By tim, on February 13th, 2012 at 7:45 pm So having spent my last two posts suggesting that the OU needs to retain at least some face to face tutorial and/or residential school time in its modules, I’ve decided to enrol in an entirely internet-delivered short course in circuits and electronics, of which the BBC says:
… is unusual in that it is inviting students anywhere in the world, without charge or prior entrance requirements, to study for a certificate carrying the MIT brand.
The level this course is taught at is supposed to be equivalent to a module within the first year of an undergraduate degree. MIT say that:
In order . . . → Read More: I’m going to be a MITx 6.002x guinea pig!
By tim, on February 12th, 2012 at 9:20 am I was reflecting on the Oh(U) dear post I wrote on my Friday evening train journey again yesterday. Fundamentally, my overriding concern with it is the idea that it seems to be peddling: that if technology is good enough, human contact is unnecessary for learning. I knew I’d seen that idea somewhere before!
For a view from 1951, you might want to spend a couple of minutes reading Issac Asimov’s (very) short story “The Fun They Had“.
And if that’s not convincing enough, you might enjoy this rather amusing clip from the 1967 film 1999 AD. The poor child looks . . . → Read More: … and another thing!
By tim, on January 30th, 2012 at 7:35 pm … but maybe mature students have been?
Simon Hughes, the coalition’s Advocate for Access to Higher Education has just issued a press release following the announcement of today’s UCAS application numbers. He makes a series of very valid points, including that applications for University places are at an all time high (excluing last year), that young people do not appear to have been put off by the headline cost of tuition (which he appears to be arguing acts as a time-limited graduate tax rather than a fee) and that monthly repayments will be lower (but of course, many graduates will . . . → Read More: Simon Hughes: Young people have not been put off university …
By tim, on January 28th, 2012 at 5:29 pm When I graduated from Warwick University in 1985, I couldn’t wait to get away from the place.
I don’t think I even returned to the campus until the weekend of my 40th birthday – very nearly 20 years after graduating. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy my time there, but initially I couldn’t wait to get out into the world of work and then, after a bit of the shine of having money for the first time had worn off, I didn’t want to go back because I knew I might want to stay. Even the numerous times throughout the . . . → Read More: Lurking
By tim, on January 11th, 2012 at 10:16 pm In some ways I’m rather encouraged by today’s announcement by the education secretary that he wants to see a greater emphasis on the teaching of computer science in the schools curriculum. But I think the suggestion that he seems to be making, or at least the media interpretation of it, that teaching someone how to use popular computer programs like office suites (his definition of ICT) is no longer worthwhile and what should be taught instead is how to program them (his definition of Computer Science) is an unproductive dichotomy. Let me explain.
Back in the mid to late 1980s, . . . → Read More: ICT bad, Computer Science good – an unproductive dichotomy
By tim, on December 20th, 2011 at 8:44 pm … has just arrived in my inbox from the Faculty of Social Sciences. It confirms what I’d been told by the Yorkshire region a few weeks ago, with the merest hint that something may be resolved in time for late 2012. The email is reproduced below, with my thoughts in italics.
Dear Tim Holyoake
I understand from PGSS colleagues in Region 07 that you have enquired about studying psychology at postgraduate level with the OU/Faculty of Social Sciences. I note from your academic record that you have recently achieved a first class honours degree in psychology with us. Warmest congratulations . . . → Read More: News from the OU about postgraduate psychology provision
By tim, on December 13th, 2011 at 8:38 pm Owzabout that then! 41,500 signatures and climbing.
Marianne Cantieri, OUSA President said “I am proud of what our students have achieved already. There are a very large number of petitions on the Parliamentary website … and for this petition to reach the top ten in such a short space of time is fantastic news.”
The complete OUSA news release (spelling mistakes and strange formatting included) is available online here.
If you want to see the Open University remain truly open, please sign if you haven’t done so already and spread the word to your friends.
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