Main OU Page
TMA02
ECA
The hobby site which grew from my ECA
U316 - the Environmental Web
I am writing this page as a pilot of the first, 2003, presentation of U316, the Open University's "Environmental Web" course. It includes mine, and others', opinions as we reach the end of a - hectic - year.
Following the 'settling in' of the course, the recognition of problems, and our student-feedback, next year's course will be updated - and promised updates for 2004 can be seen below at post 2003.
For an excellent student-page about the course itself, please visit Bills' page at http://www.larnach.info/U316/
For an "taster" of the course, please visit U316 taster site at http://www.open.ac.uk/science/env-web/
Many people have asked what I thought of the course. In brief, when it was good it was very very good. when it was bad it was horrid.
I got my widest range of marks ever for the TMA's - from 51% to 91%, with a mark in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's (2) and 90's - FULL HOUSE.
(I usually hover around "+/-4%" of an average.
Some found the same, others hovered around stable averages. The course used and highlighted different skills more than any other I have done.)
U316 - what it involved
The course was the most Fascinating I have done with the OU. The most Fun. The most Frustrating. And by far, the most varied.
It involved a certain level of IT-usage (making graphs with Excel or StarOffice, using some professional Climate-Change models, downloading and compressing images for our own websites) - but nothing we didn't get good guidance on, and basic IT skills are a pre-requisite to the course.
Then again - I had a lot of IT experience before we started. Some did have problems. These would have been worse without Bill's excellent support throughout. Without him, the problems would have been worse - 3 cheers etc., and a gold-star.
The course involved a lot of time online, as expected from the course-description. If you work on a computer all day and want a rest with your OU-study, this course is not (sadly) for you.
Bug-counting is a minor part of it.
Web-research is a major part of it.
I 'took away' the skill to find 'anything' on the net, and discovered the cornucopia of web-resources available to me as an OU-student, w.r.t. online student-subscriptions to professional and research journals (Science, Nature, and 1000's I have never heard of). This access makes study with the OU even better value ;-). Although this I "found", rather than was shown.
The WebWizard we had to use for 2 TMA's and the ECA was - not the best web-design tool I have used, and has a number of limitations. However, it provided a "level playing field" - people with no web-skills at all were in no way disadvantaged, and it was simple to use. Just a little slow. And annoying. (simple, slow and annoying - just like me?). And - we all managed.(click for praise of the wizard)
U316 - the TMA's. Skills v Information
Every TMA was teaching and testing different skills:
- data access and analysis from Antarctica,
- web-page criticism of a public site of our choice which claimed 'sustainability',
- research and construction of a Biodioversity Action Plan for our home village/town,
- use of professional Climate-Change models,
- a "journalistic newspiece" for the web,
- the construction of 'systems diagrams'.
And a few essays, of course. And some statistics. And some bird-and-bug counting. And.....
This made the course exciting - but disorienting. Depending on my mood at the time, it was the best, or the worst.
The focus seemed to be on skills rather than information - and whilst this taught me a lot, it was not what I expected from a 3rd-year environmental course.
U316 - Personal Bit
Although I was often disoriented (and got my two lowest OU-marks for years) I didn't find any of the material particularly difficult to comprehend. This came as something of a surprise, as I came in with an "earth science" rather than "environmental" background - although I do seem to have done "Climate Change" in every course so far. My courses to date: S260, S267, S268, S269, S280, which were more-than-adequate for the required pre-requisite environmental background.
The whole course was made easier and more enjoyable for me by the continual and excellent support of my tutor, Jane. She gave both the most positive and helpful feedback I have had within the OU, and e-mail support "beyond the call of duty".
To make your ride easier, move to Southampton, the New Forest, the Isle of Wight or Channel Islands, to get yourself a gold-star tutor :-)
Many thanks, Jane
(who has already marked all my TMA's)
The hardest bit of the course was trying to keep my research within bounds (I have more study-time than most). My first draft of the "500 word newspiece" was 2000 words of scientific report, and that of the "2500-3000 word ECA project" was 30,000 words long.
The worst parts of the course were:
- the huge amount of complaints in the online conferences, due largely to ours being a "pilot-presentation" of a course of a very 'new and different kind'. (Most of our problems will doubtless be solved for future groups). In favour - the errata in our materials were minimal, hardly any - despite first-presentation status
- the inability to get ahead - again, part of a first-presentation expectation.
