My module website for S111 Questions in Science opened recently, although the actual course doesn't start till the 27th, they like us to read the introduction and make sure we're prepared I think which is why we get early access to some of the course before the official start date.
There we're given links to go through the OU induction (if not already done) and to fill in a questionnaire to see if you're ready to study S111. I'd already done both of those so only gave them a cursory go over before turning my attention to the Introduction to S111 which I've been waiting on tender hooks for since I signed up for the course back in November.
The OU are very thorough when it comes down to making sure they've given you all the introductions you'll need. Here's what's covered in that introduction.
1 Welcome to S111
2 Where to start
2.1 Questions, questions and yet more questions
2.2 StudentHome
2.3 The S111 module website
3 Support while you study
3.1 Your tutor
3.2 Your Student Support Team
3.3 Tutorials
3.3.1 Online tutorials
3.4 Forums
3.5 Library services
3.6 Computing support
4 Studying S111
4.1 Organising your study time
4.2 Planning your study time
4.3 Learning outcomes
4.4 S111 Topics and skills
5 Assessment in S111
5.1 TMAs
5.1.1 Submitting your TMAs
5.1.2 TMA content
5.2 Plagiarism checking
6 Skills developed in S111
6.1 Computing skills
6.1.1 Computer health and safety
6.1.2 Techniques for reading online material
6.2 Notetaking skills
6.2.1 Making notes online
6.3 Good academic practice
6.4 Maths skills
6.4.1 Units of measurement
6.4.2 Writing units
6.4.3 The equals sign
6.4.4 Calculators
6.5 Practical skills
6.5.1 Guide to keeping a laboratory notebook
6.6 Collaborative skills
6.7 Personal development planning (PDP)
6.7.1 What is PDP?
6.7.2 Why is PDP important?
6.7.3 The PDP process
7 Accessibility
8 Contributors
References
Anyone else take a deep breath after readying all that because I know I did. You also get a complete equipment list for all S111 practicals, which I found very exciting, because who doesn't like an experiment or two?
They also offer some quick short courses to go through to brush up on skills you may be worried about, personally I'm going to be doing the three maths courses because maths is definitely my weakest point.
I will be doing;
Maths skill: Units of area and volume
1 Calculating area: thinking about units
1.1 Units in calculations
2 Calculating volume; thinking about units
3 Converting units of volume
3.1 Volume in litres
2 Adding and subtracting fractions
3 Manipulating fractions
4 Multiplying fractions
5 Dividing fractions
6 Review of introduction to fractions
Maths for science
2 Measurement in science
3 Calculating in science
4 Unit conversions
5 Algebra
6 Putting algebra to work
7 Graphs and gradient
8 Rate of change and differentiation
9 Angles and trigonometry
10 Logarithms
11 Probability and statistics
12 Statistical hypothesis testing
And if you think that's a lot of reading then pity me, that's a lot of maths I'm going to be doing. Someone remind me to put my glasses on beforehand or I will get a headache.
If you want get a taste of learning something new then I'd recommend doing one of the Open Learn courses the Open University produces, completely free to take and who knows, maybe you'll fancy signing up for a full course afterwards.
This Module is what i will be doing next year, as well as A Level Physics and Maths, as its needed for my Career to be a Teacher. I'm so looking forward to the course, and I'm certain it will be challenging!
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