opens
I had the last of the 'Topic 7 - Components of the Universe'
tutorials last Sunday with a tutor who is normally one of the better ones. They
were OK on this occasion but not quite up to their usually high standard. It
was a 'deep dive' variant, so tutors are expected to go beyond the course
material without overdoing it and it's a very difficult balancing act. This
tutorial filled the gaps and clarified a few things left by the previous two on
this subject, so it that respect it was very good.
I had a 'skills tutorial' on Tuesday, supposedly on
'advanced maths'. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't aimed at me really. There
were only four people attending. I was one, and the tutor was another, making
just two others. These tutorials are really poorly advertised. A tutor on a
previous tutorial said that when originally planned this series was originally
going to be called 'taking it further' but for some reason morphed into
'skills' probably for political or funding reasons. The pedagogy is lost on me
really.
Wednesday was the day when registrations for next October
opened. The cost of a 30-credit module has gone up to £1946 and a 60-credit
module is now £3892. Modules can be taken 'standalone' or linked to a
qualification. The obvious one for me would be S10 Certificate in astronomy and planetary science which
requires both S284
Astronomy and S283
Planetary Science and the search for life. I can do this in two years
and the order in which they are taken isn't important.
An alternative qualification for me to consider would have
been S20 Certificate in Physics which requires the new
60-credit module S227 Core Physics and SXPS288 Remote experiments in physics and space. This would
also take me two years, but the order I take them would be more important
because some of the experimental work is based on S227, so
doing SXPS288 first would be a bit illogical. I'm not sure I
would have wanted to do S227 in
its first year of presentation anyway due to the possible teething problems.
If I'm looking in the long term for a higher qualification,
then I will need to do at some point MST124
Essential Mathematics 1. It's only just beyond A level in terms of
difficulty, but as it's about 45 years since I did A level Pure Maths, I've
forgotten a lot of it. It's a prerequisite to other higher-level modules, so
it's unavoidable really if I want to go further, but that's something to think
about for the semi-distant future.
Saturday, 15 March 2025
Topic
7 - Components of the universe
Today, I officially started Topic 7 - Components of the
universe. This is the first of the 'astronomy' series of topics, and the last
one derived from the S112 module. The tutorial I had last Saturday morning was
from somebody I hadn't met before. They were very good. Clear, concise, and
knew the topic very well. It was a good introduction to the Astronomy and
Planetary science change of direction.
I had another tutorial on Wednesday evening, also on
astronomy. This one was by a tutor I had before and didn't think that much of,
and I thought exactly the same this time. I'm sure they know their stuff and
might be really good at their day job, but for one reason or another, I just
found them difficult to follow. It wasn't recorded, which was probably the best
thing about it.
On a more positive note, the Level 2 core physics module is
being updated for next year, and details were released on Wednesday. It's
rather unimaginatively called S227 Core
Physics, which replaces the somewhat more imaginatively titled S217
Physics: From Classical to Quantum. It's the only 60 credit physical
science module that the OU offer, all the others are 30 credits.
Saturday, 8 March 2025
Practical
2 is over - let's go into TMA03
The last day to wrap up Practical 2 - the cloud chamber -
was yesterday. As I strongly suspected, not that many students engaged with
this activity so in the early hours of this morning I emailed my tutor and
asked if I could implement their contingency plan. This involved reviewing a
presentation from one of the few students who had uploaded theirs but was
actually meant for somebody else. With only hours to go before the tutor
deadline, I received feedback on my own presentation, so I can reflect on that and
add my response in the TMA. I really can't blame other people for not getting
involved with this malarky, and the fact that only ten out of eighteen in my
tutor group have uploaded their own presentation, let alone review another
student's, speaks volumes really.
I've had a few tutorials since last I typed. On Tuesday I
had a tutorial on how to tackle TMA03 from one of the better tutors. As always,
they gave 'no nonsense' sound advice about what was required. All tutors differ
though, and what is 'right' for this tutor might be very wrong for the one who
actually marks my work.
On Thursday, I had a tutorial by an OU stalwart who, to be honest, had probably seen better days. They appeared to be using someone else’s slides, which is never good, and also got a bit lost towards the end, and started not to make much sense. The tutor admitted this as much themself, so it’s not an overly harsh criticism. Particle physics is not easy, and lots of students and teachers alike struggle with it, so it's fair enough.
