Sesame

SESAME 242 (AUTUMN)

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Let's celebrate! The autumn issue of Sesame has special coverage of this year's degree ceremonies, with students' across the nations telling their stories of studying with the OU and what it means to them to graduate. There's also a look at this year's honorary graduates and an account of a degree ceremony in one of HM Prisons. Also included are: The 2008 Course Results New OU courses (including Beginner's Chinese) A look at new OU online conferencing tool Elluminate Brand-new OU nature website iSpot Professor Gerard Hastings on the hazy subject of tobacco

SESAME 241 (SUMMER)

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this scorching Summer issue are interviews with former Hollyoaks actress, and current OU student, Elize du Toit; honorary graduate Deborah Bull, ballet star and now Creative Director of the Royal Opera House; and Coast presenter Neil Oliver. Academic contribution include the risk of using hands-free mobile phones while driving; the danger of parental anxiety in the UK today; plus student and career advice, a look at the latest OU courses and much, much more.

SESAME 240 (SPRING)

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The latest edition of Sesame is out today. This new issue marks the 40th anniversary of the OU with a special celebratory section. Also in the issue is an in-depth feature on space exploration, an interview with crime writer and OU student Ian Rankin, new course offerings from the OU, and much, much more.

Course results 2007

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On the 'Full story' link to the right are results of a selection of the 30- and 60-point courses that ended in October 2007. They do not include results of other completion periods earlier in the year and some very low population courses. Don't be put off by a low pass rate, as results vary from year to year and an aggregate figure gives little guidance to any individual's chance of success. Key to abbreviations: Fin Reg Number of finally registered students on course Freg E/ECA (%) Percentage of finally registered students examined/submitting end-of-course assessment Freg pass (%) Percentage of finally registered students who passed E/ECA pass (%) Percentage of those examined/submitting end-of-course assessment who passed. A103, DD121, DD122, MU120, MST121 and M150 have continuous assessment only on the course. The figures in the pass columns reflect those who passed on continuous assessment, and are not comparable with courses within an examination/ECA.

WELCOME SESAME

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome Sesame: received by all new students with their welcome pack.

SESAME 239 (WINTER)

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The latest edition of Sesame is out today. Inside the issue is an in-depth look at the UK's renewable energy future, student and alumni stories, and New Year courses to inspire a new you! Plus much, much more.

Inject a bit of OUmph into your screensaver

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Fancy injecting a bit of OUmph into your screensaver? Then download the OU Life Screensaver which has been relaunched to provide you with the latest OU news, facts, course information, TV highlights, competitions and more. The new screensaver includes the latest OU news stories, top 10 films, historical facts, OU/BBC productions, new courses and the chance to win a range of prizes. We are currently running competitions to win tickets to The Clothes Show Live event at the NEC and the Birmingham Tattoo so visit www.open.ac.uk/oulifescreensaver to download the service and be in with a chance of winning.

Sesame 238 out!

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The latest edition of Sesame is out with photos and news from award ceremonies this year, all the latest course news, an in-depth look at the Slow Food movement and much, much more!

Office politics, conflict and resolution

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

No matter how good you are at your work, you're unlikely to rise high in your organisation unless you are also good at managing people. And effective people management is also vital to organisational success. People skills come more naturally to some than others but they can be learnt - and now The Open University has produced a set of online continuing professional development (CPD) courses to help aspiring managers tackle issues ranging from office feuds to company politics. For more information, visit The Open University's OU at Work website (see link, right).

The TESSA project

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa (TESSA) is a research and development initiative creating high-quality, multimedia open educational resources (OERs) for teachers and teacher educators working in Sub-Saharan Africa. The resources are available across nine African countries and four languages (Arabic, English, French and Kiswahali). The main funding for the programme has come from the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Trust (first Dean of Arts at the OU) and also the Hewlett Foundation. It is believed to be the largest open educational resource online site for teachers in the African continent and is free for anyone to access.

OU student nurse wins award

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jackie Moore, an OU student nurse at Belfast City Hospital, has won the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Student Nurse of the Year 2008. She graduated with the Diploma (Adult Branch) in May 2008 and has gone straight into employment as a registered nurse. Prior to this, Jackie was a nursing auxiliary for 14 years and a health care assistant before embarking on The Open University's new Pre-registration Nursing Programme. Donna Gallagher from the OU's Faculty of Health & Social Care said: "It was always Jackie's dream to become a nurse and she worked exceptionally hard to achieve her goal, gaining a number of distinctions in her studies along the way. What ultimately won her the status of Student Nurse of the Year was a demonstration of great leadership skills in identifying a gap in communication with a patient and trying to make the patient experience better on the whole for those that are transferred or referred from other hospitals."

