Onwards and upwards.

H800 draws to a close EMA has been submitted and its time to reflect on what has been a fast and furious course. There was an awful lot of reading and trying to fit it all into a busy life / work schedule has been difficult. I am note sure how well I have managed to cover all the detail in the EMA and part 4 for me became a hard slog but its done and should meet the minimum requirements.

There was certainly a lot of evidence I could use for the  Part A thanks to the superb collaboration within the conference this year. It has been fun sharing ideas with a group of students that have been prepared to share ideas and experiences so freely so a big thanks here. We wrap up with a pyjama party on Google + tuesday night (hopefully I can make this).

I now have a new friend, a reader that has just arrived through the post for my next course. E856 Educational Leadership, this looks a dry course compared to H800 and some of my previous courses but I am looking forward to the course. Interesting how the TMAs all involve group activity in the conference which is one difficulty some of my students have on T215 it certainly might help me get a student perspective. I think I deserve a rest couple of days off before I start getting stuck into the material. But being a technology savvy learner I have just converted the reader and the course material into 'Mobibook' so I can read it on my Blackberry, not as good as an IPad I know. One problem I have had with H800 is getting through the reading and I think having the material on my phone will give me a chance to study in the small gaps during the day. Whereas some of my colleagues choose to have a smoke break or even a game of cards I should be able to top up my reading.

H800 Conference Activity

A busy year on H800 is coming to an end as we all sit typing up our End of Module Assessments (EMA) I thought I would take some data posted by  fellow student, Shaw (2011) and represent it graphically. It becomes clear to see how well this tutor group has engaged. Although as pointed out in the conference from week 12 onward personal blogs were also used it does give a good representation of the activity.

Thanks to all this activity there is plenty of evidence to call on for our justifications and arguments, so a big thankyou from me goes out to the rest of the group, all the best for your EMA.

Shaw,P. (2011) H800 Tutor Group Forum, EMA Tutor Group Forum, Just sharing something, 13 September 2011, 17:43.

Why 'Jing' is so useful?

Here I am fighting my way through an EMA and up pops an email, one of my students is struggling to compress his report to the size required by the OU eTMA system. I know the problem he needs to compress his pictures. But I am working on my assignment and want to get on with it.

• Do I ring him and try to explain over the phone?
• Do I try and pop it in an email?
• No I am going to 'Jing' him. (Stop laughing)

What surely if time is tight I hear you say, its going to take longer to create a video to explain how to do it. Well this is where you are wrong, within 5 minutes the email returned contains a link to the following online video, which quickly explains how to overcome his problem.
Whats more this may help me on my assignment so time well spent I think.