Last Saturday, I had the tutorial that was postponed from
exactly a week previously. It was scheduled to last for two hours, but the
tutor managed to knock it off in a mere one and a half. According to LinkedIn,
this tutor had worked at the OU for 52 years, so almost from its very
beginnings in 1973. (The OU admitted their first students in 1971). This was
another tutorial on particle physics, which is the topic that we are all on at
the moment, if we follow the study calendar. It's difficult to judge, but I
would have to say that this one was slightly better than the Thursday version
on the same subject. The tutor went off on tangents in places, and again
appeared to be using someone else's slides, but I think it just had the edge.
There was a bit of a 'Joyce Grenfell' vibe to the whole proceedings, especially
at the start, but it seemed just slightly more coherent.
On Monday I had another (the second of two) tutorials on TMA03 planning by my own tutor, the one who marks my assignments. They seemed to think that screenshots of electron orbitals were acceptable, but according to other tutors, and hinted at in the module materials, they are not really. Conflicting opinions on how to tackle assignments is always a bad thing to have to think about, but there was some good news. The tutor expressed a very positive preference for using Excel to plot the decay curve graph, which means that I can use the graph that I've already produced without having to redo it by hand.
There weren't that many attendees, but these tutorials can get a bit heated at times. One old duffer claimed that he couldn't find the assignment question and/or the part in the teaching materials that the question referred to. The tutor did their best to direct them without losing their rag, and more or less managed it, but another student had to step in and mediate. You could tell that both were starting to lose their patience as it went on for a lot longer than it should have done. It was touch and go at times. It reminded me of the very old Hale and Pace gag. "I don't like conflicts - in fact I don't like any breakfast cereals".
At lunchtime on Tuesday - always a bad time for a tutorial - I had the third of three on how to tackle TMA03. I could tell by the number and type of questions asked that this assignment causing a few problems for other students. It wasn't helped by the conflicting advice or information that the three different tutors gave for the questions on the TMA. This one said absolutely no screenshots of electron orbitals, freehand sketches only. The first said freehand sketches or computer graphics package but not screenshots. Tutor number two said screenshots are OK, hinting in places at a preference for them over any other method.
Similarly, for the radioactive decay graph, there was a 'hand drawn only', a 'hand drawn but Excel if you really must' and an 'Excel preferred but hand drawn acceptable' difference of opinion. The number of slides required for the PowerPoint presentation was also a bit ambiguous. Between 6 and 10 seemed to be the nearest we ever got to a consensus, but it was far from definitive. Tutorials are really designed to make things clearer not more confusing so I'm beginning to doubt their worth really.
On Wednesday I had the last of the particle physics tutorials. This one was a deep dive and facilitated by one of the better tutors, an OU staffer. It definitely went into the topic in depth, so it did what it said on the tin. There were no attention seeking idiots at this tutorial, which made for a much better experience.
On Thursday I had a 'skills' tutorial on 'Using radioactive decay as a dating technique' with the same tutor that I had yesterday for the particle physics, and there was a lot of overlap in the two subject areas. This was a tutorial in two halves really. The first part was practicing half-life calculations, which is a very useful skill. The second half lost its focus a little bit and drifted into luminescence and dating the age of pottery, which was a personal interest of the tutor but not particularly relevant to the course. It was an hour well spent though, and I can say that I've had a lot worse evenings. A lot worse. No really, I have.
Saturday, 1 March 2025
I made a few tentative enquiries about S284
Astronomy for next year 25J. They used to offer a Headstart and a Boot
camp option but I enquired to see if they still do. According to the
qualification lead, the Boot camp might be offered next year but the Headstart
will not. That's a bit of a shame really because I was looking forward to that.
If I do it anyway, I can put it towards S10 Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science that
I have had my eye on for a while now.
I finished the PowerPoint presentation on the cloud chamber
and uploaded it to the area of the module website where these things are
exchanged. To date, there were only 4 other people who have bothered to do it,
and the closing date is next Friday the 7th March. Some students never engaged
with the first practical and some on the list I have never heard of. It looks
like my presentation will be reviewed by a student who engages with the module
quite a bit, but I'm expected to review the presentation of a student who is
totally new to me. I've never seen their name mentioned at all anywhere. By
this time next week it will be all over, as far as I can tell.
I don't think my presentation is particularly good, but half
of the marks are given for stating how you would improve it after you have
reflected on the feedback received from the reviewer. That's fair enough, so
there is everything to play for.
