The Joy of Blogging

Last week some readers made comments that piqued my curiosity. They wrote that reading my blog inspired them to start blogging too. That’s wonderful! My first thought is brilliant! Grab a pen and start writing! Then I started thinking about what they might find rewarding about blogging, and how blogging has affected my study habits, process, and progress. You might expect that regular, weekly writing would benefit students in some predictable ways, like organization or efficiency. It does, but some of the most satisfying and relevant rewards are less predictable, and even surprising. I thought I would share…

Prodigy or Prodigal Student?

Did you know that ‘Prodigy’ and ‘Prodigal’ are found on the same page in the ‘Oxford Dictionary Usage Guide’? They share a page, and quite nicely frame the academic dilemma that occurs around this time of year. My academic dilemma revolves around the exam time tables and marking scheme papers. Both deadlines are quickly approaching making this a time of year for nail-biting and a general student-angst.

Easy Reading is Hard Writing

It is time to start writing for the Marking Scheme*.  The Marking Scheme is a great way to assess how my work is progressing and what my exam experience will be like. Writing is a skill, like reading, or note taking. Writing under exam conditions, writing research papers, or creative writing are very different things,  just like reading critically and reading for pleasure require a different perspective. Learning to read and write in different ways is quite an education, if you will pardon the pun.  

E-Seminars and other Necessary Luxuries

Julia Child once called foie gras and truffles ‘necessary luxuries’. If you cook, you will appreciate the complexity a shaving of truffle can add to a dish. I like to think of my degree as a wonderfully complex sauce with many layers of flavor. For me, e-seminars and other support schemes are the foie gras and truffles in my ‘sauce study’. If you are new to distance learning or have not participated in an academic e-seminars you might wonder a bit about how an e-seminar can benefit you, what the process is like, and what you can accomplish in this learning support scheme. There are several benefits like the community of students, task coaching with a University of London faculty tutor, and engagement with learning process goals unique to the study of English & Comparative Literature. Each of these areas are very beneficial and have become, like a secret ingredient, the secret to my progress with my degree.

Scribbling in the margins

Maybe it’s because of my day-job, but you’ll never find me with a pen in my hand if I’m reading a book. Playing every day in an orchestra means a large turnover of music with new pieces to be learnt quickly: our usual format is two days rehearsal and then a concert, although we can sometimes squeeze in one day’s rehearsal for a concert. The point is that you always need to mark your music with conductor’s directions, personal reminders or a witty anagram of the composer’s name. The golden rule is “no ink.”

Student Inspiration – Canada and UK: MSc Organizational Psychology

Jane Purves is a current MSc Organizational Psychology student who has studied the distance learning programme in Canada and now in the UK. In this video Barbara speaks about the experiences of studying while raising a family and the challenges she faced.

If you would like to find out more about studying for this course visit the University of London International Programmes website – MSc Organizational Psychology.

Graduation 2010

WATCH THE LONDON GRADUATION CEREMONY

The University of London External System broadcast its 2010 London Graduation Ceremony, live from the Barbican on Monday 15 March 2010.

There is now an opportunity to access complete coverage of the ceremony as video-on-demand, visit:
http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/graduationwebcast

Please note: To watch the Graduation Ceremony we recommend that you upgrade to the latest Flash Player version, which can be downloaded for free. Visit the Graduation Ceremony page to find out more: http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/graduation/index.shml

Don’t forget your headphones either …