OpenMusings

With T224 coming to an end, I’ve been playing around with Marx and the OU’s own Assessment Calculator to work out what I’ll potentially need to get a distinction on the course. With T224 not counting towards the honours calculation on the degree I’m working towards, the pass grade isn’t really important as such, but there’s a level of personal pride there that makes me want to the top grade. Start as you mean to go on, and all that.

I’m currently waiting on my mark from TMA04, but depending what I get there, the substitution system is throwing up some unusual vagaries that seem to flow from the different weightings on T224′s assignments (TMA01 15%, TMA02 30%, TMA03 30%, TMA04 25%) that could leave me needing a very specific mark on the exam (85%) to guarantee a distinction – any lower and the OES is below the threshold, any higher and the substitution score switches to a TMA with a different weighting and leaves me short on the OCAS. It’s all theoretical at the moment, but I’ll be looking into this a bit more once I have my TMA04 score, as I’d consider the possibility of getting a Distinction for scoring 85% in the exam, but a Pass 2 for scoring 86%, to be something of a glitch in the system…

After a few weeks away from the books, I’m back and raring to go – or I would be, if the S199 software from climateprediction.net would please play ball. I’m currently running Vista on my Mac using the very nifty Parallels Desktop virtualisation tool – an easy way to get the best of both worlds, as it lets you run Windows (or any other OS for Intel machines) as an application under OS X. Neat. Sadly, the climateprediction.net software doesn’t like Vista – I can see from the S199 boards on First Class that a few other people have been having the same problem as I’ve been getting, but since the OU doesn’t support Vista there’s not much help being given there.

You’re probably thinking the obvious solution is to just ask on the cpdn forums, and yes, they do have an apparently very helpful support forum – but you need to be a registered user before you can post queries. The only way you can register is through the cpdn application – which won’t work under Vista, so you can’t register to post your query. A wonderfully vicious circle. ::headdesk::

Fortunately, I have copy of an older version of Windows on hand, and Parallels lets you install as many ‘virtual’ OSs as you like – I just could have done without the bother of spending the time installing Windows 2000. Frustrated? Oh yes.

UPDATE: So after spending the time to get Win2K up & running, I found it still wasn’t working, which makes me suspect a problem at cpdn’s end. Same result on a native Windows box, too, so that rules out Parallels being the cause. Of course, since the app won’t register, I still can’t post to their support forums to ask about it. Ah well – wait a few days & try again…

UPDATE 2: And lo, it was a fault at cpdn’s end. Tried again last night and the client connected & registered with no problems. Here endeth a few days’ frustration…

For those considering a new computer – make sure you ask for student discounts. I’ve just splashed out on a new MacBook Pro – in Apple’s case, the website doesn’t even give the full story, as they have a separate price plan for Higher Education students, including us OU part-timers, that isn’t available online. While their online Education Store usually offers up 10% discounts on new hardware, simply ‘phoning them and asking for a Higher Education discount will get you a 15% discount – quite a chunk off any piece of kit. You can’t even complain about the cost of the call, as it’s an 0800 number.

Not sure how typical Apple are when it comes to discounts (from what I hear Dell and HP at least both offer them, but not sure how much), but given the cost of decent computers these days, it’s always worth asking.

Nice little surprise arrived with me last week, as the first M257 mailing hit my doorstep – completely unexpected, as the course isn’t due to start until 6th October. If I wasn’t enjoying my short study break so much, it would be a great opportunity to get ahead a little…

Materials look straightforward enough – the first few units are going back over the history of Java and giving overviews of its use in projects large- and small-scale before it finally gets on to the coding again. Looking forwared to using a “real” IDE (NetBeans) instead of BlueJ, not so sure about some of the topics they’re due to cover later in the course!

M255′s out of the way now, and I’ve just submitted TMA04 for T224. Since the T224 exam’s not until mid-October & my next SSC (S199 Modelling the Climate) doesn’t begin for another month, I’m at a loose end for a month. This is a new experience for me – although I suspect someone will have a list of chores for me, now that I’m not disappearing into the study 4 days a week.