I managed to do the freehand sketches of the hydrogen
orbitals using Microsoft Paint and I think that is just about acceptable under
the rules, but the Barium-137 decay graph is a bit dodgy. I've plotted it using
Excel but the TMA strongly hints at a hand-drawn effort. A lot will depend on
what my tutor - the one who will be marking it - says at the tutorial on
Monday. If I'm still in doubt after all that, I will just ask them by email. I
must say that TMA03 has been my least favourite assessment so far and it's the
one that I think I will get the lowest mark in.
Interestingly, the SM123 exam (online - 3 hours) is exactly
100 days away today.
Saturday, 22 February 2025
Week
19 - The week with no name
I've looked ahead a bit to Topic 6 which is called Nuclei
and Particles. There is a TMA question on this which involves plotting a
radioactive decay graph by hand without the use of Excel or another graph
drawing package. This doesn't appear to make a lot of sense, but then again
maybe they are testing for something here that's not immediately obvious.
Topic 6 is the first topic in the module that was not
written primarily for S112 and then adapted for use with SM123. There are only
three unique topics in total if you exclude the Python weeks. The others are
Topic 7 is Components of the Universe, Topic 8 Exploring
the Solar System and Topic 9 How the Universe works. This
is the part of the course that I have been looking forward to the most because
astronomy (T7), planetary science (T8), and cosmology (T9) are not subjects I
have ever studied before.
I've got the deadline for TMA03 in my sights now. It's 17th
March. Not sure the freehand drawings of electron orbitals are a vote winner
though.
[EDIT]
I was supposed to have a 2 hour tutorial tonight but it
didn't happen. I think the tutor is on long term sick leave. I sympathise, and
hope they get well soon, but the communications from the OU are absolutely
appalling. It's not the first time something like this has happened
either.
[Further EDIT]
The tutor emailed me (and others no doubt) to say that they
were experiencing pain due to a suspected appendicitis and hoped to reschedule
the tutorial another time.
Saturday, 15 February 2025
Today is the start of the second of the two
designated practical weeks. The first week was on weather station data and
happened in week 3 of the module, around mid-October. This practical involves
evaluating background radiation tracks using a cloud chamber. A number of
video recordings have been made available through the course materials and
having watched them, the method used and the results obtained are conveyed to
another student using a scripted PowerPoint presentation which is then commented
on. Similarly, each student is expected to 'peer review' somebody else's
efforts.
Last week my tutor emailed all of us and gave us the student
allocations. It was basically a table of names which indicated which student
will be expected to review the efforts of which other student. There is also a
tutorial planned for Tuesday 18th February which will hopefully explain a bit
more about the entire procedure. Also, I now know that the cut-off date for
this practical activity is Friday 7th March.
I can imagine a lot of people not bothering with this
activity due to the 'working with others' aspect, not to mention the time
constraints. It is worth 40% of the TMA, and the TMA is worth 13% of the total
module mark (i.e. 5.2% overall), so there are many marks up for grabs. Rather
worryingly, a few days after the initial email, my tutor followed it up with
'what to do if nobody peer reviews your presentation' guidance. This sounds
more than a bit ominous.
As an aside, I received another communication from the OU.
This was entitled "Checking in on your study experience: We'd like to hear
from you!". It just appeared to be a more comprehensive version of the
"Your mid-module check in" email that I got a few days ago. I was
honest and said that the tutorials were a bit disorganised but other than that,
everything was going OK.
Saturday, 8 February 2025
Topic 5 of the module is called Energy in Society.
Having looked at the teaching material and had some tutorials on the subject, I
can't help thinking it's a bit like A level Nuffield Physics, or even GCSE for
that matter. It's divided into three parts. Part 1 is about energy resources;
fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. Part 2 is about
domestic energy; the importance of insulation and the heat losses in domestic
situations, such as poorly lagged hot water tanks, cavity walls and the
principles of central heating radiators. Part 3 is about energy in transport,
such as air resistance, breaking and friction.
It is, as it goes, taken from the physics components
of S112
Science: Concepts and Practice, which is a module for students who are not
following a physics/astronomy pathway through their qualification, and
therefore are expected to have very little interest in it. With that in mind,
it's hardly surprising it has 'Nuffield' stamped all over it. I'll be happy
when this topic of the module is over, because it really does bring back bad
memories of the past.
Although Part 2 is the least interesting part of the topic,
there's a TMA question on this, so it's important to take it seriously. The
question consists of three components. The first is about calculating heat
losses due to radiation of an unlagged hot water tank. The second is about the
effect of lagging the tank, and the third is about how much lagging contributes
to the reduction of carbon emissions. Very modern.
