Steve, Cornwall

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GCSE Classical Civilisation

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Archaeology

I began studying AS Archaeology with Lynn Bright’s College on the Net in 2005, pursuing a childhood interest in the subject. I very quickly became hooked! The lessons were fascinating and easy to follow, and I found that I could fit in study periods between work and home commitments without difficulty.

The assignments were interesting and challenging, and Lynn’s excellent feedback really helped me to gain the maximum from each lesson.

However, be warned! I was enjoying the course so much that I started to consider archaeology as a potential second career (mid-life crisis according to my husband!) and to look at ways to further this ambition.

Here again, Lynn was very supportive, and was able to point me in exactly the right direction. 

So I am now enrolled with the University of Leicester Distance Learning Department to study for an MA in Archaeology and Heritage.

I never believed that any of this would have been possible earlier this year, but it is down to Lynn’s course and her personal encouragement and support that it has become a reality for me.

I would like to encourage anyone thinking of studying with College on the Net to sign up and get stuck in. You never know where it might lead you!

My only regret is that I have had to discontinue my AS course and my studies with Lynn, although I do hope to keep in touch with her in the future.

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Archaeology

My route into College-on-the-net came about from an interest in history (especially pre-medieval Britain) and then enjoying Time Team and similar programmes on TV. I thought it would be interesting to study archaeology to find out more about how it all worked, and how it could improve my understanding of history. After a quick 'Google' I realised there was a GCSE course, which seemed the right level of knowledge I was looking for - a good and broad grounding in the subject. College-on-the-net offered distance learning, which for a commuting full-time worker with parental commitments seemed purpose-built.

I was impressed from the start with the wealth and quality of material made available, and the support given by Lynn as tutor. It may be better to skirt over exactly how long it took me to complete the course, but I have now been awarded an A grade in the 2005 exams and enjoyed the process so much that I have promptly signed up for GCSE Classical Civilisation. The attractions for me are: very interesting topics; well presented with good links for further research (so you can do as much or as little on a topic as you like); the marked assignments help you measure your progress and get helpful feedback; excellent tutor support; and - probably most important of all - it is incredibly flexible, you can fit it into tiny portions of time which all add up. So I would quite often spend an odd 15-30 mins waiting in the car for a train or child and get out my notes to keep the momentum going. For people with a busy schedule it makes studying possible.

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Archaeology

This is the story of how I got into studying archaeology, which I hope may help others who are considering studying the subject. I had been interested in archaeology for many years. We often spent our weekends at one archaeological site or another! Even our holidays seemed to centre on archaeologically rich areas! We were returning from Norfolk one Sunday evening and I mentioned to my husband that I quite fancied doing a course in archaeology. He thought it was a good idea so I decided to research the sorts of courses available. I was working full time and knew that distance learning, if possible, would be a good choice for me. Then I discovered ‘College on the Net’. I looked at the course details carefully and thought it was just what I was looking for. The content looked extremely interesting, I could do it in my own time, and it was affordable! Eventually, I registered for the GCSE course. I loved the lessons; they were good to work through and I really felt focussed on them. I religiously completed the ‘Tutor Marked Assignments’; they were not compulsory, but I was feeling a growing dedication to the subject. My course tutor, Lynn, was great at all times. The TMA’s were sent by e-mail, so that was easy and Lynn would mark them and return them to me, always with good, useful comments! If I had a problem or wanted to talk about part of the course Lynn was always able to e-mail or talk on the telephone.

So, all was going swimmingly until ‘disaster’ struck! I missed the deadline for registration for the GCSE exam with AQA! After some debate with Lynn and my husband, I decided to register for the AS level exam instead (as there was still time)! I did some linking lessons to ‘upgrade’ my knowledge and to my utter amazement, I got an ‘A’ grade in the exam in 2003! I was highly motivated by my studies at this point, so did not hesitate to register for the A2 exams, which I sat in June. My confidence in the subject and dedication continued to grow, through a combination of self-motivation, good study materials from College on the Net, and the support of my family. I felt a great achievement in August therefore, when results arrived, and I achieved an ‘A’ grade for the whole A level! (What a relief I missed the GCSE deadline after all!)

