Open University Computing & IT with Mathematics BSc (Hons) B67

I took a long time to decide to do a degree. I wasn't being challenged at work but knew no other job that I could get would interest me. So I started looking for things to do outside of work. Initially I looked into volenteering for the police force. I got so far as passing the test. However I soon realised that while this may be interesting as a part time thing, I really wasn't aiming to become a full time policeman. So I gave this up and started looking into what qualifications I would need to become some kind of software developer. Mainly as I have always been good with computers and interested in them. I have only touched on programming in the past but felt that I would be able to do well at it. Partly because I was always very good at maths and found problem solving fun. (As you can tell I'm a really interesting guy lol).

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Once I knew I needed a degree in some form of Computing I started looking into part time degrees. With the debts I had there was no chance of full time education. I found the Open University very quickly. I spoke to my mate, who is head of english at a secondary school, who told me that the OU was extremely good as 4 of the teachers in his school had their degrees from the OU. The conclusion I came to was that while other universities do offer distance learning they do not fully concentrate on it and are mainly set up for full time learners. So I chose the OU.

I then decided to a mixed degree with computing and maths. As I enjoyed maths at school but also wanted to do computing I thought that would be the best choice.

All this took me 18 months to sort and actually start. With the open university you do each course separately then tag them to a degree. You can change which degree they are tagged to at any time. So really I should have just started the maths course MST121 straight away then finalised my degree later. As MST121 can be counted towards pretty much all science, maths & IT degrees. This would have wasted much less time and I would now be 18 months further into my degree.

So my advise to anyone considering doing a degree START NOW. If you don't like it change the degree or give up, nothing will have changed. There is no harm done. But if you do like it, it could mean that you are a year further on than you would have been. With a degree taking anything up to 8 years to complete, every year counts.

This was my first course with the Open University and I have tagged it as part of my degree, Computing & IT with Mathematics B67. I am really glad I went straight into this course as it was the perfect starting level. Not too difficult that I was put off but also not so simple that it became boring.

I did plenty of preparation for this course, probably a little too much. Anyone who has completed A level or received a good grade (A and above) at GCSE should be fine to go straight into this course, IMHO.

I received a pass in this course. At level 1 you only receive passes or fail. My pass mark was 94%. I beleive that you only actually require around 45-50% to pass this course.

I was extemely happy with my result. A great start!

MST121: Using Mathematics Complete Review

This was my second module that I have attached to my degree. I have not done a full review of this course as I took it's last representation.

It was a good course. i didn't enjoy the wordy bits but did enjoy the small amount of Javascript programming and XHTML. This I found to be a good introduction to the world of programming and now can not wait to take it further.

It was good but parts were very outdated. I assume this is why it was on it's last presentation.

My Final result for the course was 94%. You only need around 50% to pass the course, and as it is a level 1 course your result is only pass or fail. Although the better the result the more prepared you are for level 2 courses. Very happy with the result exactly matchs my MST121 result.

This was the last level 1 course that I need to take. So on to Level 2 woohoooooo!!!!!

This was my first level 2 module. This course directly follows on from MST121.

I have found this course to be good follow on from MST121. With the first 3 sections taking the same ideas of MST121 further forward. The final section however was quite new to me, introducing imaginary numbers, number theory and groups. All of which were fairly straight forward and explained from basics.

The TMA's helped a lot to concentrate my learning, without them I probably would not have had such a sound understanding. I received the following results for them.

TMA01 = 96%
TMA02 = 98%
TMA03 = 96%
TMA04 = 94%

My understanding of the course is they take your best three TMA scores and work out the average mark. This is then your final course work mark. Your final result for the course is simply the worst mark between your exam result and your coursework mark.

All that you require for the couse is plenty of paper for working and a scientific calculator. There is some mathcad work as in MST121 although this is only on the TMA's and not very much.

The exam, which I have just taken (Oct11), was not too bad. I had done a fair amount of revision taking one practice test under exam conditions and working through 2 others not timed. I am hoping that i did slightly better in the full exam as in the practice I just missed the 85% mark which is required for the top grade. I should find out my result around mid December, fingers crossed!

I have now received my exam result 86%, just enough for an distinction. Extremly happy!!!

I recommend this course to anyone considering taking it.

Please also read my full review on the following page....

Full Review of Ms221.
MS221 Exploring Mathematics - My Opinion!

As I started the degree with an old module which is no longer running, the replcement being a course double the size, I am having to complete an extra level 2 module to make up for it.

This is the course which I have chosen to do as an extra. As I am specialising in programming on the computing side of my degree I thought that this course would be complementary to this.

From what I understand while the course title states visual basic it is more a general look at object orientated programming. And so lends it's self easily to the other programming modules which are all Java.

Completed part 2 of TMA01 and received a total mark, when taking part 1 into account, of 91%. Which I am very happy with.

TMA02 result, 88% which is good but my worst TMA result. It appears I have dropped single marks in a lot of questions. Need to concentrate a little more and not rush.

Well TMA03 went a little better with a result of 90%. Really enjoying this course but also taking the 60 point course M208 is really making things difficult. I'm not sure I have enough time to do myself justice.

Just got TMA04 back 91%, very happy with this as i have to say I found it particularly difficult. Time is still an issue with M208 being so time consuming.

Now onto the exam, just started revising and it;s going OK, wish I had more time though. Would be happy with a grade 2 on this course. Fingers crossed.

Having received my final grade for MS221 I have now booked myself onto the next maths course M208. This is pure maths and from what I can see leads on from MS221.

This course is a double size 60 point course. And so twice the size of MS221. I will also still be taking MT264 for 5 months of it. This could be overloading myself but if I manage it Ok then it will knock a year off my total time. So here's hoping it isn't too intense.

Recieved a score of 96% for TMA01. I have to say that I am really enjoying this maths course. It seems you are not expected to state the obvious, which I have found annoying in previous courses.

TMA02 96% again. Very pleased, made a silly error on one of the cayley tables which lost me 3 marks. Still enjoying the course even though it is much more intense volume wise.

TMA03 had to rush this one as i was quite behind. had to use half of my rough sheets to finish on time. Suprisingly received my best mark so far 98%, must work better under pressure, walthough i do not enjoy it. Anyway great result and have already started TMA04.

Something that me and my girlfriend are doing to help pay off debts. She does all the designs, as she has all the talent.


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