rosepetal Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 HI, I am due to finish E123 and E124 in May, I was just wondering for those of you who are also due to finish E123 and E124 in May, have you thought about what your next Foundation Degree course wil be, I am thinking about doing E115. I was also wondering what is the time scale before I can register for E115, as I am not sure if I have to wait to mkae sure I pass E123 and E124 before i can register for the next course. I will have to phone the OU and find out. Good luck to everyone who is just starting the E123 and E124, I am sure you will find the topics very interesting and very thought provoking. Rosepetal
Glen Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 Hi I am finishing E124 in May as well and have registered for E115. You have to phone to register, but they have since sent me details and posted it on my home page. It does not start untill October so I am looking forward to a little break. Have you done TMA 2 yet. I have done quite a lot but it needs finishing off. Just back from Majorca and have Pre-School stuff to prepare. Nevermind it is a short term until Easter. Glen
Gezabel Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 I am not due to finish E123 and E124 in May but have completed the Foundation Degree with the OU and therefore thought I would share my thoughts - hope that's OK. When I was choosing courses I was in a slightly different position in that not all the courses for the FD were available. I have been a 'guinea pig' throughout my study as every course I have done (including my current one) has been a first presentation. I would be interested to know whether you have chosen E115 as your next course because it is the 'next on the list' of courses for the Foundation Degree? You do not have to study E115 after E123/124. The list of courses is done showing all the level 1 courses together, level 2 together etc. Why I am asking is because in E115 you will be introduced to EYCLO's (Early Years Core Learning Outcomes) and there are 12 of these. During the course you gather documentary evidence of your practice and complete the 12 EYCLO forms accordingly. When you come to do E215 you will meet the EYCLO's again. It is possible to use some of the evidence you used in E115 but if there is a huge gap of time between finishing E115 and starting E215 then your evidence will probably not be recent enough. I found that E215 builds on E115 and was glad that I studied them one after the other with no great gap! I don't know if you have thought about which route you will take for your level 2 study - I chose to do E243 and E230 both of which were superb courses ( I have heard fantastic reports about U212 as being a brilliant course) and I was glad I had studied them before I did E115. Hope this isn't sounding garbled! If you look at the OU description of the FD you will see that they state you must have completed all your level 1 study before doing E215 - indeed this course is the last course for the degree and the OU highly recommend you complete your level 2 study before starting E215. (though you can study level 2 alongside E215 they just don't recommend it!) and having done E215 I am certainly glad I was not doing another course too! I do know students who have done E123. E124, E115, then their level 2 choice, E215 and though some found it fine others wished they had done level 2 before E115. Sorry not trying to interfere just thought I would share my experience! I wish you the very best of luck with your studies and hope you are enjoying it all
Guest cathy m Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 Hi rosepetal I'm in the same siuation as Geraldine and was also a guineau pig for all but one of the courses I studied I did E123, E124, E115 U212 (loved it) E215 and currently the new KE312 hopefully to achieve the BA. I was pleased to have done U212 inbetween all the EYCLO's as E115 is very time consuming and requires gathering so much evidence of actual practice. However, looking back it has certainly made me extremly reflective and improved my practice. I am glad I did U212 before E215 because it gave me a break from evidence gathering (lol) but I could then really see how much stronger my eveidence was between the 2 courses. Apologies to anyone wondering what on earth all the numbers mean (over dose of E numbers!!) Cathy
Aunt Sally Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 How are you finding KE312? Is it similiar in style to E115/ E215? I ask because I too completed my F Degree and was a Guinea Pig all along the way. ......because of this I was really put off from doing KE312 despite the fact I do need to top up my degree. I didn't really enjoy E115 or E215 though I do agree that they helped me to become a better practitioner and more reflective. I found all the evidence collecting so time consuming. I loved U212!
dublinbay Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 Many thanks for your replies, Geraldine and Cathy. I will be in Rosepetal's position in October and will need to choose the next course to do. You have both made things a lot clearer. I had a list of level 1 and level 2 courses and the order in which they had to be done and what you said agreed with this. I'm looking forward to E115 as I love gathering evidence (don't laugh) and to find E215 was somewhat the same had me in raptures!!! Thanks for sharing and good luck in your studies Rosepetal - you can almost see the end.
