And now panic!

I thought that registering and sorting out the payment last night meant that I had a place on M362. And then I checked my StudentHome page this morning - they are waiting for the return of the registration documents before I have a place on the course. Except that obviously I haven't received the registration documents, and even if I had, there is no way that I could get them returned by the end of today.

Panic.

I phoned the Regional Office for guidance. They gave me the phone number of the OU Registration Services. I telephoned and explained my predicament. It looks like I am going to be OK because I have at least registered before the cut-off date (today), but my application is not yet complete. I am not going to know for sure until after Christmas.

I have to wonder why that is not made clear when registering online. Even the email that the OU sent out November simply states that the closing date for enrolment is 22nd December for all students and nothing about allowing several days after registering for the application to complete. If we assume (dangerous!) that it takes one week for the letter to come out, get signed, and then returned, then the OU should close the online registration on 15th December at the latest and not the 22nd.

Oh well, fingers crossed.

Quandry - leads to positive action!

Well, from a night of indicision and quandry has sprung forth some positive action. I decided to listen to the uncertainty that was filling my head and have acted on instinct - along with some helpful advice - and just registered for the February 2011 presentation of M362. And just in the nick of time.

Old Java books now dusted off and ready!

Quandry

I have found myself in a big whirlpool of uncertainty. Until yesterday I thought I had my course plans all worked out for the next two years. And just in time because the closing date for February course applications is tomorrow. But last night I hardly slept at all - something was bothering me and I had this sence that M363, which I was about to sign up for, was not the right course to do next. That surprised me because I hadn't really thought about it. But all night I had this running through my mind - almost to the point where I was questioning whether I should even sign up for another Level 3 course just yet.

But come the morning, and after a little sleep, it suddenly struck me that I should do M362 next. And when I thought that, I found that I felt relaxed again. From what I understand, M363 is a lot of theory (nothing wrong in that) and a little programming, whereas M362 has a greater programming content. And I think that is what has swung it for me - because I have been away from studying for a couple of years (apart from S194 - which I have really enjoyed!) I need something that I can do well, really get into, and if it isn't programming that does that then nothing will do it. After that is out of the way then it will be time for M363.

Unless I change my mind again tonight. Last chance though - tomorrow is decision day!

Astronomy Domine

NOT a reference to the Syd Barrett penned Pink Floyd song – the first track from their first album, but to the fact that I have just signed up for S194 – “Introducing Astronomy”. I am making tentative steps back to studying and thought a short 10-pointer would be a good way to start. Having been out of the studying zone for so long I find that I have managed to fill all the time that I once spent studying with other activities.

However, time passes, and the 60-point M206 that I did back in ‘05 will cease to be countable towards a degree by 2013, so if I don’t get my arse in gear now then it will be too late and a shame to lose those points.

My two year hiatus from studying has also given me time to think about the direction that my studies take. I have been questioning whether a named degree “IT and Computing” is really what I want to achieve. The ‘problem’ is that my interests are far wider than just computing and the more I think about it, the more I find myself drawn to going for an ‘Open’ degree with a high computing content but also drawing in other strands such as some of the science modules. My current thinking is that a wider ranging degree will be more useful.

So S194 fulfills two functions – it acts a gentle re-introduction to study, and a door-way into the science modules.

But what comes next? Well, if S194 goes as well as I hope it might (time-wise) then I think that S104 will follow on. S104 is a 60-point deeper introduction to general science and ticks so many of the ‘interest’ boxes that I have. In fact, when I took my first steps towards a degree in 2003, the S104 predecessor (cunningly called S103) was an optional course for the IT and Computing degree and was on my list of ‘must-haves’. Alas, when S104 came along it was not included as an option, so by doing that course (and S194) I am already veering off in a different direction. Then it’s Level-3’s all the way.

Anyway, I have to say that I am really looking forwards to starting again. I have selected the November start-date for the Astronomy course – that should give me time to get my other activities in order.

And because this is going to be seperate from my main Computing modules I have decided to create a seperate blog for it, so if you are in the need of some astrocomical ramblings then...

To infinity and beyond….

Processing

‘Processing’ looks very interesting programming environment - I have been aware of it for some time but not really paid it any attention. Until now, that is.

The reason for my new interest is really down to my son. He had his 15th birthday last week and, like many teenagers (and us older ones), he is really into computers, games consoles (he can talk all day about PS3 and XBOX), and cars. But he has never shown any interest in programming. Which is a shame because I think he could be quite good at it – he is good at maths (much better than I was at his age), and is careful and logical (well, sometimes).

So, with all that in mind, I went searching for a birthday present for him. And I found this thing called an 'Arduino' - a microprocessor based I/O board that can be connected to a PC (or Mac), can be programmed, and interacts with the physical environment by means of various sensors, motors, bluetooth, ethernet, and so on.

To begin with, he did not appear to be that interested – it was the one birthday present that was left on the side, unlooked at. His other gifts were much more exciting. I wasn’t disappointed and I figured it would just be a matter of time before his curiosity got the better of him. And I was right. A couple of days later I noticed that the box had been moved. It’s contents had been layed out on his desk. I had a chat with him and, as expected, he said he was curious but really didn’t know what it was or what he should do with it. So, with my help/guidance, it was quickly set up, the Processing environment installed on his computer, the Arduino connected, and a few LED’s wired up. Within minutes we had a short program written that did nothing more exotic that flash the LED’s once a second. I then asked him what he would do to make the LED’s light up for 1 second but go out for just half a second. He soon had that figured and tested. His first computer program.

And I left it at that. There’s nothing more uncool when you are a teenager than having your dad show you everything.

The next day when I got home from work, he showed me how he had rewired the Arduino board to include a Light Dependant Resistor. And he has changed the program to to read the analog input from the LDR and use that value for the delay time in the LED flashing – so now he has a variable flash rate dependant on the ambient light in the surround environment. How good is that!

I think his next idea is to add a Heat Sensor, and he has already told me that he want to get hold of a accelerometer and a tilt sensor. Perhaps he is hooked. What have I done?