Asoka – so continues an onscreen love affair with Shah Rukh Khan
The Final Cut – not as interesting as it could have been
Terminal Velocity – Charlie Sheen with cute sideburns
Untamed Heart – why did Christian have to die?
Life Aquatic – not sure if it was a flop or subtle genius
The following was posted by user tonype in the student forum on the Open Universities Australia web site and contains what I think is a very sensible and effective approach to studying externally:
I have completed my Bachelor of Arts degree through Monash/OUA and I took great pleasure today in sending off my application to graduate. I have never participated much in study groups or discussion boards but I decided that I would lodge my study tips on this forum before I logged off from OUA for the last time. Other people might take a very different approach, but this is what worked for me.
Firstly, motivation is very important. I find that studying is fun and I thoroughly enjoyed almost all my courses. It is almost impossible however, to enjoy everything and there are times when the course material is boring, frustrating, or difficult. At times like this you have to be truly motivated to get that degree.
Secondly, being organised is vital. I planned my degree through detailing all 24 units on a study plan. I looked up when courses were available, took into account likely holidays, Christmas breaks etc. and determined exactly when I was going to do each course. My study plan changed frequently, particularly when new courses were offered or courses were dropped, but I always took care to keep an up to date study plan in front of me. As soon as I received each study periods course materials I noted the assignment due dates and the exam dates on a calendar. Then I started each course by focusing almost exclusively on completing the assignments. Very often it was not possible to commence the assignments until I had worked through a great deal of the course material, but I always kept focused on working out what I needed to know in order to complete the assignments. Only after I had completed all the assignments did I focus on the exam. In some courses the effort required to complete the assignments meant that I had to do little more than revise for the exam. In other courses I had to prepare for the exam by covering the material I had omitted while tackling the assignments.
Thirdly, it is essential to study systematically. It is very hard to complete a degree through part-time distance learning without being systematic. Some sacrifices are required but it is also a mistake to allow studying to disrupt ones entire life. I was fairly disciplined in sticking to a study routine. There were exceptions, holidays, work trips, work and school functions etc., but in general I always studied on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I played tennis on Wednesdays and I kept Fridays and Saturdays free. On those occasions when I found myself under pressure I got up early in the mornings to get in a few hours extra study. It is however, most important to keep up to date throughout each course. I never once had to defer a course or apply for an assignment extension, and yet, in common with many others, I had my share of personal dramas during the three and a half years it took to complete my degree. This is just a provocative thought, but I suggest that the day you apply for a course deferment or assignment extension is the day that finishing your degree is going to get just that tiny little bit less likely.
Fourthly, it is important to study in an efficient manner. Some material needs to be read very carefully, digested and understood. Background reading can be fun and enriching, but it is important to distinguish between material that needs to be read for background purposes and material that needs to be studied. I found that the only way to get to grips with “study†material was to read carefully, make notes and summarise the main points and arguments. I read plenty of background stuff on the beach, next to the pool, in aeroplanes, or with on eye on the TV, but I sat at my desk and made notes when it came to the serious bit of extracting information for assignment essays or preparing for an exam. The only material that will truly sink in is the stuff you read with a pen in your hand – or should I say keyboard at your fingertips?
Fifthly, passing or doing well is all about scoring marks. It is an old mantra but it needs to be repeated endlessly – answer the question! It does not matter how much you know, you will not score good marks if you do not answer the set question/s. Then never forget the age-old formula of introduction, argument, and conclusion. It works every time. Tertiary study, and distance study in particular, is a lonely activity and usually the only feedback is from tutors assignment comments. I benefited enormously from adopting the various tutors recommendations, but it was occasionally frustrating to receive contradictory advice. Only once did I find it necessary to contact a tutor directly to seek clarification – over an ambiguously worded question. Beware of wasting too much time on so-called study groups. They might help in terms of motivation or in providing a form of social interaction, but they are no substitute for doing the hard yards yourself.
