OUMH1103

ACTIVITY 1
Introduction
Enrolling for courses with OUM is the greatest challenge I have ever faced in my
life. Being a student in secondary school level is not the same as being a student at tertiary
level. In secondary schools, I was being spoon-fed by teachers. As a tertiary student,
most of my learning will have to be managed on my own.
Being a Online distance learners as well as a working person, I am aware of the
many challenges that I have to faced if I want to attain success in my studies. I am pleased
to discover that OUM uses the blended learning approach that help me to work and at the
same time be a student to obtain a degree that will help me to further my career prospects.
Before i started my tutorial classes, i was invited by OUM to attend a workshop on
OUMs blended learning approach. I was introduced to the availability of technologies and
resources that can help me in my learning. I was very impressed by the amount of resources
available including MyVLE, a unique learning management system.
I signed up for 3 courses the first semester. One of the courses is Learning Skills for
Open and Distance Learners. In this course, I was taught on how to manage my learning
effectively, the strategies to cope with stress, and how to access online resources. The
resources available guide me to be an independent learner. Another aspect of being an
independent learner that i learned is to set academic goals. Setting both short term and long
term goals is one way for distance learners such as myself to self manage their studies
effectively. It motivates me to achieve my academic targets and help me to focus on my
studies with full concentration.

Short term academic goals, Obstacles faced and Resources available

My first short term academic goal is to set aside at least an hour every day to do all
my assignments. I am taking up 3 courses this semester: Learning Skills for Open and
Distance Learners. I have to complete the assignments for 3 courses, namely Learning

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Skills For Open And Distance Learners, English for Oral Communication and Principles of
Management.
There are many obstacles i face in completing my assignment. I do clerical works
that deal a lot with billing, making invoice, allowances and other administrative jobs.
Sometimes I have to travel to Labuan when the need arises or help out with courses and
seminars being held by the company for our clients. Though I am single, I sometimes feel
the demands of working and studying at the same time. I need to discipline myself to find
time to do my assignments.
To overcome this, I will try to break the assignments into smaller parts or units so
that it will be easier for me to keep track of my progress. I will find time during my off
days to surf OUM digital library, looking for relevant online resources that can help me to
do and complete my assignments. After collecting enough materials, I will have to set aside
at least an hour a day to start writing my draft. I will identify what time of day or night I do
my best work, and when I am able to access the Internet and my course materials. I will try
my best to stick to this schedule. In addition, I will find the most convenient spot such as
the public library to do my assignments without any interruptions from work, family
commitments as well as from other forms of distractions.
My second academic short term is to read topics to be covered before the start of
each tutorial class so that I will be more prepared in class. I have signed up for three
courses. My classes are held on Saturday and Sunday. Each of these courses has its own
course format and content. English for Oral Communication course, for example, allocates
40% oral presentation while another 60% is for the examinations grades.
I found myself having not enough time to read my module. When I start to read, I
always found myself staring at the first page for half an hour. After a few attempts at
reading, I will give up most of the times. I find it difficult to concentrate and focus on my
reading. Sometimes, my work commitments also need almost the same amount of attention
and I would find myself lost my focus and drained of energy. I always find myself
distracted when I attend classes because I did not keep up with my reading. Sometimes, this
will make me feel discouraged.

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One of the resources available for me as a learner is to set my priorities. Setting the
right priority will help me to achieve my goals even though it is not much. OUMs virtual
learning environment or MyVLE, is one valuable resource that I cannot do without.
MyVLE enhances my learning experience tremendously. MyVLE enhances my learning in
four ways on how: self assessment, course materials and reference, communication and
collaborative learning and resources and information sharing. In MyVLE, I can also find
out which course activities are most vital and concentrate on those that will affect my
performance most. Knowing all these will help me to plan ahead of time. This way, I will
be more prepared when I attend each class and know the expectations of each tutor and
each course.

