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John McSweeney - picture detail

John McSweeney

March 13, 2010, 12:08 am

M150 Data, Computing and Information

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Here are some answers to questions that M150 students ask.

  1. Do all the TMAs require the same amount of work?
  2. Can you give me some information on the CMEs?
  3. What type of questions will be in TMA05?
  4. I am worried about being able to program. Can I pass M150 if I do badly on this part of the course?
  5. Who do I contact for help?
  6. How often should I check our TG conference?
  7. I can't get to my tutor's tutorials, can I attend those held by other tutors?
  8. Do I need to install the Netscape browser that is on the course software Online-Applications CD ROM?
  9. When writing a TMA which involves answering a question as apposed to writing an essay, should the original question be included in the document we submit?
  10. The submission instructions of the TMA01 assignment booklet suggest making a single word processor document and submitting it as a zip file. I don't see a reason for this, unless the conference postings are separate files or graphics are included and push it over the 2MB limit. Why the need to zip a single file?
  11. Are the assessments weighted?
  12. Can I install FirstClass software on a Mac?

 

  1. No. TMA03, TMA04 and TMA05 will probably take you longer to answer than the first two assignments. See weighting.


  2. CME - Computer Marked Exercise. What is it? A pencil and paper exercise, but marked by a machine. 20 Qs per CME, 1 CME for each Block. You can post these to MK (this to be confirmed by CT). They should help you to get feedback on how you are progressing and give you some practice before tackling the CMA at the end of the year. They do not form part of your formal continual assessment i.e. you will not receive a mark that counts towards your final grade.


  3. TMA05 will offer the choice of two Qs, one will be an essay based on material covered in Blocks I and III and the other will mostly be a programming question based on Block 2. You can choose one of these Qs. There will also be a separate CMA , which is consists of multiple choice questions and is computer marked. This tests your knowledge of the breadth of the course.


  4. Yes. Some students will be worried about the second block of material, in particular programming with JavaScript. My advice is this: Don't worry if you don't score highly in TMA03, because you can rely on Block3/TMA04 and the discursive Q in TMA05 to pass. Being unable to grasp programming is no reason to quit M150.


  5. Your tutor should usually be the first, unless it's a software problem, then it's over to LTS. However, the pink pamphlet, titled "Course News", which you should have received in your course mailing, contains lots of useful information.
    Contacting LTS:
    Phone LTS Helpdesk 01908 653972
    email LTS-Student-Helpdesk@open.ac.uk
    Or via their Website - where you can also find a course materials despatch link (ask your tutor for this if you cannot find it)
    For CMA queries phone Assignment Records 01908 653702.


  6. Look at our TG conference at least twice a week and the same for the M150 website.


  7. Yes, but phone the tutor first. Sometimes he or she has to change the tutorial time. So check first.


  8. I think the answer is yes. In Block 2 you will be required to write JavaScript. Netscape provides a JavaScript debugger (Tools/Web Development/JavaScript Console). This is going to be a useful tool for you to use when writing code. Furthermore, and this is my guess,it is easy to wtite poorly formed JS, which will run in MS Internet Explorer, but not in the Netscape browser. I think that the CT want to enforce good programming practice by ensuring that you check all code in Netscape (this may have changed since I taught M150, so if in doubt ask your tutor).


  9. My preference was always no. When marking a script electronically your tutor can see what the Q is. I always thought that having to scroll past the Q in a script often makes reading a student's answer a lengthier process. However some tutors may be OK with this (again ask). Make sure that you have labelled your answer with the exact question number e.g. Q1 (ii)(a).


  10. If an assignment asks you to include more than one file it will be necessary to send more than one file. Consequently, students will have to zip these files into a single file in order for the eTMA system to accept it. It is not necessary to zip TMA01. However, the CT would like students to familiarize themselves with using a zip facility in early TMAs. For TMA03, the CT supply a zipped file for downloading from the course website. Hence software is needed to unpack the files contained in this archive. These will be required to answer the questions in this third assignment. Occasionally a file is larger than 2mb, e.g. an RTF file containing screenshots. In such a case, zipping will be required to reduce the file size.
    If you are comfortable with WinZip (or the freeware Info-Zip on the course CD-ROM) there is no need to use it for the early TMAs. If you are not familiar with its use, go ahead and use it.


  11. Yes. M150 is assessed by continuous assessment, there is no examinable component. TMAs and the CMA were (2005) weighted as follows , but it may have changed:
    TMA01 10%
    TMA02 15%
    TMA03 25%
    TMA04 25% (you will need to average 40% of the marks available for these four TMAs)
    CMA41 5% (you will need to score a minimum of 40% of the marks available)
    TMA05 20% (you will need to score a minimum of 35% of the marks available)


  12. Yes, but you cannot use the version contained on the course software.
    To install FirstClass for Mac:
    Make sure you are running either OS9 or OSX. You can check this by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper left of the screen and select "About this Mac"
    Go to this page on the Open Text Corporation website.
    To download the FirstClass software, select the appropriate version and click on the file name at the top of the page and save the file to your desktop.
    (NB: this should end .hqx for OS9 and .dmg for OSX)
    If on completion the download does not 'auto-start', double-click the file and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
    (Thanks to student Karen Sargent for this information.)