Well technically not the first “official” week, nor the first week really. I’ll explain.

On the 11th of September, my Open University module website opened, the course itself doesn’t officially start until the 5th of October but with the module website opening earlier you can pretty much make a start on the learning material to bank a few weeks ahead where you can.

Because life has a way of throwing curveballs.

As for it not really being the first week, technically I just completed two weeks of work in little over a week.

The module website gives a convenient study planner with the weeks dated from the start date in October. The first week of my module, A111 Discovering the Arts and Humanities, was an intro week “Getting Started” which I completed quickly. Honestly, it was to get it out of the way, I felt a little overwhelmed with it and didn’t find it particularly useful (I will most likely end up eating these words in the future).

Being Mature

The 2nd week of work was on the first topic, Cleopatra, which I started on Monday determined to get ahead and find my groove with study. W and I took a little home educational trip to the library on Monday, she went and found books on her current home education topic, WW1, and I found a quiet spot to start studying.

Holding myself accountable I took my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera with me to record my study session (and see how many times I picked up my phone and procrastinated), forming my first proper “Study With Me” session, which you can watch here. I still have a lot to learn about SWM but if I can at least look back on my own studying and see progress then that is a win in my book.

I had (and still have) no idea what I was doing. It has been a long time since I have had to study but I know that Level 1 OU courses are designed to ease you in. I could have transferred credits from my HNC Graphic Design I completed many moons ago but I felt that it was too long ago and if I am going to do this I may as well start from the very beginning.

Easy Does It

Thankfully with the module website opening earlier it very gently eases you through the process of studying, even for brains full of dust bunnies like mines. Everything is right there at your fingertips and I just followed the guide. It told me to read the chapter, and I read the chapter. And already knowing what the first TMA (tutor-marked assignment) was asking for me it made it a little easier to start making some notes and highlighting where I thought I would need them.

Now for obvious reasons I cannot divulge what the TMA or any of it is asking but I will say that I am still confused but not too much about the material now. I may be studying Cleopatra and not even need this knowledge for the TMA but at any rate I will say that it has been rather interesting to learn so far. I even had a “OH, SNAP!” moment the other day when something between the online material and the module book made sense in my head.

Dust bunny brain 1.

If you would like to find out more about the topics I’m going to be studying in this module, the first step on the ladder toward my degree, then I made a little video discussing it.

With that I have the last of my notes on Cleopatra to organize while it is fresh in my mind.