Long term academic goals, Obstacles faced and Resources available

My first long term academic goal is to complete my degree in four years time. Each
academic year has 2 semesters. Thus, I will have to complete 8 semesters in order to obtain
the degree in my course.
I have been working with AsiaLab company for 3 years now. It is a company that
deal with radiation presence in drilled oil wells. I do clerical works as well as some
administrative works with the company. The job does not really pay well and sometimes
the stress of the job is not worth my time. I sometimes wish that I can better my career
prospects and upgrade my position to a well paid one after completing my education and
obtain a degree in Human Resource.
To complete 4 years of studying requires a strong self discipline. Setting goals that
are achievable, measurable and attainable is one of the ways to set me on the right track. if
I do not set my goals for learning, then I may not know if I have achieved something
worthwhile throughout the 4 years. I need short term goals for individual courses and
assignments and long term goals for my program of study and desired degree. Having these
goals will give me a clearer picture of what I need to do next to meet these goals. This in
turn will give me further motivation to improve my work.

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My second long term academic goal is to obtain at least 2.00 for my Grade Point
Average (GPA) at the end of each new academic year.
The obstacle that I face to obtain at least a score of 2.00 for my Grade Point
Average for each semester is to do my assignment well and try to obtain a C+ for each
course. . Students need at least the lowest passing grade for these compulsory courses.
Sometimes, they may pass their assignments but fail to make it in their examination or vice
versa. These situations can create stressful situations to students because they have to make
sure they do well in both their assignments and examinations.
To get a passing grade, I have to make use all kinds of help available being offered
by OUM to help me with writing my assignments and preparing for examinations.
Resources such as TSDAS digital library that contain numerous digital library materials as
well as online databases are such a great help to students such as myself, when doing our
assignments. I only have to click on the link on order to gain access to the digitalised
materials and online databases. Written assignments need to be substantiated with credible
facts taken from books, journals, articles and other documented papers. References have to
be cited in the write-up. These references can only be accessed by staff, patrons and
students through OUM online databases anytime, anywhere.
I have discussed my short term and long term goals, obstacles I face and resources
available for me to overcome my problems. I hope that I can be a successful and
independent learner at the end of the program.
.

ACTIVITY 2
I had discover a lot of positive aspects of MyVLE in completing my assignments.
At the beginning, i was not so sure of how to use MyVLE and I had refereed a lot to OUM

OUMH1103

staff to help me navigating MyVLE. There are several ways how MyVLE has helped my
learning experience.
The Self Assessment Tool helps me to self-assess myself by trying out the quizzes
in the Quiz section. It also contains practice questions which enable me to test my progress
and as many times as possible, at my own pace and time. This is also a form of revision in
preparation for the semester end examination. For working students who find it difficult to
fit revision time into their busy working schedules, this is a great opportunity to revise the
lessons.
The Course Content and Assignment contains the updated and current
information or course content of the materials I need which can be accessed anytime and
anywhere. Even without my module, I am able to download the course materials without
much hassle. These course materials are usually accurate and easily available by
downloading the files. Assignment questions for each course are also easily downloaded
and saved in softcopy form.
The Communication and Collaboration section contains online forum and email
which allows students to communicate with one another from all over the country on any
topic related to the course and assignment. We can discuss on problems we faced in the
course of doing their assignments. This also gives us the opportunity to give advices and
suggestions and help one another. Besides, we can also learn from our peers and tutors with
just a click of the mouse. Other resources such as Gmail, Online Discussion Forum and
chat are also provided to enable students to interact with others and access information
online. The Online Discussion Forum is a virtual classroom where discussions on important
issues related to course contents are discussed.
Lastly, the Useful Resources section contains extra information in the learning
module that could be used as additional resources for our course such as Youtube, iRadio
and website. These resources are helpful when i need to look up on additional materials to
substantiate my points and arguments. They also help me with a better understand of my
course materials. As much as possible, OUM tries to cater for all learning styles
kinaesthetic, visual, auditory and tactile which is an applaudable effort.

