Monday, January 23, 2012

I've been saying this every time . . .



. . . but I can't believe the mark I've just received for my TMA!


When I came online earlier, I hadn't even thought about the last TMA. I had gone on to the OU site to look something up, and just casually glanced over the page that shows my scores - and there it was - 76%!!


I have to admit that my jaw dropped, and I didn't realise how I must have looked, until hubby came into the room, and asked me what was wrong. When I told him my score, he said: "See, I told you not to worry, Kate, you're so much brighter than you think you are!" (Oh, I so wish that were true!)


I decided that I'd go to the TMA site, to download my marked TMA, and the summary that my tutor writes to let me know where I've gone wrong, or right, in my writing. As usual, there were absolutely reams of advice, and so many things she had wanted to see within my essay - which definitely brought me down to earth with a bump!


I have to admit, after 6 year's worth of writing TMA's and EMA's, it would have been so very nice to get one that gave a lot more word count than we ever do get - mind you, I expect that, if we did have it, I'd just waffle a bit more, or add another so-called unnecessary quote that'd take it over the count again {grin}


And that's another thing that drives me nuts!


If I don't use many quotes, then I get criticised about it, and have done in past modules but, if I do use what I think is enough to get my point across, then I'm also criticised as using too many of them - I guess this is just another of those 'no win' situations so many of us students find ourselves in {wry grin}


But, now this TMA is in the bag, so-to-speak, I shall draw a thick and heavy curtain around it, turn my back, and try to get on with this second half of the course - I hope!


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Oops . . . !

Well, I'm now almost a week behind with the course, yet again :(


Between illness, and falling asleep within minutes of opening the books, I've only managed to do 6 of the 16 activities for last week, and this week there will be just as many to do. 


I'm not sure how I'm going to catch up, especially as this second part of the course seems to be as dense and convoluted as the first has been.


I'm also still waiting for the results of my last TMA, which isn't helping any :/


Ah well, I guess I'd better get back to the books - and will probably enjoy yet another sleep while I'm at it!

Friday, January 13, 2012

And so it's off!


As I pressed the button that would send my TMA winging through the aether towards it's final destination - in my tutor's computer - I breathed a huge sigh of relief for it going at last. 


I'd had to ask for some extra time to complete the thing and, frankly, don't hold out much hope of a really good result once it's marked - but I guess the point is, that I did actually finish it, and send it off, which was something I had grave doubts about doing over the last few days!


The one good thing about it all, though, is that I realised as I pressed the 'send' button, that this meant we were actually half-way through the course at last! Yay!


I do actually find it sad that I'm feeling this way about a course, though as, although my previous courses were hard, I was still enjoying them very much. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about this one :(


I can't really even put my finger on what it is that's put me off of this course so much - apart, that is, from the fact that all the theorists in it seem to have a terrible urge to make life as complicated as possible - to the point where we all seem to be digging in the dark without a torch to hand. Or they just contradict both themselves, and each other, to the point that there just is no point anymore!


As you can read, I'm really not enjoying this course at all! 


Trouble is, I'm just too donkey-stubborn to give up on it, and let it beat me - not likely!



Sunday, January 08, 2012

Well, I've started . . . .



. . . so I guess I'll just have to try and finish!


It's been a difficult week this week. With so much time spent sleeping, because of the Lupus and CFS, I've barely spent any time studying my course activities.


I have managed to sort-of keep up to date, but there's an awful lot of re-reading to be done, in order to get - and hopefully retain - the information I need to complete TMA 03.


I admit that a blank Word document scares the life out of me so, when I actually woke up, and kept awake long enough to get my head into study gear, I decided that I'd just write whatever came into my head, so at least there wouldn't be all this blankness facing me. What surprised me, was that I had retained a bit more information than I'd thought at first, and by writing in a stream-of-conscience type of way, some of the 600-odd words I put down actually made some sense!


This means that, although I'm going to still have a huge effort ahead of me, when my brain-fog clears up sufficiently enough for me to hit the books again, at least I'll know I've made a fair start on it already. 


I'm not sure whether its getting a bit easier, or that I have retained more than I thought, but I actually have some hope of completing a semi-decent essay by the end of it and, although I don't think I'll make the 12th January Noon deadline, I'm hoping to not be too far away from it by the time I've finished it all.


I guess, as usual, it's a wait-and-see deal again!



Tuesday, January 03, 2012

The New Year has arrived . . .



. . . and with it, a new TMA!


I have to admit to being, once again, behind with my OU work, which is a nuisance, as I've got yet another TMA due, on the 12th of this month, and all I've got so far is just over 200 words of introduction, with probably half of them due to end up in the recycle bin.


Yet again, we're being asked to regurgitate the same sort of things we did for the last 2 TMA's, and I don't think there's a forum that has to do with this course, where there's not a whole bunch of students complaining about it.


This course is very like Marmite, I think; you either love it, or you hate it, and there doesn't seem to be a middle ground between them.


But, like the good little student I am, I'll grit my teeth, and do my best to write at least a half-decent essay once again, although it's getting more and more difficult to find something I've not already used. But I will do my best :/


In the meantime, I'm still fighting the extreme tiredness brought on with the CFS, and am trying to stay awake long enough to look through my course books for something half-decent to use for the TMA.


Whatever the new year brings me, I do hope it brings everyone I know a fresher start, and better health, than the last one!