OU TV programmes nominated for Pandas

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Two Open University programmes have received nominations in the prestigious Panda awards at the annual Wildscreen festival. Can We Save Planet Earth? was nominated in the Earth Science category and two programmes from Life in Cold Blood, Armoured Giants and Cold Blooded Truth, were nominated in the Best Series category. The winners will be announced during the Festival in October by a distinguished panel of judges.

Archbishop of Armagh

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Former Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, Lord Robin Eames of Armagh, was awarded the title of Doctor of the University by Professor Denise Kirkpatrick, Open University Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching) at a The Open University in Ireland's degree ceremony. The ceremony also saw over 180 students from across Northern Ireland receive Open University degrees at the ceremony held at The Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Lord Eames was awarded the honour for his public services to Ireland and society.

New distribution hotline

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

From 23 June 2008, if you have a query about missing, incorrect or damaged course materials then the new number to ring is 01908 332633.

The OU is now on iTunes!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Open University course materials are now available for free download via Apple's iTunes U service. This means that more than 300 video and audio files from a variety of the OU's current courses are now available to download for playing on a Mac, PC, iPod or iPhone. More video and audio material will be made available to reach a target of 500 items drawn from 50 OU courses by the end of July. The University also plans to extend the range of items beyond course materials to include some of its research activities. The site can be found at by clicking on the link opposite.

Sesame Correction

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Please note that there was an error on page 25 of the Summer 2008 (issue 237) edition of Sesame. A student was described as having counted "transferred credit for an A Level in Music" towards an OU degree. We cannot award transferred credit for A Levels, as these are below higher education level - the student was actually awarded her credit in recognition of her partially-completed degree studied at another university.

Old Bailey proceedings online - thanks to OU researchers

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details of crimes, carried out by the likes of Oscar Wilde, the infamous Dr Crippen, suffragettes and Irish terrorists, can be viewed for the first time on the internet, thanks to a significant expansion of the innovative Old Bailey Proceedings Online website. Researchers from the University of Sheffield, Hertfordshire and The Open University have doubled the size of the existing Old Bailey Proceedings Online 1674-1834 website, expanding its coverage to include details of criminal trials from 1674 to 1913, from just after the Great Fire to just before the Great War.

Response to 'Electronic Submissions' letter

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In the Winter edition of sesame, a letter was featured from a student who expressed concerns about the electronic submission of TMAs on S151 Maths for science. (see page 9, 'Electronic submissions') Shelagh Ross, S151 Course Team Chair, responds below: The release date for the S151 ECA is related to the special nature of the ECA for this course, and its associated practice assessment. The S151 Study Guide explains the format, which is very different from that for other Science Short Courses. The S151 ECA is not an assessment that requires written answers to be prepared, polished and then submitted electronically, but consists of short questions that are answered directly online. They are not the sort of questions that can be answered by selective study of parts of the material only. A practice assessment, with questions in the same format, is available for the whole duration of the course. The online interactive feedback that students get when they attempt any of the practice questions is a valuable learning tool, and students are therefore strongly encouraged to attempt the practice questions alongside their study of the course materials. It is also pointed out in the Study Guide that students who spend time working on the practice assessment generally do much better on the ECA. The key to passing S151 is proper preparation, in terms of studying the material and attempting the practice questions, rather than in looking at the questions in advance. Students who have worked through the whole course and attempted all the questions in the practice assessment should be able to complete the ECA in a single online session of a few hours (though many prefer to spread it over a couple of days). The average online time to do the ECA is about three hours, which means many students take even less time than that. The advice about aiming to submit a little bit ahead of the deadline in case of computer problems is given on all courses with eTMAs or an eECA. However, students can make their own decisions about how they balance the risk of last-minute problems against the advantage of being able to submit on deadline day. With a paper ECA there is little choice but to put it in the post several days ahead of the cut-off date.

Celebrate Adult Learners Week

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Adult Learners Week is taking place between 17 and 23 May, and The Open University is planning a series of events throughout the country. Adult Learners Week is the UK's largest festival and celebration of adult learning. OU-related events range from a Silver Surfers' Day being organised by the OU in London on Friday 23 May from 10am to 2pm to an open event in Coventry on Saturday 24 May. For details of what's going on in your region, click on the link to the right.

New magazine out for OU students and alumni!

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A new-improved student and alumni magazine will be winging its way to students and alumni right now. The new magazine, which retains the name of the popular student magazine Sesame, comes as a result of research which took place during late 2007 where approximately 15,000 students and alumni were surveyed. It became clear that students and alumni wanted similar content, meaning that this new magazine will now be sent to students and alumni. The new edition includes some great features including an interview with author Philip Pullman, an in-depth article focusing on whether America can cope in an ever changing world, the latest courses from the OU, news from the Development Office and much much more. Download your copy by clicking on the link to the right or keep an eye out for the print version.