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To conclude, MyVLE has indeed been a great help to me in accessing relevant

information online and completing my assignment.

ACTIVITY 3

A.

An academic article in the peer reviewed journal (Attachment 1)

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The article entitled Gender differences and similarities in the leadership styles and
behavior of UK managers by Oshagbemi & Gill (2003) published in women in
Management Review, Emerald Insights, discusses whether there is any differences and
similarities between men and women in the leadership role. The study was carried out
among UK managers on their leadership style and behavior.
The study was carried out through conducting survey, specifically questionnaires,
among 242 male managers and 163 female managers randomly chosen from the key UK
enterprises. They came from all kinds of industries including financial services, utilities,
IT/Telecommunication, and public sectors. Besides indicating their gender, the managers
are also asked the frequency they use four leadership styles directive, consultative,
participative and delegative in their day -to-day activities. They are further asked on their
leadership behaviours: laissez-faire, management-by-exception, contingent reward,
individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation or idealized
influence in their activities.
The findings suggest that women managers delegate less than their male
counterparts thought they tend to display controlling behavior compared to men managers.
However, there is little difference between male and female managers in terms of directive,
consultative and leadership styles. In terms of leadership behavior between men and
women, there is little difference in the other six aspects of leadership behavior except in
terms of inspirational motivation.
The study concludes that there is more similarities than differences between men
managers and women managers. The implications of the study suggest that working with
male managers and female managers does not affect the performance of employees in any
significant way.
B.

A published conference paper (Attachment 2)

In the 9th proceedings of the Distance Learning and the Internet Conference 2008,

Koraneekij (2008), published his paper on An effect of Levels of Learning Ability and
Types of Feedback in Electronic Portfolio on Learning Achievement of Students in
Electronic media for Education Subject which discussed the study of effect of levels of
learning ability and types of feedback in an electronic portfolio on learning achievement of
students in electronic media production for education subject.

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The use of E-portfolio, in various media forms, allows the students to collect and organize
their learning activities. According to Barrett (2000), the portfolio could be used as a reflective tool
to show a students progress over time. E-portfolio an also be used by teachers to make formative
and summative evaluation.

Koraneekij conducted his study on 113 students who enrolled in Electronic Media
Production for Education Subject were divided into 6 groups: 3 control groups and 3 experimental
groups. The control groups received feedback type 1 (the assessment feedbacks were excellent,
good, average and improving needed then scoring) while the experimental groups received
feedback type 2 (the assessment feedback were similar to the type 1, with the suggestions of errors
and methods of improvement).The experiment was conducted for 5 weeks. The instruments were
the learning ability test, learning achievement test and E-portfolio management system on web.
Descriptive statistic, One way ANOVA and Two way ANOVA were used to analyse the data
gathered.
Findings suggested that there was an interaction between levels of learning ability and
types of feedback on learning achievement of students in electronic media production for education
subject at 0.05 level of significant. To develop an E-portfolio of the student, an instructor needs to
give specific feedback to students, including scoring, specifying errors and some advice on how to
improve their work. In this way, the students can use the information, which would improve their
learning achievement as well.

C.

An article in the book in the discipline which was published between 2005 and
2007. (Refer to Attachment 3)
The article entitled Adult Learners: What you need to know written by Rogers

(2007) in the book Adults Learning (5th Edition) (p7 15) discusses cognitive dynamic of
learners in the learning process. There are several factors that contribute to the success or
failures of adult learners: anxiety, memories of school, and challenge to beliefs. These
factors influence the adult learners perception of learning.