Monday, 3 February 2025
One thing which will support me with my studies is a better
laptop, so I splashed out and bought a second hand Geobook Infinity 540 from
eBay. I got it for less than £100. I had to give it a bit of a refurbishment
to get it up to scratch but I'm there now I think. It has a 15.1in screen,
which is a vast improvement on the 12½in I have at present and came with
8GB of RAM and 256GB disk drive installed. I upgraded this to 24GB of RAM, and
2GB drive storage. I also reinstalled Windows 11, which was corrupted when I
got it, and upgraded the dodgy network card driver because the Wi-Fi kept
cutting out. A USB-C charger with a longer and more flexible power lead helped
as well. The Intel quad core with hyperthreading i5-10210U CPU just makes
things feel generally snappier than before. I'm pleased with this purchase
because I've improved things without spending a fortune.
Saturday, 1 February 2025
I had a few more tutorials last week. Two on programming
(coding) and two on what can be described as 'modern physics'.
The first Python tutorial was delivered by somebody who was using part of somebody else's slide deck. They appeared to have a very good knowledge of the Python language, but seemed a little unfamiliar with the Python content of the SM123 module. Part way through the tutorial, with one eye on the time constraints no doubt, the tutor asked students to stop asking questions because they were slowing down and interrupting the flow of the session. This might sound a bit harsh, but it was well justified in this particular case. Towards the end of the tutorial the tutor deviated from the course materials and became a bit self-indulgent by talking about the role of Python in their own day job. It was all very interesting and entertaining stuff, but I'm not sure it helped anybody understand what they needed to know to successfully tackle the coding component of the module.
The first modern physics tutorial was delivered by an OU staffer rather than an associate lecturer with a non-OU day job and the difference in quality was notable. It was a really difficult subject to put across and it was done really well. It wasn't helped by a poor bandwidth connection, a bad cough and a baby crying in the background. However that's not the fault of the tutor, it's a consequence of the OU having moved to 'online' from traditional to 'face-to-face' tutorials. This tutor overran the session by a good 50 minutes because students were asking questions. This was fair enough, as they appeared to enjoy answering the questions that the students were putting to them.
The other skills tutorial on Python took place mid-week and was facilitated by my own tutor, the one who marks my assignments. They are at the 'no nonsense' end of the spectrum, and adopt a 'hard but fair' approach, which suits me just fine. On this occasion though they were just grumpy, bordering on rude in places. The scene was set at the start when it was announced that it would probably be 15 minutes shorter than advertised. Questions were tolerated rather than welcomed and at one point a normally talkative student was firmly put in their place. It was clear that the tutor appeared to be taking this session under some sort of duress. It was embarrassing to listen to in places to be honest. Fortunately, the number of attendees rarely went above 5 and never reached double figures at all.
The poorly advertised skills tutorial called ‘Quantum workshop’ was supposed take place on Saturday evening but it didn’t happen. Lots of people were wondering what had gone wrong and were posting about it on the SM123 forum. There was no announcement from the OU at the time, but a few days afterwards the tutor made contact and rescheduled it for the following Friday. It did indeed take place, and was reasonably well attended considering the confusion with the timing. The tutor knew their stuff and also knew the SM123 syllabus quite well. Some students wanted a more 'in depth' treatment of the subject but the tutor was very good at reigning them in while at the same time appearing to give them what they wanted. That's a very rare skill.
Saturday, 25 January 2025
TMA02
returns and looking forward
TMA02 was marked and returned yesterday. I scored 94%, which
is exactly the same as I got for TMA01, so at least I'm consistent. I lost a
few marks on the 'baked bean tin sliding down a chopping board' practical write
up, but I'm OK with that because I've got it out of the way. A couple of
comments by the marker were just nit-picking I think, but I'm happy with the
outcome overall. 94% is not to be sniffed at. Interestingly, it means that I
have now contributed 12.22% towards the module result. The end of module exam, called iCME81 in OU parlance, is the type of remote exam that some modules now have. These started during the so-called 'pandemic' and have been kept up even though social distancing restrictions were lifted a long time ago. Some modules have an End of Module Assessment (EMA) - similar to an extended essay or possibly a mini-project - instead of an exam. Opinion is divided over which type of assessment is easier. Many level 1 modules have neither and are assessed entirely on coursework, which is usually a number of Tutor Marked Assignments at semi-regular intervals over the module.
