September 4, 2010, 5:00 pm

M150 Data, Computing and Information

Introduction

 

M150 consists of:

• Three blocks consisting in total of 16 units of course text
• Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA)
  There are 5 assignments:
  
  • TMA01
    This tests Units 1, 2 and 3 of Block 1.
  • TMA02
    This tests Units 4,5, 6 (Block 1) and 7 (Block 2).
  • TMA03
    This tests Units, 8,9,10 and 11 (Block 2) - lots of JavaScript programming.
  • TMA04
    This tests Units 12,13,14,15 and 16 (Block 3).
  • TMA05
    This replaces the ECA, which was used on the first presentation of M150. Students will be offered a choice of two questions, one programming (Block 2) and one an essay on Block 1 or 3 material.
• Computer Marked Exercises (CME)
  These will not be assessed and consist of multiple choice questions.
• Computer Marked Assignment (CMA41)
  Similar to a CME, used in assessing a students breadth of knowledge at the end of the course.

OU students have many different approaches to study, often dictated by jobs, children, partners and other 'lifestyle' considerations. Whatever strategy you choose, try and keep up with the timetable of study supplied by the course team. The calendar can be downloaded from the M150 website; it's a very useful guide.

Some strive to score very high marks on all TMAs, whereas others may be satisfied with less. Whichever goal one sets, decisions have to be made about the amount of time and effort required to meet these expectations. You might like to consider applying Pareto's Principle.

From experience, I can state that most students of computing are "task-centred", concentrating on the TMAs as the best means of learning, if not the whole course, then certainly those parts that need to be understood in order to answer the questions.

Towards the end of the course your tutor will also help with advice on choosing other courses offered by the OU. You might like to look at this OU website.
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Copyright © 2010 John McSweeney