Therefore, for anyone who is interested in archaeology and wants to do some study of the subject, I would highly recommend the courses with College on the Net. They are flexible to work with and entertaining to read through. When I first began, it was just on an ‘interest only’ basis, I did not realise how much I would become so involved with and passionate about the subject! However, although my studies with ‘College on the Net’ have sadly ended, my story does not stop there! I am now studying with Leicester University, School of Archaeology and Ancient History! Their distance learning department is very good and I am doing the first module, ‘Aims and Methods’, of the first year undergraduate course. You can take various routes at Leicester. For a first year undergraduate degree course, you would need to complete six modules, each lasting 12 weeks. This will give you a ‘Certificate in Archaeology’. If you already possess a degree in an unrelated subject, (as I do), completion of two modules will normally allow you to apply for the Masters degree in ‘Archaeology and Heritage Management’. This is the route I am hoping to take, but only time will tell what happens! In a great ‘leap of faith’ this year I resigned from my teaching career after 15 years, to focus more on archaeology! So who knows what will happen in the future!

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Archaeology

I decided that I wanted to study archaeology a year and a half ago. I wasn’t sure how to go about it as having to work five and a half days a week makes it difficult to attend a course. I found College on the Net, through Learn Direct and started my AS level course. The work is really well presented and easy to follow and I was amazed at how quickly I was filling folders with my own notes. I took the AS level exam on the 11^th June and will get the results in August. It has been so long since I last sat an exam I was caught out a bit by the amount of time permitted for each paper, if the results are a disaster I shall re sit the exam in January!

 I am now working on my first module of a certificate with Leicester University Distance Learning dept. I may continue with the A2 part of my A level work, although I’m not sure yet as to whether I can put enough time aside for doing a project.

I would certainly recommend College on the Net, to anyone, who was looking to do a distance learning course. Lynn is always encouraging and supportive and the system of E mailing assignments , works really well. Having started studying again, I really don’t want to stop and would like to be able to continue all the way through to degree level if possible.

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Archaeology

College-On-The-Net allows me the flexibility to study archaeology in the peace and privacy of home without disruption to daily life. Although classed as 'distance learning', this is misleading as my tutor has been very approachable and easily contactable throughout. More than enough information is provided in the form of links and recommended texts etc, and useful feedback is a regular part of the courses.

There is no pressure or obligation to take exams but I sat the GCSE and AS exams gaining grades A and B respectively and  now look forward to studying and taking the A2 part. I feel that the courses prepared me to a high standard for exam level and can provide an excellent platform to undertake further study on the subject, which is what I intend to do.

Archaeology

Jonathan won the Young Archaeologist Award 2000 and we wanted to learn a bit more about archaeology and came across College on the Net. We set about the course in October 2002 - initially to learn what people where talking about at archaeology club. In the end we sat the exam in July 2003, and Jon got D pass (age 12 !!)  and Kate a B pass. Not bad saying we only studied in between full time work and full time school/cricket/rugby etc. Working with Lynn on the internet was superb.  Any questions quickly answered. The work itself was easy to follow and the links opened up a new world on the internet. We are now working on the GCSE Classical Civilisations. Many thanks to Lynn for her time and help.

Archaeology

I found the on line course informative, interesting and fun. The work was presented in a clear and agreeable fashion with plenty of interesting and relevant links and sources. The help I received was exceptional. Lynn Bright proved to be easy to get in touch with, very helpful and infinitely patient with my sometimes rather foolish enquiries. I would recommend the online learning course to anyone who asked me.

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AS-LEVEL ARCHAEOLOGY STUDY WITH 'COLLEGE-ON-THE-NET'

             After a career as an Air Traffic Controller followed by several years raising a family, I needed a new challenge.  The children, although still young, were in full-time education and the Richard and Judy Show was beginning to lose its appeal!  However, I had no desire to return to Air Traffic Control and taking a mundane part-time job to pass the time was simply not an option as far as I was concerned.  It was 2001 and I was 42 years old. 

             Around this time I was in conversation with a friend and I happened to mention that I had had a lifelong, unfulfilled interest in all things archaeological.  Like a bolt from the blue, the answer to my boredom was suddenly obvious.  I should educate myself in the subject.  Sadly, this proved to be more difficult than I imagined.  Archaeological courses, particularly at A-Level, were simply not available to mature students anywhere within a reasonable commuting distance.  This prompted me to turn to the internet.

             The search engine quickly located College-on-the-Net and I registered for the A-Level Archaeology Course.  At the same time I also registered to do an Ancient History A-Level with another Distance Learning company and, to fulfil my new aspirations, felt compelled to apply for a University place beginning in the following September/October.