Saturday, 18 January 2025
I've had a couple of tutorials over the first few days of
2025 and while neither were terrible, both were a bit disappointing. A
previously 'good' tutor spent too much time being jokey and personable and then
ran out of time so had to rush the last 15 minutes. It was towards the end of
the session that the more important and difficult material was due to be
covered. In fairness, the tutor apologized and the session was recorded with
the PowerPoint slides made available for download, but I'm not sure if it saved
the day.
The other tutorial was similar in some ways but different in
others. Using somebody else's slide deck is always a red flag because it
usually means that the tutor is not totally familiar with, and fully
understands, the material being delivered. In my opinion this was indeed the
case. The tutor admitted they wouldn't be covering the last section of the
topic at all, and the parts that were considered came across as a bit confused.
It's a difficult subject admittedly, but I was hoping for a better explanation
of the topic material than either of the two attempts so far.
One of the biggest problems seems to be that of pace. Too slow at the beginning of the tutorial, when the simpler concepts are being looked at, and rushed at the end when the more complex content is examined, if indeed it is covered at all. It didn't help that a couple of students asked a few strange questions which gave me the impression they were seeing something that wasn't really there. By doing so, it just robbed the tutor of valuable explanation time.
[EDIT]
Saturday, 11 January 2025
TMA02
has gone ... so now let's start TMA03!
I sent off TMA02 a few days ago, even though the cut-off
date isn't until Monday 13th. This is a good thing because I will just keep
tinkering with it otherwise, and that doesn't necessarily gain more marks. It
just causes anxiety and wastes time that could be spent on other things, such
as tackling TMA03.
TMA03 follows a similar format to the previous assignments
and is comprised of several questions on various parts of the course, but is
slightly biased towards the practical work. It is worth 13% of the total mark
for the entire course which is the same as TMA01 and TMA02 combined.
Question 1 (20%) involves authoring some PowerPoint
slides and writing a script to go with them. The activity in question is the
presentation of the results of a virtual ‘cloud chamber’ practical.
Question 2 (20%) is also about the cloud chamber
practical and takes the form of a peer review of another student’s PowerPoint
slides and their written script.
Question 3 (16%) This involves freehand drawing of
atomic orbitals of hydrogen and is connected with Topic 4 - The quantum realm.
The freehand drawing malarky is not very popular with the other punters who
prefer something a little more sciencey and less arty. I don't blame them.
Question 4 (16%) This is more mathematical than most
TMA questions and relates to Topic 5 - ‘Energy in society’ calculations,
involving the heat losses in a domestic hot water tank.
Question 5 (16%) is another mathematical one. This is
on radioactive decay and half-life calculations. It is quite a common type of
radioactivity question and is connected with Topic 6 - Nuclei and particles.
Question 6 (12%) is the obligatory skills audit
question. There’s one on all four of the TMAs. It involves posting a few ‘radar
diagrams’ showing the various skills acquired and developed during the progress
of the course, followed by a few words of reflection. It’s easy marks if it’s
taken (at least) semi-seriously.
Saturday, 4 January 2025
Back
after the Christmas/New year Break
Saturday, 28 December 2024
I'm not sure what good it will do, but I've written to my MP
to complain about the OU employment policies and procedures.
[EDIT]
I received this reply on 15th January.
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your correspondence of 23 December, on behalf
of your constituent, Mr John Hunt of [REDACTED], regarding his concerns around
plans to fire and rehire staff at the Open University (OU).
I recognise the concerns of providers and their staff
regarding the ongoing financial stability of their institutions, and am aware
that some providers, including the OU, are making difficult decisions around
staffing to safeguard their financial sustainability.
Higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the pay
and provision of staff. The government does not have a role in intervening with
specific providers or in resolving disputes between providers and their staff.
However, we expect providers to work with staff, using their knowledge and
experience to help identify how best to reduce unnecessary spend. Efficiency
measures taken by the sector should provide better long-term value both for
students and the country.
We are committed to working closely with the sector to find
practical ways to address the challenges faced and deliver the change that the
sector, students and the country needs. Sir David Behan has been appointed as
the interim Office for Students (OfS) Chair to oversee the important work of
refocussing the OfS’ role to concentrate on key priorities, including the HE
sector’s financial stability.
I want to assure Mr Hunt that the government is committed to
creating a secure future for our world-leading HE sector - one that benefits
students, taxpayers, workers, and the economy. We are reviewing options to
deliver a more robust HE sector and will set out a long-term plan for reform by
the summer.
