Saturday 16 December 2006

M253 - Milestone 1 - The Result

So the marks are back, and I have to say I am a little disappointed.
Despite dropping only 4 marks on the individual part of the assessment we only managed to scrape two thirds of the marks on the team-generated stuff.

As I feel that the team-generated stuff was the work of just two people anyway (and this was reflected in the mark awarded for team-work) it strikes me that our hard work hasn't been rewarded, and that some of the others have managed to get a passing mark for this assignment without really having done a lot to do so.

I feel that this is the worst case of 'grade entitlement' - and that people who registered for the course, and keep their interaction to a minimum, still manage to pass.

I don't suppose their is a great deal I can do about it - but it is quite frustrating.

Thursday 14 December 2006

MU120 - Course Result

Well it is official - the second course I have taken with the Open University is now complete, and I have passed comfortably (93 %). It is nice to have closure (8 weeks after the course officially finished) and thirty more points in the bag towards my BSc in Computing.

Although this means I have technically fulfilled all of the Level 1 requirements, I am still looking forwards to completing MST 121 as I think that this will give me a sound refresher course in Mathematics which will stand me in good stead for the remainder of the course.

I have also decided that I will register for a course M255 beginning in February next year, based on the progress I am making with MST 121 - it is amazing what can come back to you from A-Level Maths 12 years after it was taken!

The foot saga


Fortunately Bracken's foot is healing quite well - although she is being a monster with taking her pills. Other than the bright orange bandage, and an overprotective sister, it is nice to see she is making progress from something which turned out to be more serious than we at first thought....

M253 - Milestone 2

Having had a few minutes to look at the requirements for Milestone 2 for this course I have come to the conclusion that it focuses a great deal more on team-work than Milestone 1 did.

That might seem like an unusual statement for a course designed to assess how people work in teams, but the Milestone 1 requirements meant that a lot of people could 'hide' if they wanted to - in Milestone 2 people are required to participate in a more defined manner.

It also seems like a fairly intense workload as there is a lot of work to do during the lifetime of the course. This is unusual as it flies in the face of the Open University mantra regarding flexibility - meaning that should any member of the team be unable to participate fully the consequences to the others could be quite significant.

It will be interesting to see how this one pans out - it is going to take a lot of discipline....

Friday 8 December 2006

Poorly Foot

My Lady Bracken (a.k.a. Bootsie) - the black spaniel on the right - has managed to develop a foot abcess, and is under the knife being drained this afternoon. She really does get herself into some terrible scrapes - but hopefully if there is anything in there the vet will find it and removed it and after a course of antibiotics and some rest and relaxation she will be as right as rain.

The dilemma now is do we put her into the kennels and go to Norfolk this evening - as we had originally planned for this weekend - or do we stay at home and lavish fussy cuddles on her? Will see what the vet says when she is done.

M263 - TMA 01 Results A Pleasant Surprise

I received the result for my TMA today - and did a lot better than I thought I might. At first glance there was a lot of 'red pen' on the assignment - but I have to say that this was the most constructive feedback I have had and feel that I can really learn from the comments.

I hope that I can continue in the same vein for TMA 2 but feel my confidence growing now that I have had feedback on my first steps into programming proper.

;0)

Tuesday 5 December 2006

Myers - Briggs Personality

As part of M253 it is interesting to know what type of personality I tend towards. As such I did the online Myers-Briggs test to see. The results are below

ENTJ -
"Field Marshall". The basic driving force and need is to lead. Tend to seek a position of responsibility and enjoys being an executive. 1.8% of total population.
Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)



Guess my worst fears are confirmed - I am simply that bossy!

Friday 1 December 2006

M253 - Submitted

Submitted TMA 1 for this course today - I am very relieved it is out of the way and I can spend the next two weeks reading around the resource sheets for the next part of this course.

The level of participation in the group over the last couple of weeks has not been high - perhaps this is because the reality of the looming deadline has hit home. Oh well, best not to dwell- I can't make people participate.

The next OU decision to make is whether or not to sign up for a course beginning in February. With M253 finishing in March, and having seen a lot of information from MST 121 already at A-Level Maths, it would only mean I would have M263 to really study for. It would also mean that I am progressing towards completion of the degree - which after all is my ultimate goal - at a reasonable pace.

I have until the 15th December to make that decision. At the moment I am thinking it might be worth the stress of having 4 courses running at the same time, if it means getting to my goal as quickly as possible.