Thats it. Getting motivated and organised, studying systematically and efficiently, and becoming a mark scoring machine is all that it takes! The Open Universities system is fantastic and I can not praise OUA highly enough. Work hard, enjoy learning and hang in tough – it is worth it in the long run.
Regards and best wishes,
Tony
A mini review of the latest lot of weeklies from the local hire store!
Seize the Day – Robin Williams in a fine dramatic role as a 40 year old man whose life is falling to pieces. Back-stabbed by his boss, his wife and his father he is a man shackled by responsibility and guilt. The one positive in his life (his girlfriend) is pushed to the periphery as he struggles to get his life back on track. Distressing.
Assassins – From the writers of The Matrix, this action movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas as duelling hitmen. Banderas is keen to eliminate Stallone to claim the top spot as the best hitman. Stallone is sick of the business and wants out. A smooth storyline, good acting, nothing that really grabbed me.
Save the Tiger – A wonderful dramatic performance by Jack Lemmon, another man down on his luck.
Serendipity – John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale chick flick.
I need to thrash out a few ideas on this project which has (embarrassingly) been on the boil for a very long time.
About three years ago I discovered a locally produced online business directory website, which hadn’t been worked on in years. I thought the site had potential, so I contacted the owner, Ray and asked if he was looking for some help with the site.
The upshot of this was, in return for hosting another of Ray’s domain names I could take over the development of the directory, and keep whatever income I made from it.
The directory is localbiz.com.au and initially I converted the existing site to php/mysql with the listings sorted into Australian locations. I wasn’t really happy with this – most of the existing listings were old and didn’t even have websites, and I was filtering a huge number of new submissions which were just spam from overseas.
In addition to this, the concept of splitting the directory into locations seemed a little too ambitious – since I don’t have the resources to develop something along the lines of CitySearch or Yellow Pages. On the other hand, confining the location to a particular area was a little too restrictive for my liking (despite the name “localbiz” – how do you define “local” on the internet?).
I had a brainwave over the weekend to put the name issue aside, and concentrate on the type of business listing that I am truly interested in promoting – home and/or internet based businesses.
They must all be Australian of course, and the listings will be free in return for a reciprocal link – with the option of purchasing paid positioning (eg. banner ad). I want to keep it low cost, but at the same time maintain relevant listings. I don’t expect to make a great deal of money from it, but hopefully it will create networking opportunities and help boost search engine rankings.
I have the programming in place so it has all the functionality I want; I’ve started populating the database, so now it is down to the design of the site. I want it to be upbeat yet simple.
Off to consider some design concepts!
H was telling me about his shift last night, he and his partner were discussing the local racing event which many of their off-duty colleagues were attending that night.
Seems it is something of an annual tradition to deck themselves out in fancy dress for the event. This year one of the fellows was dressing up as a Roman Centurion – “and,” H commented “he doesn’t have the legs for it!”
H’s partner observed that he had been on the night shift for last year’s event as well.
H recalled that he had also been on night shift on that date.
“Well”, said H’s partner “happy anniversary!” 🙂
Well the paperwork has been completed and sent off to Open Universities – my first two units are Introduction to University Learning (a prep course) and NET11 Internet Communications.
My study materials should arrive early next month; I’m looking forward to getting started! If I can focus and remain committed to my studies it will take about four years to complete the course for a degree.
I am particularly interested in the communications/writing/development side rather than design/graphics. I’m not sure yet what doors this will help open for me career-wise, at this stage it is more about personal development. I’ve already been eyeing off a few of the post-graduate studies!
Dad reckons I’ll be able to show my instructors a few things! I don’t know about that, but I hope experience and familiarity with the subject will be of some use.
Hubby hasn’t said much about it yet. I’ve discussed it briefly with him, but I’m still a little shy about it. Over the years I’ve started a few unfinished projects. Hopefully the attention span will stick on this one.