Department officials are also working closely with officials
at the Department for Business and Trade on the provisions of the Employment
Rights Bill. As Mr Hunt notes, this includes ending fire and rehire tactics, as
well as introducing basic rights from day one of employment, such as parental
leave and protection against unfair dismissal.
Thank you again for writing. I hope that this response is
useful for Mr Hunt.
Yours sincerely,
The Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith
Minister for Skills
Saturday, 21 December 2024
Progress
so far - Christmas & New Year Break
Over the last few days I have had five tutorials, and it's fair to say that some were better than others
One evening, I had a tutorial which was truly dire. Lots of
long pauses, with underprepared, unrehearsed delivery. Poor slides, which
appeared to have been prepared for a different purpose, confusing explanations,
and off-topic ramblings. It was really really bad. I felt sorry for the 9 other
people that had to go through that. It wasn't just the worst OU tutorial I have
ever had, but the worst ever in my 55 or so years of education.
There was a non-recorded tutorial on how to tackle TMA02 by
one of the better tutors which was a bit of a disappointment really. Too long
was spent on the Python question and not much of interest said about anything
else. I found parts of the rest confusing in places, but having said that, I
changed the graph in one of my TMA questions as a result of the new
information. The trendline is now thinner and the plot points are now vertical
and horizonal crosses not dots. I think on balance it looks a lot better.
I had another tutorial from a tutor who clearly knew a lot
about science education and was an excellent communicator, but I was left with
the impression that they didn’t actually know that much about the OU module
they was teaching on. Encouraging students to not use gridlines for graphs
where values needed to be read, and not knowing that Trinkets had been
discontinued from the module, were real howlers. They also appeared to be using
somebody else’s outdated PowerPoint slide deck and didn’t really know what it
contained because some of the content took them by surprise. I don’t think they
had much interest in being an OU tutor, but just did the job because they had
overstretched themselves on the mortgage and needed the extra income. Having
said that, the presentation of the tutorial was handled very professionally, it
was just aspects of the content which were not great.
There was another tutorial in the middle of the week with a tutor I have had before and liked. The worst part was the timing really. 10.00 am isn't for everyone and it wasn't being recorded so anybody at work or with other daytime responsibilities would have missed out entirely. SM123 borrows quite a bit from S112, especially the early part of the course, and I feel that the chemistry/materials science component is being used as a filler rather than as an enhancement to the physics and astronomy material. The tutor did their best to make it as interesting and relevant as possible though, and it was well worth attending.
There are also tutorial clashes as you can see above, which
I am assured is being looked into.
Saturday, 14 December 2024
I've just joined the Institute
of Physics as an Associate Member. It's only £15 a year, and for that
I can't realistically expect a membership card, a diary and a copy of Physics
World posted every month, but for such a small price, I think it's worth it. I
used to be an affiliate member a few years ago but let it lapse. That grade of
membership no longer exists so associateship is the nearest.
Compulsory: All of the following:
S217 Physics: from classical to quantum (Soon to be replaced
by S227 Core physics)
MST224 Mathematical methods
SXPS288 Remote experiments in physics and space
SM358 The quantum world (Replaced by SM380 Quantum physics)
SMT359 Electromagnetism (Replaced by SM381 Electromagnetism)
SXP390 Science project course: radiation and matter
Optional choice: One of the following:
S382 Astrophysics (Replaced by S384 Astrophysics of stars
and exoplanets)
S383 The relativistic Universe (Replaced by S385 Cosmology
and the distant universe)
MS327 Deterministic and stochastic dynamics
MST326 Mathematical methods and fluid mechanics
Saturday, 7 December 2024
Tutors
and tutorials (and more tutors and more tutorials)
Maybe I'm a bit obsessed, but as far as I'm concerned, the
tutorial issues continue. A 'topic based' tutorial was cancelled recently as
one of the module tutors had lost their voice due to having a bad cold. I don’t
think it’s going to be rearranged, so it will probably never happen.
A few days later, I had a tutorial delivered by a very
enthusiastic lecturer on ‘material worlds’, which is really just a fancy name
for chemistry, or at a stretch, materials science. The breakout room thingy
didn’t work that well, which may have been due to an upgrade of the Adobe
Connect software that happened literally only a few hours previously. It caught
the tutor unaware, and I emailed them afterwards to say how much I enjoyed the
session and how well they handled the technical issues.
