Student and tutor module reviews

I found this course a real challenge and not quite what I was expecting. There was a large element of computer programming and mathematics - neither of which are a favourite of mine!

I was hoping it would provide me with a better understanding of how the digital age could help with learning and integrated into our lives.

Disappointing.

Course starting: February 2012

Review posted: February 2013

This module is both rewarding and demanding. Do not think that you will have many moments of "down time" while studying TU100!

The module starts quite gently but soon builds momentum and whisks you through computing in all forms, from early computers the size of large rooms, to modern mobile devices such as mobile phones.

Once you add the Sense programming language to the above, you quickly realise that you have to commit to this module.

I had an excellent tutor (although I didn't make it to all of the tutorials) who was patient and helped us all get through the bits we found difficult.

Overall I enjoyed the module and have never been as pleased as I was when I found out I had passed!

Paul McLaren

Course starting: February 2012

Review posted: December 2012

This is an excellent course for anyone thinking about starting to study for an OU computing/ICT qualification.

It covers a broad range of computing and ICT subjects which may not appeal to everyone but should provide a good foundation and help you decide upon a path to follow in higher level computing/ICT studies. I studied this course towards the end of my undergraduate degree for 'fun' and looking back I wish I had studied it at the beginning (if it was available then!) as it would of helped me follow a defined path instead of changing direction part way through my studies.

Part of the teaching is to introduce students in to the Open University way of working and skills for university level study (using forums, the library, submitting electronic assignments, report writing etc) which in my opinion is great for new students but can become frustrating for continuing/experienced students especially when they are part of the assessment criteria.

Nevertheless, I gained a lot from this course and would recommend it. As an introduction to programming the SENSE programming environment and the SENSE board are used well although its teaching is spread throughout the course blocks rather than as a block which I would have preferred (but if programming is not for you then this may be ideal).

Collaboration with other students (which may be assessed) is part of the course teaching to introduce various ICT/computing concepts. The course seemed very popular and as such the tutor group was larger (about 20) than I had ever experienced with the OU. This collaboration had the advantage of developing a 'community spirit' - something the OU is well known for!

There were some teething problems as it was the first presentation (these seem to have been ironed out now - I recommended the course to a friend who is now studying it) but overall it's a well written and presented course. At the time of study the course team were working on producing alternative formats of the course material (Kindle, PDF etc) so these may become available in later presentations.

The forum team and tutors were a great help as usual.

All in all - a recommended course from an experienced Open University student.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: December 2012

I found TU100 a very fair course. It is definitely pitched to show a range of student skills as it includes report writing, maths and programming. With TU100 worth 60 points, it is quite demanding for a Level 1 but I thought it was easily manageable.

SENSE caused me problems but only due to me being a much more 'words' person than maths and programming! I did not have any history of programming and as it was all new I did struggle. However, other students were much better with figures and struggled with the reports and others with the programming etc.

It was well planned and structured, and I enjoyed the majority of the material. I would definitely recommend it to future students.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: September 2012

This was my first experience of studying with the OU, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. At first the course starts off a bit slowly, and I found the first couple of weeks as well as the first tutorial concentrating on avoiding plagiarism and using citations correctly. This may sound a tad dull, but I was grateful later on for how to cite properly as you will be marked down in any module for poor citation. I also found out later on how to access online journals and publications, which I am sure will be very useful in future studies.

Because TU100 is the springboard for so many types of IT, you will find yourself covering so many different disciplines. You could find yourself studying how a computer processor works one week, looking at problems with IT procurement the week after, and looking at computer gaming the week after that. I found that exhilarating, but there were inevitably weeks that I found less interesting.

I also really enjoyed using Sense, the programming language that comes with TU100. Although the guides tell you exactly what all the functions do, it sometimes requires a little bit of problem-solving to work out problems as you have to build up the functions. A lot of students did struggle with Sense, but overall I felt it well-worth learning.

I probably spent more time than most students on TU100 (about 20 hours a week), but that was solely because I enjoyed the course and wanted to learn more rather than just focussing on the TMAs.

Jon Slack

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: September 2012

This was one of my first OU courses, along with MST121. I enjoyed the course and found it to be a very conclusive introduction to computing - "an online survival kit for the twenty-first century". I was studying during the first presentation of TU100, and as such there were a few flaws.