- the role-playing and necessity of taking part in online discussions, which were part of the TMA's early on in the course,
- and the extremely offensive, hurtful and lengthy insult posted about me :-( But soon removed, courtesy Jane :-)
U316 - Others' Opinions:
jump to latest entry|
Sandra says: I think you pretty much covered my feelings too. Although I would add that as a non-techie I found it very hard work to have to learn all the computer stuff and do the course work. I would like to have known what was expected of me in this direction earlier. I could have done a spread sheet course last winter, learnt about downloading images before I actually needed them, Looked at a climate model before having to become an expert Pronto!, Drawn a systems diagram, etc before it was needed for TMA etc. learnt what a 'data bank table' was/is I am still not sure on that one. etc. In other words a more detailed description of the expectations before I started. Having said that I have learnt a tremendous amount but mostly about computers! and how little I know.
return to top |
|
Hilary says: I did actually appreciate the web wizard. I have made web pages before, although not millions, and the amount of tinkering with colour, font, backgrounds etc to get the very effect wanted that goes on - is huge. The web wizard saved me that whole section of worry - and was easy to use provided that each page was planned and set out in word first. I considered the trade off between presentation and effort to be a bargain in the long run! |
|
a less-happy student says: I don't think you want my opinion. I found it the fluffiest most annoying course ever. I think they need to reorganise the activities and make the instructions concise and clear. I felt like it was the most schizophrenic course ever. It didn't know if it was science or social science and it felt like different people wrote the activities and the tma questions for the activities. The conference summarisation was annoying due to timing constraints and lack of participation and scope. Some of the activities were a waste of time- just going through motions. Only about 15% of the course was worth the trees torn down to print it... and please don't tell me I learned anything about webpages- I made a word document and copied and pasted into the web wizard format. The word document looked better and more inviting! Not much of the information was new to me and I felt like it never got past introduction stage until book 4, by which time I had already been marking my calendar waiting for it to stop and wondering why I hadn't just done a first level science course to finish my degree instead of a third rate environment course. On the other hand I enjoyed the FAIR [Climate prediction] model and it was challenging to guess what they wanted for the assignments. I think anyone who enjoyed this course must have brought all the enthusiasm for it from within themselves. Maybe I was too burnt out to start with. I would definitely say it put me off trying any more OU courses. i am contemplating a real university where I can be taught something in greater detail. On a positive note I finished and submitted my ECA!!!!!! return to top |
|
Tom says: ...its been an interesting experience, I know I had a bit of a moan earlier in the year about the course, but overall I have to say that it was one of the most rewarding I've done, and I've done a few. Perhaps that was because of some of the problems, but what the hell, I'm sure they will get most of the bugs out for next year. ...most of the reward came from overcoming the problems, technical and material wise, that the course threw up. In mitigation, part of the technical stuff arose because I have a very dodgy B.T. line, shared ... As mentioned, there was very little in the way of errata, the climate models are something I will be using extensively in the near future since I am hoping to get involved in some way with climate change issues, and some of the text was well put together and useful. However, as another of your respondents said, the overall intellectual standard of the course, given that it was third level, wasn't great. I am a bit ambivalent about online conferencing, although since I work in I.T. and am constantly communicating with people, I am at a loss to say why. I think it is because it lacks the passion of face to face debate. I loved the electronic tma process, and allowing for flaws in the mechanics, I would like to see it being taken further, with as many courses as possible being considered. Overall, a positive experience return to top |
|
Tecwyn says: ....my sixth and final course for my BSc Honours degree (providing I get >40% on the ECA!!!) I have to agree with all Hilma says about the course , particularly the bit about anyone who may be stuck in front of a pc all day at work, I am unfortunately one of those who spends some 80-90% of my time at work in front of a pc and I must admit that I have found it heavy going at times, ... BUT I stuck with it and would recommend the course to anyone...even though I may have moaned about it a couple of times (mainly due to the problems caused by this being the first year) I would hate anyone to be deterred from taking the course, it was THOROUGHLY enjoyable. At the end of the day, you'd expect some teething troubles with a course's first year! As far as the web-wizard was concerned, yes it was frustrating in that you were VERY limited with what you could do, but at the end of the day, this is what ensured that we were being assessed on a level playing field and I found it VERY easy to use. Anyone considering or contemplating this course...GO FOR IT AND ENJOY IT ! return to top |
|
Su says: Here's my pennysworth - which is different to what I thought it would be half way through..........as I wouldn't have recommended it to anyone Overall very interesting course but agree that too much emphasis on SKILL rather than INFORMATION. Learnt a bit more info (had already done U206 and DU310) but certainly learnt a new range of skills. On this note I'm pleased I didn't know what was expected of me at the beginning of the course as it would have been a rabbit-in-headlights job and I may have lost my nerve!! That said, the activities looked daunting but were broken down into smaller chunks but I found big jumps between Activities and what was required for some TMAs (climate modelling in particular, have many more grey hairs and stress wrinkles). I felt not enough emphasis on computing skills needed before starting U316. It is not enough to be able to use IE6 and a word processing package, and have little knowledge of databases. I personally think course description should emphasise good IT skills, manipulating data and databases otherwise the learning curve would be horrendous. I was lucky to have covered all these things many years ago, but could understand negative comments from struggling colleagues! Didn't like tutor group activities as could only go at the speed of the