When I started the CMTs were fairly basic. They started tightening them up toward the end of my course when they also moved to using Blackboard to manage much of the interaction. The tests were largely multi-choice and short answers but that does not necessarily mean easy.

Each unit was scheduled so that you had to show progress and submit parts of the work at regular intervals. I cannot remember the exactly timing, but I think I always started work in earnest on the project after the earliest CMT. The “Major Project” units ran slightly differently, with an early justify your project submission and a weekly diary submission.

Apart from one semester I took off work, I did two units at a time with a full-time job. It was a manageable with a bit of discipline. With the projects, you can generally choose a topic to suit your interests and available time. If you have a 50 hr/week job, four kids and a live-in mother-in-law then you might struggle I made heavy use of my daily train to/from work to keep up the reading. The early units (like this one) are no too taxing in any case.

Cheers,
Chris

How did you find the CMTs (Computer Managed Tests) when doing SAO? What are they like? I’m just wondering how I’ll balance the essay, weekly postings, a project and the CMTs all at once over two units while working.

I was thinking I might start in earnest on the projects after the essay is submitted, otherwise I might go insane from work… being a complete newbie does have its pitfalls!

James

I’ve just started the SAO course, and was looking for some examples of projects to help guide me in what they were looking for (I got told they didn’t provide example projects).

Cheers again.

The HET602 unit is a quite gentle introduction and not heavily technical unless you want it to be. All the terminology and concepts areintroduced in the course material and reading. From memory, and subject to changes over the years, units typically provide a set of topics for the essay and project components. Alternatively, subject to supervisor agreement, you could choose your own topic for the project. Topics ranged from items targeting those with a more general or teaching interest through to those with mathematics background. You could get through the Masters level course without picking on anything too heavy mathematically. (This might have changed).

In the case of this particular exercise the topic was a given as was the simulator to run things in. I had an engineering mathematics base and some experience in simulation to build on; so I went with this topic.

Thanks for posting examples of your work when you did SAO. Did you have to come up with your own topic for the assignments, or was there a list of suggested projects as well?

I am thinking of starting HET602 but have no background in Astronomy – therefore your rather advanced project on Solar System dynamics has me scared for a newbie wishing to start out.

Cheers!