As she goes into the second term of her part-time degree course in law, Charlotte is back with a quick update on her experiences as a distance learning student.
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Unfamiliar ground
I have found that studying with the Open University where there is no face-to-face contact with other students or tutors/lecturers is a very different prospect from studying onsite at a university, as I did with my bachelor's degree in Durham and my master’s degree in Guildford.
Another difficult difference I have encountered is the lack of feedback on formative work. There are activities to do in the online course materials, but the feedback provided is generic and it is hard to gauge the success of my own input.
However, I am expecting feedback on my first summative assessment this week and I’m hopeful that that will give me a better idea of whether I’m on the right track or not. In any case, I am learning a lot.
I think a greater understanding of the law will make me a better translator when tackling texts in that field, and I’m looking forward to putting it into practice! In the meantime, my two top tips for distance learning are: make sure you have dedicated space and time to concentrate on your studies without distractions and give yourself some downtime to allow the learning to sink in.