slowest person when a consensus was needed for a TMA, and hated having the abide by the study calendar and not get ahead. This may make the course a no-no for people working away from home a lot. I guess this next year's students will have the full range of activities available from the beginning?? Some activities took far longer than stated - then again, depending on previous skill, some took far less. I haven't experienced the wide range of marks as you , mine have been consistent (which may change once the ECA is marked....) which I think was to do with the fact that I had a lot of previous IT skill, not that I necessarily understood the material better than anyone else. Being a first year presentation I thought it went amazingly well as I had expected more problems, but the dithering over word counts etc had me well and truly confused and fed up. And don't mention that b****y Web Wizard! The idea of a level playing field for web pages is commendable BUT they could have included a little more formatting and style ... So after all that Hilma, a tentative yes to U316. I think there was too much emphasis on IT skills (lots of TMA marks available if you could use these skills well) rather than analysing information. Not like other 3rd level courses as there was support, guidance and advice available, we were never left on our own. All IMHO you understand. Hope you haven't fallen asleep with my rambling - I'm still running on OU time and cannot sleep before 1 a.m.!! return to top |
|
Jackie says: I very much enjoyed the course from start to finish. It was vibrant and interesting and very up-to-date. The competent level of PC skills needed was referred to in the course outline, so no surprises there. The level of support from tutors, both on-line and off, was fabulous. It's a level 3 course, so a pretty high standard of initiative and interpretation was required. Most of the work was on-line which was both a good and a bad thing for me. The climate models were very interesting and showed the usefulness of what we were learning in the real world. The books were colourful and easy to read. Only complaint I had is based entirely on problems arising from the course being in its first year of presentation, ie not being able to get ahead. In subsequent years, this wouldn't be an issue. I would wholeheartedly recommend the course. It was a great end to my degree, a real 'high'. And I LOVED the ECA, so much more dynamic and much less pressure than revising for and sitting an exam. |
|
Claire says: I have found U316 to be a fantastic course and well worth the effort, despite the teething problems. I have come from an IT background so didn't find the computing too bad - the climate modelling tools were excellent and gave me a real sense of understanding how the "real world" works. The web wizard was a bit frustrating at first, but you do get used to it. The thing I have enjoyed most is that this course has really made me think! It has certainly tested my time management skills to the limit (which is no bad thing), but it has got me thinking about the issues we have studied so much that they follow me around in every waking hour of my life. I particularly enjoyed the biodiversity data collection - and although I don't usually like writing essays, I have found the ECA to be an excellent way to put everything we have learned into practice. All in all, I would wholeheartedly recommend this course to others. It has taught me so much that I am planning a career move into sustainable development.....! |
|
Carol says: I would recommend this course to anyone, and all the negative things for me were out of the way along the way. I agree with the comment about having to learn things pronto (I think that I noticed this particularly with Fairs) considering that marks hung on it. I got a range from 64 to 93 for 5 TMAs. I started the last one, but having started on the report as well, I got bogged down with this, and was panicking a bit about getting everything done (anticipating a breakdown or two near the end). This was prior to the extension being announced. I think that some people will be a bit grumpy about losing marks because they missed the extra journalistic deadline for one reason or another. [which will be better-announced in later presentations -hm] I disagree that it was not up to level 3 work, simply because one needed skill to keep up with the different technical aspects, and tutors don't mark for a lesser level, so one would have to put in a 'level 3 effort'. All the latest environmental issues were covered, so I don't know what more could have been included, and there wasn't time to get bored. I spend my day on a computer at work, but I still enjoyed this as an internet-based course. Overall, it is a resounding success! |
Post-pilot changes for 2004
The following is a list provided by the course team, who were always very visible, and helpful, within the course conferences.
From the course team:
"I know it doesn't help those of you who struggled with the difficulties of our first presentation in 2003, but I thought you might like to know how your experiences and the feedback you (and your Tutors) have sent us will affect the course in 2004. So here is a brief summary of some of the changes we plan to make for next year."
Clearer advice in advance to students about the level and type of IT skills needed and the requirement to take part in assessed online discussions.
Printed materials to be sent out in only 2 mailings, the first in mid January (Blocks 1 and 2) and the second in May (Blocks 3 and 4), so it will be much easier to 'get ahead' on the course.
All TMAs to be available at the start of the course.
All TMAs and web activities are being revised to eliminate ambiguities. Learning Outcomes will also be included in each TMA.
All Block 1 web activities to be available at the start of the course, with those for other blocks following very shortly after.
More study time will be allowed for web activities, especially those involving online discussions.
There will be no requirement to repeat the sources list in the Project Review part of the ECA.
The Block 2 Biodiversity activity will be made more 'accessible' for non-UK students.
Changes will be made to the advice about submitting TMAs so there will be less need e.g. to paste graphics/tables into word-processed documents.
The Study Calendar will be revised to try to avoid clashes between working on TMAs and taking part in online discussions, and to try and reduce the workload over the summer holiday period.
Improvements to the Web Wizard will include:
- elimination of technical problems experienced in 2003
- better error messages
- facility to add italics/underlining/bold to text
- facility to move elements around the page more easily
- facility to rename pages and change their order
If anyone has anything to say about the course, please e-mail me your comments and I may add them here :-)
I am the only 'Hilma' in FC, so use my FC id. Thanks!
return to top