A couple of days after that, I had another tutorial from
somebody who gave me every impression that they would much rather be
somewhere/anywhere else. It was cut short and there were constant references to
‘viewing the recording’ when it was clearly not being recorded and was even
advertised in advance as such.
On a Tuesday evening, I had a ‘deep-dive’ tutorial on Energy
calculations. I fell asleep during it, but that was in no way whatsoever a
reflection on the quality of the session. I was just very tired due to the
events of the day. I watched the recording afterwards and it was very
interesting, and I learnt a lot. This tutor was one of the better ones.
A few days ago, the OU sent me an email inviting me to a
Science faculty based TMA writing workshop thingy. I logged on at 6.00pm on
Wednesday as I was told, only to discover it just involved staring at a blue
captioned screen for 2 hours. There was no audio, just silence and a few
people typing into the chatbox. It was a totally crackpot idea, but they must
be seriously desperate if they are coming up with this sort of thing if they
think it helps with student success.
I had a Python tutorial on Thursday evening by one of the
better tutors which was way above the level needed for TMA02/Python 1 and I
think some of the audience were confused no end, but others really positively
engaged with it. This tutorial clashed with a poorly advertised ‘skills
tutorial’ on the ethical use of Gen AI which never took place, without any
explanation as to why this was so.
I had quite a useful tutorial on how to tackle TMA02 at the
somewhat inconvenient time of 9.00am on a Saturday morning. The tutor was very
good, and I suspect leaned towards the tradiola end of the
touchy-feely/reflective learning spectrum of approaches to education. The
tutorial started very well but lost its way in the middle with this breakout
room malarky which seems to be becoming a fashionable trend. The last third of
the session seemed a bit rushed and, in my opinion, some key points were
glossed over.
The quality of the Associate Lecturers and the usefulness of
the tutorials on this module is definitely variable to say the least, but in
fairness the same could be said for most traditional 'brick' universities. It
is, however, very much of a lottery.
Sunday, 1 December 2024
A 'skills' tutorial entitled Excel Basics, which was
postponed a few weeks ago, was re-scheduled for last Saturday morning. Numbers
are usually fairly low for these, but this one reached a new all-time low of
one student. Yes, that right - I was the only attendee out of a potential
cohort of 670. Fortunately it was recorded, so other students can at least get
access to what I personally found to be very useful information at a later
date. As it goes, the tutor was very good and ran the session really well, despite
struggling with a cold and only having one person to talk to.
Friday, 29 November 2024
From time to time, like all underpowered computers, it runs a little slow, and a Windows reinstall helps speed things up a tad. I had a bit of a quiet period with the module recently, so I took the opportunity to sort it out. I also set up a backup routine that automatically copies my assignment files once a day to the SD card and copies the whole course files once a week to the cloud storage.
Friday, 22 November 2024
As I’ve mentioned before, the TMAs on this course are very
'bitty' and this continues with TMA02, which has a cut-off date of 13th January,
so lots of time to go. Like TMA01, it consists of five questions, and I outline
them below.
Question 1 is the Python question in two parts. The
first part involves explaining what each line of a provided simple program
does, and the second part involves modifying that program to improve it.
Question 2 is the writing up of the ‘baked bean tin
sliding down a chopping board’ practical. It’s really a standard A level type
practical write up, possibly even high-end GCGE. There’s a bit of trigonometry
involved but it’s all very well explained in the course materials.
Question 3 involves calculating potential and kinetic
energies of planets orbiting the sun. The information required is taken from a
provided data table and it asks for an explanation of the steps needed to
perform the calculation.
Question 4 requires the plotting of a graph showing the
relationship between the electrical conductivity of solutions of ionic
compounds and writing a few words about the differences between them.
Question 5 is the obligatory skills audit question. It
just involves posting of few ‘radar diagrams’ showing the various skills
acquired and developed during the progress of the course, followed by a few
words of reflection. It’s easy marks if it is taken (at least) semi-seriously.
The entire assignment is worth 6% of the total mark for the
course.
Saturday, 16 November 2024
Welcome to the
pleasure dome ... er ... breakout room
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.
Friday, 8 November 2024
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, 30 October 2024
TMA01
- Gone but not forgotten
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.
Sunday, 27 October 2024
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.
Friday, 18 October 2024
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.
Tuesday, 8 October 2024
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.
Saturday, 5 October 2024
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.
Friday, 4 October 2024
My tutor 'marked' TMA00 today and returned it to me. The
feedback was useful, but of course no marks were gained because the weighting
of this assignment is zero. It is formative only.
