One of the students on the module made a forum post stating that they were "An Unhappy Bunny" and it seems they are not alone... It's interesting to read the posts to see why some people are dissatisfied.
Value for money enters into it and the course organisation is another aspect.
I haven't studied with the OU before so am not really in a position to compare but, according to some of the other students, other courses provide more and better learning materials than they do on this module.
We have been provided with an enormous Cisco Press book (at least 50% larger than any of the CCNA books) and that is the main learning material. Plenty of reading there...
I was rather surprised to find that Cisco no longer provide any CCNP online materials through the NetAcad site apart from end-of-chapter exams. The book is the official learning material. That for me is not a major problem since I bought all of the CCNA books myself as a) I prefer to read on paper rather than the screen and b) they are a good reference source. I have certainly found them useful while working on the current assignment. However several students have bemoaned the lack of any electronic version. The book is rather big to lug about.
The other aspect that they would like to be available in a downloadable electronic version is the course calendar. The course calendar (Study planner) is available on the module website but that obviously requires an internet connection that not everyone has while studying. This is a useful point for me to remember as an HE Programme Leader that having an electronic version of things like Schemes of Learning or Timetables available that students can easily download and print is pretty important. It would be nice to think that students, for example, had a copy of their assessment schedule stuck on the wall at home. Not so easy to do if it is only on Moodle...
Another aspect that seems to be causing problems is Netlabs. This is a facility whereby you can access real routers over the internet. This takes the place of Cisco's Packet Tracer network simulator for this course since Packet Tracer does not support all of the functions required for CCNP. To ensure that, in theory, everyone gets a chance of accessing the equipment there are rules about how long and how often you can book the equipment. As might be expected there is extreme pressure on the resource in the evenings when people return from work. Several people have their own lab set-ups (mainly sourced via eBay) and I am very lucky in having been able to borrow equipment from work to create a similar set-up. For distance learning, unless Cisco decide to increase the functionality of Packet Tracer, it is hard to see much of an alternative. There is actually another network simulator called GNS3 but that leads into murky waters since it requires Cisco IOS images which are copyright. I can certainly understand the frustration of those students struggling to access Netlabs and can see parallels with my own students for the very few modules where they can only access the software at the college (at least without major expense or finding another source...)
The final aspect that I want to comment on here is the course organisation...
Now I do appreciate that this is distance learning so we are never going to have the same sort of access to tutor support as classroom learning. However, as an HE tutor myself and one who has actually taught on a distance learning course and even passed a staff development module as an e-moderator, I have been a little surprised at how hands-off the course team seem to be... They rarely post in the forums unless someone is having a moan. When I was an e-moderator, we were encouraged to post regularly to stimulate conversation, to encourage, to prompt etc. I dare say that there is a fair amount of direct email conversation between students and their tutors but other students don't get the benefit of that...
I was also rather surprised to find that the first assignment requires us to critically evaluate a routing protocol that according to the Study Planner is not due to be covered until the after the assignment is due in. Having spent a fair amount of time recently reviewing and improving HE assignment briefs, this just seems plain wrong! The module leader tried to explain it away by saying that this is a post-graduate course and that there is nothing wrong with reading ahead. I beg to differ. What is the point of having a Study Planner if the Assignments are not aligned with it...
And my final thought is that when the issue of the Assignment was raised, I didn't participate in the conversation partly to avoid antagonising the tutors... Now if I thought that one of my students was holding back on expressing an opinion because they thought I would give them a bad mark, I would be quite shocked and almost think that they were questioning my professionalism. Which makes me wonder a) have my students NOT been telling me things because they think I might give them a bad mark and b) perhaps I should revisit the forum and add my opinion. It won't affect us but might help students in later groups...
Blimey, that post took a lot longer than I expected...
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