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How should I prepare to be a distance learning masters student?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
I finally managed to get my application in for the social and cultural theory masters course this week. I should hear just after New Year whether I got the place or not, but that doesn't give me very long to prepare myself before the course actually starts. I've got a deskspace which I'm going to clear and I've got my noticeboard sorted and my laptop ready to go. I'm still waiting to hear about a disabled students allowance needs assessment, but is there anything else I can do to make myself prepared and ready to take my first assignment when I get it? There isn't any pre-course reading list to me to look at and it's a hugely broad subject for me to just pick up some books and read on it. But are there any other things I could put in place which would make my life easier? Is there anything which I should take into account by being a distance learning students?
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You may want to create a study time table? Because it's distance learning, you'll have to do more self-study than when you did at uni.

    I also marked in my diary the dates of assignments, etc.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I will do - i know i'll have weekly assignments which could be very small things or not. I need to find out what days i get given assignments and when i hand in. I know what days i'm not studying ( i have therapy in wednesdays so i need to take it easy then) but everything is very fluid otherwise. I need more organisation in my house - i'm getting a whole load of new furniture in the new year to replace all the broken stuff i have around the house now, which will make everything a bit easier. Hows best to work? 45 mins then a 5 min rest and half hour for every 2 hours or is that unrelistic? Are there aNy apps which make it all easier?
  • Danny!Danny! Deactivated Posts: 560 Incredible Poster
    Hi Miss_Riot

    That's great you're applying for the Masters, I really hope you get on.

    Just a couple of thoughts really:
    • There are lots of good introductory books on social and cultural theory, it would do no harm to do some general reading around areas where you feel you don't know as much
    • I imagine that the best way for you to work in terms of time on and time off is going to take some working out, and be process of trial and error. Maybe you could start experimenting now with different ways and see what works best for you? You could try timetabling different kind of rest breaks in (just closing your eyes, or watching TV, or radio, or coming on here etc) and see what works best.
    • And if you can make contact with anyone doing the same or similar courses beforehand, that can only be helpful.

    Good luck!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Books - I've been looking for some intro books on amazon and not come up with much - there's lots of very vaguely titled books, I'm not too sure where to start!

    Time tabling - I think I need to read my copy of the study skills handbook by Stella Cotrell and see what things might be a good starting point.

    I'm not sure how I can find other people on the course before I start. Any ideas?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    On that note - anyone know of a postgrad especially forum? I checked out the student rooms again but balked at the amount of islamophobia on the boards so I think I want to look elsewhere
  • Danny!Danny! Deactivated Posts: 560 Incredible Poster
    Books-wise: it's hard without having a reading list, but having a skim on Amazon, this one looks a good place to start. It's got a lot of the classics in it which I imagine you'll come across at some point. And it's only 1p! (plus postage) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultural-Theory-Popular-Culture-Introduction/dp/0582423635/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1388418142&sr=8-7&keywords=john+storey+theory

    Having suggested finding other people on the course, I'm not sure I have any great ideas :) Have you looked at this one? http://www.postgraduateforum.com/ (I haven't used it, just looking for ideas). The OU have forums etc that are open as well I think.

    There's usually a Facebook group, but I guess that's after the course starts.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you know what VLE you'll be studying on? If it's blackboard, they have an app for Android and Apple, which isn't great but is really useful for discussion alerts!

    Are you studying FT or PT? Set yourself a set schedule to do certain topics at a certain time. You may also need to set a time to come back to things you've already done - discussion topics etc.

    Trying to think what our students report issues with. How do you learn best? Taking notes? Listening? Watching? May be an idea to see if they provide printable slides/transcripts.

    I think we generally found that where we were expecting students to do about 10 hours of work, they were often taking 12 - 15.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it might be moodle - blackboard was crappy 4/5 years ago, I would have thought it had changed it that time!

    Part time - I can take a minimum of 2 years max of 5 years to complete the course.

    I'm a aural/visual gal - mindmaps are my kind of thing, but I could do with looking at some other methods. It's been a while since I've made in depth notes.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If it's the Staffs one, they mention Blackboard in their info pack - it has moved on a lot in 4/5 years (not that I'm saying it's improved!)

    You can use Microsoft One note for mind maps/notes, or something like Mural.ly - alternatively, paper and pens work well!

    Have you tried finding any journal articles on the subject? Might help you get into the swing of academic reading...

    You may find that you're expected to complete the weekly activities and hand them in by the end of that teaching week, allowing you some flexibility as to how you set your weekly study. Then it'll only be the main (summative) assessments that have set dates & times.

    What sort of apps are you after to help you out?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It is the staffs one - I'll see if I can get my head around blackboard again.

    It's such a large subject I'm not really sure where to start. I've done quite a lot of academic reading in the past but I haven't done much in the past 6 months or so.

    I'm using Evernote quite a lot - pen and paper are too easy for me to lose! I'm trying out different mind mapping programs. I used to use something called zoterro which was an add on to Firefox which was a really helpful tool to keep track of a working bibliography and reading lists. But I can't seem to find anything like it anymore.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Microsoft endnote- if your uni can set it up right they may be able to give you usage of it!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i'm mac user - not sure if theres a mac version
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I just got offered a place on the course!


    I now need to find £200 by the 13th, or I lose my place! :/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Congrats! :)

    Eek, will you be able to afford that?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Going and opening a student account again I think! Thank fuck for interest free overdrafts!
  • Danny!Danny! Deactivated Posts: 560 Incredible Poster
    Congratulations :) Hope you find the money.
  • PGreenPGreen Posts: 175 Helping Hand
    Congratulations Miss_Riot!! That's so exciting, fingers crossed you manage to find the £200 you need.

    I saw some people had given you book recommendations and agree that once you have a reading list it is much easier to pick out some key texts. But I remember when I studied social theory C.Wright Mills The Sociological Imagination (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sociological-Imagination-C-Wright-Mills/dp/0195133730) was a really useful book that I regularly referred to - it could be a could starting place and give you some really useful background.

    Good luck and keep us posted! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Congratulations!

    Be interested to hear how you find BB as a VLE :) See if they've got any useful things we haven't!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wrong info!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    All sorted - just having issues with their online enrolment system! I hope that's not a indicator of things to come! They do seem to be very helpful over the phone and they get things sorted quickly which just makes such a change to how my last uni worked!
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