Exam in Ramadhan

Exams for the January semester fall in Ramadhan. I thought it would be no biggie until I find that the format for my exam question is a take-home examination, in the format of an essay (of course). I had thought to take leave on both exam days but competition is tough to apply for it. In the end, I managed to secure one of the days and wished hard that the roster maker would put me in a zone where it is less busy the next day. At the end of Day 2, I managed to write up my essay in between patients and complete them later at night at home.

Mental note: fight for leave. use whatever means necessary to have that leave. writing an exam answer in between patients is not a good idea.

On both days, the exam questions are released by 10am. Students have 24 hours to complete and submit it online. Therefore, on Day 1 I did have time to get groceries for my empty fridge at Lotus. The rest is the battle with time. To complete the essay, fetch the kids and prepare for Iftar.

A glimpse of starting the semester

I actually forgot I have an e-tutorial last night. I knew I had something pending. Instead, I lay in bed and binge-watched cleaning videos on Youtube. I think it’s that phase in life when I just want to clean and tidy up the garden a bit.

I’d have to watch the recordings later.

OUM student privileges

I am currently studying at Open University Malaysia doing BPSY.

BPSY – Bachelor of Psychology (with honours) will be my second degree and if Allah permits, I hope to further my studies in the same field. Being a student for the second time, a more mature student, I began to discover the many advantages one could have as a learner. It is not only about the student discounts while you travel – I utilized a lot of ISIC previously.. haha. But other perks. One such thing is access to journals and other academic literature.

Google Scholar can only get you into the world of literature at the window just to peek, at some journals. Perhaps only the abstract. It is the uni’s digital library that will unlock the door for you and let you sit in and read as many articles as you want. After all, OUM has probably paid a substantial amount of money to these databases so that students can access the literature. Indeed, I am beginning to love using the TSDAS digital library once I discovered the many things it can do. Which I will elaborate on as I go in the coming semester.

I can register on Proquest using my institution access and last semester I learned that some students and tutors use Mendeley. This is something new for me and only of recent have I heard about it from some of the Facebook Academia Figures I follow.

I have heard that I could also use my uni ID to get Spotify premium with a student price tag but I don’t really have the need for it yet. I am still okay with the adverts although Dell has been on the scene for quite some time now. Need a new advert. 🙂

Semester 7

Sem 7 is starting on the 12th of Jan.

I am taking 3 subjects. Macam tak kuat mental nak ambik 4.

This semester I will be undertaking

• Adolescent psychology
• Personality
• English for oral communication

Buying used OUM modules

I enrolled in my course in January 2020. At the time, most learning methods have shifted online. Learners are no longer required to buy a hard copy of the module. Instead, we can download our module from the online portal. In a way, the fees can be lowered down and it saves the environment too (to a certain extent). Even then, I still find myself with the need to print out parts of the module because of my tendency to highlight what I read and scribble anecdotes near the paragraph.

One of the subjects I have in Semester 6 is Basic Concepts of Information Technology. This particular subject has a lot of images which leads to me being uncertain on whether I should print it out or otherwise. After mulling over the issue, I decided to find a used copy of the module.

First I searched in groups on Facebook. No one was selling the module I wanted. I then tried Shopee and voila – I found a seller that sells it alongside another subject I will be taking next semester. He was selling it for RM15 per module. I bought two. The books arrived in good condition with a CD as well. I find it easier to study with a physical book.

The module is still in good condition. Perhaps I’ll sell it later on my Shopee store – Moon Chamber.