Gezabel Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 Hi Well it is early days as we are only into week 3 of KE312 but so far so good and I am loving it It is nothing like E115/E215. There are 3 courses books (so far only received book 1) there are a total of 20 Learning Guides during the course ( best similarity would be to compare them to 'study topics' in previous courses) which contain activities. These learning guides are only available on line (though you can print them off) and some of the activities require finding/reading information online. It really is quite straightforward - just follow the instructions and online links! The only similarity with E115/215 that I can see so far is that there are compulsory tutor group forum participation (four during the whole course). The only thing I am not looking forward to is the exam but will worry about that nearer the time . I can't realistically expect to get to BA level without an exam somewhere along the line. It feels strange to be back studying and being able to say my first TMA is due in on March 14th - oh and I nearly forgot for each TMA there are 2 otpions to choose from. With regard to E115 I am not laughing at anyone looking forward to it. To be totally honest when I first got the material it was a shock to the system as it is sooo different in style from 123.124/230/243 that I had done previously. It took awhile to get used to the style and to get to grips with all the acronyms you meet but it is well worth sticking with it until the 'fog' lifts and the you will just go from strength to strength. E215 I REALLY enjoyed - yes there are the EYCLO's again and the addition of Route Learning Outcome Forms but the research aspect was great So Dublinbay carry on enjoying your 'raptures' I am sure you will LOVE both courses and if you get a blip along the way just give me a shout. Debbington from what I have seen/done so far with KE312 I would say go for it! It all seems straightforward, well presented and I can't criticise it at all but of course it is early days!!
dublinbay Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 Thanks for that Geraldine. Good luck with this new course, sounds like it will keep you busy for a while.
Aunt Sally Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Thanks Geraldine part of me wishes that I had started it but the exam really did put me off. I did one in U212 and although nowhere near as stressful as I had imagined I don't relish reliving it. A uni does a top up near me which I will possibly consider as it is in September and I don't know if I can wait until Feb 09 as i don't imagine the results will be out until Dec/ Jan 09/10 which is almost two years away....eek. It's probably too late for me to catch up now. I don't know about you I was left exhausted from the fdegree and I am now working as an UQT which is demanding!! Anyway good luck!!
Guest Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Hi everyone I am also doing my foundation degree with the Ou and currently studying E215 where Im finding the workload intense. I have just completed all my eyclos for TMA 08 and I am now working on a discussion paper. I would however quiet like to get a BA but need a course similar to U212 and that didnt need to be related to term time. So I could do my work more effectively. However I have learned alot about my practice and being a reflective practitioner with more confidence in delivering the curriculum and putting ideas forward. Hard work but it will be worth it. Good luck everyone Sara
Guest Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Hello I am actually on a 'Study' day off work and as I'm having my lunch I'm on this site. I have completed my Foundation Degree as well and am topping it up with KE312. I really did not enjoy E115 and found the evidence gathering and cross referencing really time consuming. I agree that it may be a good idea to do these side by side as the 'evidence' seems to follow through. This means that you need to do another course in between the end of E124 and starting E115. I did working with Children and Families ( I think it was called K2100?) which I really enjoyed and it was relevant to my position at the time, I managed a Neighbourhood Nursery.This course had an exam at the end which scared me a great deal as it was a LONG time since I had sat on a little desk in a quiet room with lots of others to take a written paper. I passed so decided to carry on! I have also just started the Working Together for Children (KE312) and am really enjoying the content of the course, the ETMA bit is a bit strange but we got our results back super quick so that was great. On to TMA 2, it is good to get a choice of question as well. If I pass this then I shall achieve the BA in Early Years, and if I pass my Maths GCSE, will also get my Early Years Professional Status as I am on the Long Pathway with the NDNA as part of the OU. So carry on everyone - Onwards and Upwards ! Teri
dublinbay Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Just wanted to say hello to you Sara and to welcome you to the forum. Good luck to you in your studies and also to you Teri.
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