Reflection on my first term
My first term at university was a steep learning curve. I left school over 20 years ago, and whilst I continued with my studies (completing a number of different courses), I hadn’t embarked on a university degree before. So this was a first!
In this blog, I reflect on some of the challenges that I faced in my first term…
By ‘IT’ I mean, My Warwick App, Tabula, Moodle, Office365, OneDrive, OneNote, and the plethora of other IT ‘stuff’ that I was made aware of! This, for me, was one of the hardest parts of the first term. I’m not a technophobe, by no means, but I still found this a little overwhelming! I’ve got an iPhone (but I’m not big on using Apps), and I’ve used Moodle on a previous course at Henley College; but, that was the extent of my knowledge at the start of the first term. Thankfully, a fellow student on my Early Childhood course set up the My Warwick App for me – and to be fair, I found it pretty easy to use. Moodle and Tabula were also pretty self-explanatory. However, I’m still finding my way around Office365 and OneDrive, so, I’m planning on doing an IT course, on both, this term. Then, I’ll look at OneNote, EndNote, SharePoint, and anything else that I feel I still need to learn. I just need to remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!!
Using the library was an important part of my first term at Warwick. In the first term I learned how to search for a book and/or journal article online, I learned how to locate a book in the library and I learned how to renew a library book online. This may not sound like a lot to some, but for my first term I was pretty impressed with that knowledge!
The plan for my second term is to find out what else is on offer at the library.
Trying to find my way around campus has been a task. Warwick campus is big! For me, the ‘interactive campus map’ https://warwick.ac.uk/about/visiting/maps/interactive/ has been a great help. If you type in the room number that you want to find, it will show you the room/building, and you can also check where the nearest parking area is. I’ve also found it quite nice just to take a stroll around the campus. It not only gives me a break from my studies, but it has also helped me find my bearings (a little!). I think that, in my second term, I’m going to be a little bit more adventurous and not always take the same route to get to a building. You never know, by the end of my first year I might actually know my way around the campus!
A real bonus of studying at Warwick is the opportunity to enrol on ‘free’ workshops and IT courses. I enrolled on 4 workshops in my first term – Critical Thinking, Speed Reading, Delivering Effective Presentations and an Introduction to Academic Writing. I found each workshop enjoyable and well presented, and I feel that I learned something from each workshop that I attended. I will certainly be enrolling on further courses in the second term, especially those that will improve my IT knowledge and skills.
To find out more about the IT courses on offer, use the following URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/its/servicessupport/training/
To find out more about the Undergraduate Skills Programme workshops, use the following URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/events/ugworkshops/
The challenges highlighted above, are just a few of the many challenges I faced in my first term at Warwick. All-in-all, the first term was overwhelming but enjoyable. Sadly, I finished the term on a low, as I was ill for most of December with a cold, followed by an ears, nose and throat infection, which required 17 days of antibiotics! However, I was ready for the Christmas break, and I was well enough to enjoy a lovely Christmas with my family. Also, I got to see the New Year in with my husband, my daughter, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and an awesome fireworks display – at Disneyland Paris – which was pretty cool!
