Having completed 2 previous MAODE courses with fairly good results I found myself struggling to engage with the first TMA for H808. I have asked myself the following questions:
a. Is it lack of interest in the subject matter?
b. Limited amount of meaningful collaborative work?
c. Lack of feedback from blog posts?
d. Simply feeling the effects of study fatigue?
Well the subject matter is interesting but the format through which it is presented could be more engaging and directed rather than read lots of this and that and write a bit on this. Perhaps a few video clips, podcasts, synchronous online sessions would provide a better medium to deliver the content? Attempting to follow links that no longer work is very frustrating, something that I would hope the OU as a world leader in distance learning would get right!
The self motivated collaborative work using Skype and syn.in was very engaging and perhaps I would like to see and be a part of more work in this area. Previous courses structured in programmed and organised Elluminate session as part of a synchronous learning experience. From my experience I believe this helped the tutor group to gel better than just relying on the central focus of the discussion forum.
Despite trying to make more of an effort with blogging in this course, the lack of feedback in my blog has been a bit of downer....I am sure others probably feel the same but may not choose to admit it! Bearing your personal thoughts and feelings or results for a task in such a public place takes effort and if no recognition for this effort is made one can’t help questioning why bother? Perhaps I should look more inward and consider that it is my learning journey, if this is the case then why should I share it with others? I started the course being very enthusiastic reading everyone’s blog and making several comments along the way. If I am to encourage feedback from others I need to dedicate more time to regain the enthusiasm to engage with others in my cohort otherwise I may feel left behind.
I have been struggling to fit my studying around other life events, demanding work commitments and another masters programme with Portsmouth University; perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew? As this is hopefully my final MAODE course (subject to credit transfer application) I really need to regain some focus and set aside the minimum 15 hours a week to keep on track. My problem with studying online is there are so many other distractions when I am connected to the web such as facebook, twitter, googlemail and ebay. Perhaps I should revert back to printing the resources, reading them in a dark, quiet place scribble all over them before typing my thoughts down. Does anyone else struggle with such distractions?
The very nature of working individually on a TMA means most lines of communications are abandoned so one can concentrate on their own assignment efforts. This period of time can feel quite isolated where doubt about what you need to achieve creeps in. Having had this apparent gap in engagement I always feel that it takes much more effort to get back into studying the next stage. Ideally a week off from studying would be great to recover or maybe more realistically a consolidation week to allow detail to sink in more before moving on.
Please feel free to comment...
Marc as you say you are on the homes straight. Lucky you is all I can say to that!I think what you say is fairly accurate, and I can agree with you for the most part. I am sure you will feel a huge sense of achievement when it is all finished. I am on my second course and therefore have 3 more to do. A long and expensive journey eh?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how we are going to cope next week, (the week after) when we have to collaborate on a project over just a few days. How in the hell we are going to organize ourselves? I am always logged into skype when I am working so feel free to give me a call anytime, or email.
Lesley
Lesley thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog. I guess you are right about the home straight and hadn't thought about how much longer the learning journey might be for others! I can only wish you well and hope your commitment does not wane as mine has recently.
ReplyDeleteAs for weeks 11 & 12, I am sure we will manage to complete this work perhaps not to the best of our ability but good enough to meet the learning objectives for the course. In the meantime I need to start Unit 5 and get a few forums posts in over the weekend. Thanks for the offer to chat, I see how things go over the next few days. Regards Mark
Marc, you are not alone and what you say about the the format of the course and your impressions certainly chimes with my own views. As you know, having commented on my own blog, I have been very frustrated with my efforts for TMA01 - again, due to 'life events' in my work and private lives. I even got as far as checking whether there was a 60 point course I could do next to complete the MAODE rather than getting through another two 30 pointers. But you are almost there and I think we will manage the group work well enough because we are already thinking about it. I had a few bad days after my week in Germany, feeling too tired to do much meaningful study in the evenings so I hope to pull myself together this weekend. I'll make sure to log onto Skype when I'm studying at home so I echo Lesley's offer for a chat or email. I would love to be more active in commenting on other people's blogs but find it hard to get round to it in view of the other pressures - will try harder!
ReplyDeleteFrauke
Frauke thanks for your kind comments. Lets hope that H808 delivers more in the coming units to keep us engaged. I am looking forward to the collaborative work and hope we can chat on Skype with Lesley in the coming weeks. Regards Mark
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeletesounds like a few of us are feeling under the cosh! This is my first e-learning/distance module - definitely the other end of the journey from yourself - so unfamiliarity is still slowing me down and I have struggled with the format somewhat - not used to my working pace being so dictated/directed perhaps. I am also struggling with the blog - cannot shake that "chore" feel. Being an historian you could almost say I write for a living, so I need to work on that, and I was a little frustrated at how long it took me to nail down the essay - feeling a little of focus myself I think. Too many weeks I have been squeezing in the time at the end of the week, joining conversations late etc (guilty this week too!). My resolution is to try and sneak ahead a little more. As my self-berating reflective commentary put it, it is difficult to be proactive if you are the last person to join in.
regards,
Nick
Hi Nick thanks for taking the time to read and write a comment on my blog. With all the best intentions in the world I would like to make a bit of time every day for the course but often fail to achieve this due to work movements and other interests. I do intend to be proactive and try to get ahead for week 11 and 12 activities as this will involve much collaboration with others in our group. Also features in next TMA so we should be able to reap the rewards more..I hope you manage to settle and get use to the online quickly and enjoy the next 3 months regards Mark
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