By David Wells, editor at Surviving the OU

This just got real! David has signed up and paid for his first Open University masters module

Yes indeed, I’ve only gone and done it. Signed up for a Masters module, starting on February 4th 2017.

The customary email has since appeared in my inbox readying me for the start.

“Welcome back to The Open University and thank you for completing registration on your chosen module: H800 Technology-enhanced learning: practices and debates.

What to do before your module starts

We want you to be prepared for your studies and to know what you can do from now until when your module starts. We recommend that you:

•Start by revisiting your personalised StudentHome page, where you will find the contact details of your Student Support Team and the list of topics for which the Team can provide you with support.

•(Re-)visit the MA in Online and Distance Education website: The site features useful information about the programme, including resources to help you with your studies.”

Ok, so far, so simple. Any chance of a cardboard envelope popping through the letter box containing brand spanking new course books? Seems not for this course but we shall wait and see. they go on to say:

“A link to your module website will appear on your StudentHome page two weeks before your module starts. Make sure you note the deadline dates for your assignments, which will appear in the study planner. You can make a start by reading the module material as soon as you get access, and by posting in the student café. Your tutor details will appear on both StudentHome and your module website before your module starts. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact your Student Support Team.

If you have time:

•Take another look at the study skills section of the Help Centre

•Revisit our world-class Library. Here you can access online journals, eBooks and a range of other academic resources

•Access our Careers Advisory Service to support your study choices and career planning for the longer term.

Reconnect with other OU students. Follow @OUstudents and @IETatOU on Twitter, then tweet your course code as a hashtag. Like us on Facebook and post to your fellow OU students. Follow us on Instagram and share your photos using #OUstudents. Explore our social forums, starting in OUSA’s student community forum.”

And finally they leave with a nice message…

Good luck for success in your studies! Your Student Support Team

Thanks for that!

A former H800 student gave me the lowdown on what to expect

That’s from the OU himself but I am still looking for any scraps of information to help me work out what to expect when the actual module starts. This is, after all, my first venture into postgraduate learning and I must admit I am slightly nervous at the prospect. I recently got in touch with Anna on social media who has just finished the module and she presented a mixed bag of experiences. first of all i’m not working in this industry as many H800 students tend to be. I am coming from the outside looking to break in sio whether that is an advantage or disadvantage only time will tell. we shall say for positive thinking reasons that it’s an advantage, shall we? Yes, why not, I’ll be fresh eyed and all that 🙂

Anna thinks that coming to the module without much prior knowledge could work in my favour as she has been working in the sector for a long time and parts of H800 did not match up against her personal experiences. but on the flip side the theory worked well to fill in some gaps in her understanding, allowing her to look at things more critically.

She also advised me to leave plenty of time for reviewing and writing the assignments. The module team are also currently writing and preparing a new version of H800 so this makes me question whether all of the material contained within will be current and bang up to date. Not that I can be concerning myself about that.

I’ll keep you posted on how I get on from on this blog. I’m not saying it’ll be weekly but hopefully as close to fortnightly as possible, depending on how the world load looks. Thanks for your support everyone. I hope his Masters insight helps anyone considering studying for one in the future.

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The Open University study guide is now available! Click on this image to find out more.

Photo Credit: Open.ac.uk