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Adult learners need to manage change in order to be successful. According to

Rogers (2007), change is at the heart of learning (p.10). Change should happen before
learning takes place. However, people only change when change itself is rewarding.
Fishers Process of Transition curve (In Rogers, 2007) outlines eight stages of change,
namely, anxiety, happiness, fear, threat, guilt, depression, gradual acceptance and moving
forward.
He also discussed the theory of The ladder of competence whereby competence
is acquired through enough practice and careful planning. A learner needs to go through the
five levels in order to attain the required competence: unconscious incompetence,
conscious incompetence, conscious competence, unconscious competence, and thinking
competence.
At the unconscious incompetence level, a learner have no idea what he or she does
not know and may deny that he or she needs to know it. At this stage, a teachers job is to
help the learner to uncover the truth and help them to cope with the learners dismay at
having discover the truths about themselves.
At the conscious incompetence level, a learner has to cope with his feelings of
trying to come to term with his lack of skill. He or she may feel that he or she will not be
able to cope with learning. A teacher can help the learner by simplifying the tasks for them.
At the conscious competence level, the learner learns his or her way around. It
may sometimes feel unnatural and clunky but a teacher may reassure him or her that it is a
natural feeling and it will get better.
At the unconscious competence level, learner begins to internalise his or her
learning. He or she has confidence in his or her ability to control his or her learning.
Learning takes place without he or she is being aware of it.
At the thinking competence level, learning takes place automatically. The learnings
process is as natural as breathing to the learner. The only danger the learner has to be on the
lookout for is being complacent about his or learning and thinks that he or she already has
all the skill and knowledge that he or she needs.

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In conclusion, when it comes to learning, adult learners are faced with their own
systems and beliefs that go against them. They will have to face these challenges and adapt
to change that will bring great rewards to them in future.

ACTIVITY 4

OUM has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of learning experiences.

Before starting my course, I was worried that I would not be able to complete the program.
I did not understand much about the program and the course and worried a lot. In short, I
did not know what to expect from this program and course.
However, after attending a few sessions of briefings and tutorials, I find myself
gaining confidence and my thinking changed from being negative to being positive. The
OUM staff was friendly and helpful to provide much needed information when being
approached. The modules for the courses were very helpful and it gave me the confidence
to study. I was also exposed to the online resources that I found very helpful and easy to

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access. The short tutorial given by OUM staff on how to use MyVLE to access online
databases and digital resources in TSDAS was a big eye opener for me. In my free time, I
tried to access MyVLE and familiarise myself with the features and contents found in
MyVLE. I tried out the iRadio, and podcasts to discover the kinds of materials contained in
them. I even tried to download my assignment questions. I was very happy to know that I
could access past year questions as well as materials through the numerous online
databases and digital library.
Next, the tutors were friendly and helpful in explaining the course content, course
materials and assignments. They also gave a lot of guidance and showed us how to access
information online and self-assess ourselves. When given assignments to do, I was worried
that I could not do them. When I read the questions, I found it very confusing and difficult
to understand. Fortunately, the tutors explained and clarified the assignments to us during
tutorials. They also gave enough guidance t us that we are able to do our assignments and
submit the assignment on time.
My overall learning experience is one of a pleasant one. I am confident of my
ability to do my assignment, read my modules, prepare for my examinations and at the end
of the program, to obtain the degree that I have been dreaming of all my life.

REFERENCES
Barrett, H. (2000). Create Your Own Electronic Portfolio. Learning & Leading with
Technology Vol. 27, No. 7, pp. 14-21
Koraneekij, P. (2008). An Effect of Levels of Learning Ability and Types of
Feedback in Electronic Portfolio on Learning Achievement of Students in Electronic Media
Production for Education Subject. Paper presented at the Ninth Distance Learning and the
Internet Conference 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2014 from Digital Library for ICT and
Education/ EdITLib in OUM digital databases.
Oshagbemi, T., & Gill, R. (2003). Gender diefferences and similarities in the
leadership styles and behavior of UK managers. Women in management Review, (18): p.

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288-298. Retrieved 21 November 2014 from Emerald Insights Journal in OUM digital
databases.
Rogers, J. (2007). Adult Learners: What You Need to Know in Adults Learning (5th
Edition). Buckingham, GR: McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved 27 November 2014 from
ProQuest ebrary in OUM digital databases.