Firstly, assessment planning was, at times, out of sync with the study calendar. Several assessments required knowledge from parts not planned to be studied until the week of a deadline, and in one extreme case, knowledge was required from parts planned to be studied a week after a deadline. My advice would be to use the study planner as a guide, and to formulate your own by looking ahead at what is going to be required for the next assessment.

Secondly, I found there to be an uneven balance of theory vs practical study. The course description implies that an introduction to programming, using Sense, would be a substantial part of the course, and while I'm sure that many of my peers will disagree with me, I didn't think there was enough programming.

I won't say that Sense was without its problems. While it is very good for a beginner programmer, it still requires the user to understand program logic and there are some things which I feel need fixing before the start of the next presentation. As it is now, there is not a block for less than or equal to, or greater than or equal to, and if you wish to take a single block out of the middle of a stack, you have to deconstruct the stack to do so. The Sense board also had problems with connection and would often cut out in the middle of testing a program.

Overall this is a good course that I enjoyed studying. Since it was the first presentation there were guaranteed to be some problems and I'm sure they will be ironed out for the next one.

Joshua Berry

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: September 2012

TU100 has been really well planned and structured, and is aimed at anyone from nearly novice level upwards. The course provides a broad grounding in many areas of computing, digital literacy and our modern, online world.
I was really impressed with what was on offer and how well it was presented.

The tutorials were good, although the local computing facilities were a disappointment. I'm sure that this will vary with your location in the country, and it won't always be easy to find a local college with computing facilities to match the OU's needs or quality of service.

I was a little disappointed by the limitations of the SenseBoard and Sense, but this system (based on MIT Scratch) is a good choice for an introductory course. TU100 won't teach anyone to be a programmer, but does give a top-rate introduction to computers and computing in all its forms.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: September 2012

I thoroughly enjoyed TU100 I think it was a great broad introduction in IT & Computing and also to Open University study. The balance between study skills and subject matter was good and I feel by the end of the course I am a better student.

There was a lot of debate over the SENSE programming language and the SENSE board activities, but I enjoyed them all and would have liked more emphasis on this throughout the course. A lot of the negative comments I felt were unjustified and based on people's dislike of programming generally.

My advice for people taking the course would be to plan your study well and keep ahead of the study planner as much as possible, there is quite a lot of material to get through.

Paul Reeves

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: August 2012

I studied TU100 during its first presentation having previously started the module it replaced, there were a few teething problems with the course but I was expecting that and it didn't stop me and my fellow students achieving good results. All of which I think will be ironed out come later presentations.

Students starting this module should understand that it is a 60-credit module and as such is perhaps more demanding that its predecessor, if not in actual content then certainly for demands in time. I was familiar with the basics of the course and with programming and while this allowed me to fly through some sections of the course others were tough going. Still I found typically I was averaging 8-10 hours per week on average, with more during the run up to assignment deadlines.

In terms of content, this is an introductory course for several degrees and it shows. The breadth of the course is amazing and you'll learn things from networking, the internal workings of a computer - including taking one to pieces if you emulate the video - a basic introduction to programming languages, video and photo editing, the social impact of computing and the internet, along with all the basic study and math skills necessary to allow you to do progress.

This is at times an issue, as just as you're getting your teeth into something the course runs off in another direction altogether, leaving you a little breathless and wondering if you've missed anything. But it's good to remember it serves as a taster for more specialised Level 2 study later and as such I think it fulfils its remit very well.

I should mention the programming language used, it's called Sense, while I was familiar and had experience with programming I found it fairly intuitive other students weren't so keen. Now that could be that they didn't have much interest in programming and no programming language would have suited, or it could be a legitimate concern, in any event I found the visual aspect of the drag and drop blocks meant that I could build relatively complex programs fairly easily. Whether you'll like it will I think depend on your level of interest in the subject.

The most challenging aspect of the course was perhaps the amount of assessment, there were 6 TMAs during the course in addition to the EMA and these covered content which wasn't even in the study calendar until the week of the TMA deadline, this may need looking at for future presentations, for me some careful forward planning made sure I'd studied relevant material in advance at the sacrifice of others then caught up where necessary after I'd handed in.

Overall... I think the course was good to excellent, it provides a good basic grounding for the topics it covers and it prepares you well for future study - indeed I'd consider my research and study skills to be the area this module helped me improve the most - there were teething problems but I expect that with a bit of polishing this course will be an excellent introduction to OU study for even the least academic student - so long as you have the time to commit!

Christopher Foster

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: July 2012