Tomorrow is the first day of the course officially and is
the start of 'Preparation week', which I have already completed but it's nice
to get a few day (or weeks) ahead. Tomorrow is also the first of the 'skills
tutorials'. I'm not sure 'being an OU student is going to be that useful but I
will drop in and have a look to get a feel of the thing.
Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Welcome briefing
There are around 670 students on the course in 34 tutor groups. Each group therefore comprises of around 20 students. The groups are arranged in 'clusters', and for some reason I am in the North Cluster. The other two are East and West.
Wednesday, 2 October 2024
The tutorial booking thingy was open for business and I
booked mine this morning.
In addition to this, my tutor contacted me by email to
introduce themselves and asked me to reply to show that I am a live student and
not a passive withdrawal or non-starter. I did this and got a reply back which
is good news. I also submitted TMA00 to get it out of the way really and that
will be 'marked' and returned to me to show how the electronic submission
system works.
Monday, 30 September 2024
I have also been allocated a sub group for the historic
weather station activity. This is part of the group practical activity and
collaboration part of the course. Up to four students in each sub group, or so
I'm told.
Tomorrow there is an online Welcome Briefing by the module team chair. I'm not quite sure what that involves but it is recorded and the presentation slides will be made available shortly afterwards.
Tuesday, 17 September 2024
The tutor marked assignments appear to be very 'bitty' on
this course and TMA01 is no exception. There are five questions on this one and
I outline them below.
Question 1 is about scales. The very large, like the
size of the universe, and the very small, like the size of a proton. The first
part of the question involves filling in a table of various sizes of things,
doing a few calculations and unit conversions. The second part is 'reflecting'
on the comparison between two different scales.
Question 2 is an example of the type of 'practical'
work on SM123 and involves writing a protocol for making a cup of tea and then
risk assessing the activity. To be fair, it's difficult to do practical work on
a distance learning science course, and this is only practice for more
scientific procedures later on.
Question 3 involves the collection and presentation of
remote sensor weather station data using 'live' readings from the UK and
Tenerife. A spreadsheet is constructed and values entered. Students work
individually on this task.
Question 4 is the presentation of historical weather
station data working with other students in small groups. You get some marks
for providing evidence of interacting with the others using the provided forum.
Question 5 is a skills audit of some of the skills
acquired or strengthened during the first four weeks of the course. It is made
slightly more complicated by the insistence of the production of 'Radar
diagrams', as shown on a previous post. There is a lot of reflective learning
evidence required for this question, and I suspect some students will take it
more seriously than others.
The entire assignment is worth 7% of the total mark for the
course.
Saturday, 14 September 2024
Well, waiting for my tutor really. I have TMA00 completed
and sitting on my laptop all ready to go. Being allocated a tutor really does
unlock all types of things. I can book tutorials (which I will probably never
attend), gain access to the tutor forums (which I will probably never visit),
look them up on LinkedIn, test the electronic TMA submission facility, and
generally feel part of the OU experience.
It's a bit of a lottery though. Some tutors are very good
and others are dreadful.
Friday, 13 September 2024
There are nine 'radar diagrams' to complete as part of a skills audit which is undertaken at the start of the module. These are reviewed and revisited as progress is made over the forthcoming weeks. It includes skills such as 'Collaborating with others', 'Gathering & evaluating information', and 'Communicating ideas'. I can see how this type of thing has some merit, especially for younger students, but I can also understand why more seasoned students regard it as a load of unnecessary tosh.
Saturday, 24 August 2024
This has appeared on the student homepage so things are
getting nearer.
Sunday, 9 June 2024
The study calendar produced by the OU for this module is just about adequate but not particularly informative. I felt that I could do better so I knocked this one up. It's more colourful for a start, and I've added a bit more detail. The countdown begins ...
Sunday, 9 June 2024
Keeping
my hand in
Wednesday, 8 May 2024
This one sneaked up on me. The module website opens about
three weeks before the course begins on Saturday 6th October
Thursday, 18 April 2024
Tuesday, 23 January 2024
My studies may be continuing ... or may not
After taking a break for a few years, I might return to study, if I can afford it. I might kick off with SM123 Physics and Space, which starts in October 2024. One of the best things about the course is the Python coding. It is also one of the worst things about the course. Lots of people drop out because they find the the coding part horrendous. The pass rate for last year (22J) was 61% and the year before (21J) was 65.4%. Much worse than for other Level 1 science courses, apparently. Registration opens on 20th March, so I'll make a decision shortly after that date.