A thought about S199. This involves using a distributed processing tool (climateprediction.net) for the duration of the course – my “general use” PC is an old G4 Mac mini, which doesn’t meet the system requirements for BOINC CPDN, so I’ll have to fire up The Beast: my Windows XP gaming PC. The problem with this is that The Beast generates so much heat (and chews through so much electricity) that it’s almost a climate change factor in its own right. Somehow this doesn’t seem quite right…!

Curious things you notice when reading exam feedback and such. In the case of M255, it appears that 2 people turned up for the exam, filled in their names & PIs to register that they were actually there, and then didn’t bother answering any questions (724 students “took” the exam, 722 gained a score in one of the parts; I assume the 2 that got an overall ‘G’ on the University Scale were the two that didn’t bother).

I can’t help but wonder: Why!? If you’re so past caring that you don’t even attempt a question, why bother turning up, as a no-show is the same as a nul-points in the end – and I can’t see the exam paper having been so scary to anyone that they couldn’t attempt anything.

One of those questions that’s destined to remain unanswered, but definitely made me curious…

Well, that came back better than I thought it would:

I hadn’t been at all sure about my exam performance in this one, it being the first “real” exam I’d done since my GCSE’s (1988), but it turns out I needn’t have worried – the exam score was actually better than my OCAS. Go figure. That gets me off to a good start in the quest for a 1st-class honours – 30 points down (excluding the level 1 courses), 270 more to go…

As an interesting aside… I took another look at the M255 question paper this morning, alongside the student performance info. It was like looking at a whole new question paper – I couldn’t remember seeing the questions before, and I certainly can’t remember what I wrote for any of the answers. Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing..!

M255 results are due next Wednesday (1st July) – this is my first Level 2 course, and the first that will count towards my honours classification, so I’m understandably nervous about the result. Already. Strange how the mind will fixate on little things like that, even though you know you can’t get the result any quicker or change it when it comes.

M255 was fun, with the early programming exercises involving all sorts of froggery being pitched just right to ease you into the subject matter without threatening you right off the bat with untold lines of code. They came before the end of the course, of course, but it’s a very well-presented course that’s paced almost perfectly, and the sense of self-satisfaction and achievement you get from getting a block of code to finally work as intended (sometimes after hours of puzzlement and hair-pulling) is hard to beat. You do need a certain way of thinking to do well at programming, I think, and if you don’t have it you’ll struggle – but as an introduction to object-oriented programming and a way of seeing if you have a) the interest, and b) the aptitude, it’s hard to beat.

I have possibly unrealistic hopes of gaining a First for my degree, so a Distinction here would be a good, positive start, and I was fortunate enough that my Continuous Assessment scores for M255 where in the range where that’s a possible result (my employer’s also jumping up and down for good results – they’re funding my degree units) – but I think I’d be happy with a Merit. Just over a week to go to find out…

S194 done & dusted and ECA submitted, in plenty of time for the first submission date. Now for the eternal-seeming three-month wait for the result.

One things that’s struck me about the Science Short Courses is that, while they’re certainly enjoyable enough & I’m usually able to rack up a decent score (ah, scores – I remember them fondly), I can’t help but wonder how much I’m actually learning from them. Simple reason: the open-book nature of the assessment makes it easy to get a high score by simply working through the materials with the ECA alongside, completing the relevant sections as you complete the corresponding part of the course book. If I remember correctly, S197 actually encouraged this way of working, and I’ll admit it’s the method I use myself – but if you do it that way, you’re not giving the information you’ve read a chance to sink into your head.

It would be an interesting little experiment to come back to one of the SSCs a few months after it had ended, and see just how much of the ECA could be completed from memory. I’m guessing it wouldn’t be a lot – which leaves the value of the Certificate in Contemporary Science a little suspect.

Not that I’ll let that stop me from claiming it, of course, and to be fair the SSCs are sold by the OU more as teasers for the “real” 30+ pointers and for people with an interest in the subjects covered than as a serious academic unit. But the experience, and the “fun” I had trying to prepare for M255′s exam a few weeks back, does highlight the value that examinations, and the need to actually know your subject to have a chance in them, brings to courses.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the SSC results poll – an overwhelming 100% in favour of the OU continuing to provide percentage scores along with the Learning Outcomes comments. Unfortunately, the contacts I’ve had with some folks at the OU & OUSA doesn’t give me much hope seeing anyone’s minds changed – a classic case of the decision having been made that this is what students need, without I think student actually being consulted on the change…