             College-on-the-Net was able to offer me exactly what I needed - total flexibility.  I downloaded lessons and worked through them whenever I had the time.  The work was very interesting and did not at any stage interfere with my domestic arrangements.  I worked at my own pace, in my own home.  The lessons were comprehensive and the marking of the assignments produced constructive, helpful comments.  I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the course.  For various reasons, I only completed the AS-Level, mostly because Reading University was happy to accept me with 1 A-Level and 1 AS-Level, and the coursework associated with the Archaeology A2-Level would have been more difficult to undertake than the Ancient History syllabus which did not involve coursework.

             Sorting out a venue to sit the exams did cause some problems but I eventually found two schools 10 miles away who would allow me to sit the exams alongside their 'very young' students.  However, to my mind, the Archaeology exams were an absolute disaster and I came away feeling utterly embarrassed by my dreadful attempts to answer the questions.  It was a wonderful surprise, therefore, to get an 'A' grade, with the first 2 modules achieving 100% and the third achieving 94%!  I decided I must be a natural!

             As a consequence, a year after the idea of pursuing an archaeological interest came into my head, I found myself at Reading University as an undergraduate.  I have now completed my first year there and have enjoyed every single minute of it.  There are several mature students and we have all been made to feel very welcome.  I started full-time but, without the same flexibility that I had enjoyed while studying the A-Levels, I was unable to balance home life with university life.  I therefore transferred to part-time and can now choose modules to fit around my children's needs.  Furthermore, the Archaeology A-Level course covered much of the syllabus that we studied in the first year of the Practical Archaeology module so I felt ahead of the game, and I got an 'A' in the Practical Archaeology exam.  I have also just spent 3 weeks working on the training dig in the Roman town of Silchester which was superb - and I have bought my own trowel so I must be a real archaeologist now!

             It's fair to say that the College-on-the-Net has changed my life.  Two years ago I made a decision to get myself up and do what interested me.  It was the best decision of my life (after marriage and children, obviously!).  Thanks Lynn.

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Archaeology

     Having decided that I wanted to do an Archaeology degree I thought that it would be a good idea to take an A Level in the subject first, but I couldn't find anywhere in my local area that ran such a course. I happened upon College on the Net through an internet search for Archaeology courses.Though apprehensive about studying alone, feeling that I would lack support from my tutor, I decided to give the College a go anyway. I need not have worried. My tutor responded promptly to e-mail queries, assignments were marked and returned quickly, and I enjoyed being able to work at my own pace.The lesson notes were easy to understand and incredibly detailed with a good range of web links and reading lists. In effect, what you get is an interactive textbook that never goes out of date as the web links are constantly updated. Past papers and mock exams were sent at the relevant times by post, so I was well prepared for the exam. Not only did I pass with an 'A', I only dropped 7 marks in the whole exam!
       I'm now studying for a BA at UCL's Institute of Archaeology and enjoying every minute of it. An A level in Archaeology gave me a distinct advantage over my peers since few courses at this level are run in schools or colleges. I actually found that there was some overlap between the A Level and my first year of University, and I discovered that the help that I had gained from College on the Net didn't stop with the end of my course. My College on the Net lessons (to which I still have access) were surprisingly, in many cases, far superior to my university lecturer's notes, and I even used some of them as references for essays.
       If you enjoy archaeology, want to supplement existing qualifications or just try the subject out before going further as I did, you should seriously consider this course.
 

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Archaeology

I completed the GCSE Archaeology course last year and found the website and online teaching methods great.  Lynn was my tutor and she was always ready to help.  Whenever I emailed her with a problem I got a quick precise reply.

Thanks to College On The Net I went on excavation training at Fishbourne Roman Villa and left feeling confident enough to go on and apply for others.  I also met other students from College On The Net courses on the excavation.

I am planning to continue my studies with College On The Net by doing my AS Archaeology this year.

Carry on the good work College On The Net.  It’s a great idea for full-time employees like myself to learn about the wonderful world of Archaeology.

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ArchaeologyI

 originally started the online course as my college were not running A2 Archaeology and I really wanted to continue my learning. Lynn (my tutor) was a big help, and when the college decided to run the course the web based learning served as a backup giving me a lot of extra material case studies etc). The lessons were easy to follow and I learnt a lot from them. I finally got my A2 grade this summer. The total grade was a B, but a majority of that came from the coursework, which could not have been done without the support from the website and staff. This year I start an Archaeology degree at Reading University, and want to thank college on the net for all the help they have given me in getting there. My advice to anyone would be to take the course and enjoy it, I did.

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Creative Writing

'My experience of the online appraisals is that:

-  they are: flexible in time - as opposed to writing classes,

- objective - perhaps as opposed to the ego charged writing classes,

- painful - in that they tell you what you need to know, rather than what you want to be told.'