December 3, 2014
A special post to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3
What do you think of when someone says “special arrangements for disability”? Do you know anyone who lives with a disability?
According to the UN, there are over 1 billion people worldwide who live with some form of disability. Wherever they are in the world, they face not only physical barriers, but also social, economic, and attitudinal barriers. Since 1992, the UN has aimed to remove these barriers through public awareness and understanding, with an international observance on December 3. The Day seeks to mobilise support for disabled people and maximise their unique contributions in political, social, economic and cultural life.
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1 Comment | 
Student Voice Group | Tagged: disability awareness; disability; united nations; students; student voice; inclusive practice; student experience;, Distance Learning, Flexible Study, University of London | 
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Posted by Student Voice Group
July 4, 2014
In an attempt to make the summer vacations productive, I got a chance to enroll for the Understanding Research Methods course offered by University of London via Coursera. In case you have not heard of it, Coursera is a very famous website that offers massive open online courses or MOOCs for short, from universities around the world. The world’s best courses are offered free all year round which include topics and subjects ranging from computing and information technology, health and medicine, to social sciences, development, and even music and film.
Being a global leader in distance learning and flexible study, the University of London also offers courses designed and taught by professors of its lead colleges and institutes through Coursera. Some of them include Creative Programming for Digital Media & Mobile Apps, English Common Law: Structure and Principles, The Camera Never Lies, What future for education?, Enhance Your Career and Employability Skills, and more.
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1 Comment | Courses directed by LSE, Sociology | Tagged: Distance Learning, English, flexible learning, Flexible Study, International Programmes, Learning strategies, LSE, Reading, students, study independently, University of London International Programmes, UoL | Permalink
Posted by Sundus
May 12, 2014
Some inspiration from Steve Martin!
Here we are in the middle of exams. For me, two down and two more to go this week. So far so good, but this is always the most trying time in the process for me. I enjoy managing four courses at one time, but this year it is a bit of a strain because of my work schedule. My first two papers were alright. By that I mean I think I maintained my academic performance of last term. For me, that is really not the goal but this year it might be the best I can do. I am learning a lot along the way, which feels very rewarding in its own way. Still, I can do better and that is my goal this week.
To manage work responsibilities and exams I wound up with two all-night study sessions before each paper last week. Not ideal, but some good came out of it. First, being very tired meant I had to really focus on each sentence. My essay plans were good, and I incorporated criticism and points from the texts. But I did not word the argument as well as I could have. I forgot my key phrases that point out incorporation of scholarship, and differentiate it from my opinion. Handy Phrases like, ‘some criticism considers…’ and ‘if we accept that…….’ are very helpful ways to link points and evidence in a paper.
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5 Comments | English | Tagged: BA English, Distance Learning, English BA, Exams, Flexible Study, Goldsmiths, Graduation, Literature, revision, study tips, University of London, University of London International Programmes, UoL | Permalink
Posted by caowrites
May 4, 2014
What is exam day like for you? Despite planning a year in advance, for me, it always comes as a bit of a surprise when exam time is actually here. A little stress comes with this deadline that, combined with other responsibilities, can make me feel as if I forgot everything I ever knew. Then there is test taking anxiety, which for me, is another layer to be aware of and manage. I find it helpful to have a few strategies that help me remember material, and that remind me how to write a good essay.
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7 Comments | English | Tagged: BA English, Distance Learning, English BA, Exams, Flexible Study, FLIRT, Goldsmiths, Literature, PEECH, PEEL, Study, study plan, study techniques, study tips, studying, University of London, University of London International Programmes, UoL | Permalink
Posted by caowrites
October 25, 2013
Last month, one sultry afternoon I was busy in my office finalising a particularly delicate audit report, when my wife’s SMS queued in ‘…your Fedex box is in…’
Jumping off my chair, I dashed out, hopped into my car and navigated through the busy streets of Calcutta as if my life was on fire and reached home in no time! My wife’s eyebrows narrowed as if she was staring at a ghost ‘…are you well? All okay at the office…?’ My 14-year-old daughter was smart to sense my reason for exhilaration and wasted no time bargaining for her share of the pie for giving me my ‘box’. Twenty-four years after stepping out of college, 
I could feel my teenage excitement once again as I leafed through the fresh pages of my newly arrived University of London International Programmes LLB study guides. True, I had seen it all a couple of weeks earlier through the highly sophisticated prism of our ‘VLE’, but the reality of the ‘oven-fresh’ pages far overwhelmed all virtues of virtuality. I was rejuvenated, almost therapeutically.
So what, on earth, my friends questioned, did a (luckily) fairly well established business professional dream of, to be motivated into a UoL degree of law all over again? Honestly, the decision was driven not so much by the brain as much it was by the heart. The story goes a year back, when one day staring at the majestic Himalayas on a rather romantic holiday, my notion of career, fame and accomplishment suddenly took an unreasoned U-turn.
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18 Comments | LLB | Tagged: Calcutta, Distance Learning, Flexible Study, India, International Programmes, LLB, london, LSE, Student, University of London, University of London International Programmes, UoL, VLE | Permalink
Posted by KK
May 21, 2013
It has been an absolutely fabulous exam year. Sitting exams for four courses is challenging, but the changes to my study procedures over the year, my revising plan and the reality of multiple exams really helped me improve study outcomes and, hopefully, exam results. What I noticed about my exam experience this year, despite doubling my course load, is a much more focused process with better results, at least from my process point of view. This week I thought it might be helpful to others considering enrolling, or wondering what managing four courses is like, to see my Exam Diary. The schedule for my (BA English) papers started with one exam on 9 May and then three consecutive days, 14, 15 and 16 May. That’s eight interesting days, and a sixteen day revising process. Here’s what it was like:
1 May: My meta-exam revising strategy begins! At first I thought two days for each course would work but immediately realized that engaging with each course every day is more productive. The schedule that worked best for me was four sessions, one for each course, ideally of two to four hours each spaced throughout the day. This helped me maintain engagement with all the material I had to revise in an incremental process.
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10 Comments | English | Tagged: BA English, Distance Learning, English BA, exam diary, Exams, Flexible Study, Goldsmiths, Literature, Study, study plan, study techniques, study tips, studying, University of London, University of London International Programmes, UoL | Permalink
Posted by caowrites
May 10, 2013
Exams are usually memorable experiences for me. They are sometimes terrifying and unfamiliar, like my first year, and sometimes a bit funny, familiar and tinged with chagrin, like this year. All of the experiences seem to center around time. In my first exam year, time to study, time to revise, and time in the exam room was frightening to contemplate. The material, process, and experience were all unfamiliar. Somehow in the first year I managed the time constraints surrounding all three challenges while reading Renaissance Comedy. This year, once again, the controlling theme is time. Yesterday, exam day, it felt like a fairly humorous conspiracy was all centered on time. With four courses, and three exams next week, there really is no wiggle room with respect to time.
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Leave a Comment » | English | Tagged: BA English, Distance Learning, English BA, Exams, Flexible Study, Goldsmiths, Literature, Study, study plan, study techniques, study tips, studying, University of London, University of London International Programmes, UoL | Permalink
Posted by caowrites
