Last Blog Post :(

Hello Everyone,

Yes, this is my last blog post of the year which is actually quite sad. I have enjoyed posting and reflecting back on the weeks gone by.
I do have some exciting news which is that I will hopefully be back next year! I'm over the moon about the fact that I could be carrying on my blog as I think it's such a benefit to both you all reading it, but also for myself too.

Readers are able to get a real inside scoop on what their university life will bring for them and even better if you're hoping to study teaching at the University of Bedfordshire! Those of you who are have been given a real good head start in a way as you know in some respects what to expect from your first year and I would love to be able to carry on and tell you all about how you second years will pan out.

I'd like to thank everyone who read any of my posts throughout the past year and also the people who gave me the opportunity to start this blog. It's been a great experience and I will hopefully get to speak to you all soon!

Good luck to everyone getting their results this month, I hope you all get what you achieve and maybe see those of you hoping to attend UoB next year!

Video blog of my year at the University of Bedfordshire

This post is going to be a video presentation showing an overview of my first year of university. I hope you all enjoy it!

Review of First Year from meganloveys1234

Birthday Celebrations and Another Holiday on the Cards?!

As you may have already guessed it was my birthday on Thursday! I had a wonderful day and got spoilt rotten! I have been celebrating, I went out last weekend and last night I went to BBQ with some uni friends which was nice to catch up and see them, it ended up to be a really good night!
I turned 19 which is a boring age I suppose, I had my big 18 last year which was a very big celebration and to be quite honest I didn't want to stop being 18 ha never mind!

Some more exciting summer news, my cousin and I might be booking a last minute holiday at the end of August. We had always planned to go away together and we both really want to go on holiday so fingers crossed that all comes together and we actually go!

I've started my reading for next year, and by started I mean very briefly, but still it's not just sitting there! I can't really give you an insight into what I'm going to be learning about be the books are about a lot of things. However, if I do get to study the two options I've picked I can tell you that I will not have any exams next year, well none that involve sitting in a cold hall for two hours writing non-stop and coming out with a cramped hand and a rumbling stomach... Yeah, none of that kind!
As you all know I've done that deliberately because I am the world's biggest exam hater and I can't bear to sit another endless exam next year, I'd much prefer to have coursework and assignments as it means I can work on them for a long period of time and don't have to use my useless memory to do well!

I hope all of your summers are going well, I bet you're all off on party holidays(I was in Magaluf this time last year) celebrating the end of A-Levels before you all separate and head to university for your new adventures!

Well, have fun doing whatever you're doing and I shall speak to you next week in my video blog... Exciting!!!

I can't wait for you all to see it, I've worked hard on it and hope you all enjoy watching something a bit different on my blog!

Speak to you next week!

I got a puppy!!

Yep, this is a picture of my new puppy, bit of a different way to start the blog this week! She is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen! Four days before my birthday as well, is there anything better?!

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At this point I am waiting on a lot of things. Timetable for next year, whether or not I've been given the choices I like and just an insight into what second year is going to bring!
I've got an update for you all this week;

• I am going to be posting my last ever blog post for the year on the 4th August 2014 so look out for that one.

I can't believe I've already finished my first year of university. It has gone so so quickly it's untrue I feel as though it's flown by and I can barely remember back to my moving in day...scary! 

Everyone always said uni goes quick but I guess you never really know exactly what somethings like until you try it! 

I'd like to encourage all of you to start your own blogs just for your own benefit as I have spent the day reading over all of my posts and it's so interesting to read back on, it's like a diary of my whole first year which is so interesting! 

If you enjoy writing and using your imaginations definitely give it a go and maybe this time next year you'll all be in my shoes reminiscing over your first years at university! 

Need to get motivated!!!

I have got plans to do some university work soon as I am feeling like I have neglected it a little up until now, so I shall tell you all about those!

Now, I don't want you all to think that I'm being lazy and not doing anything...I just haven't had time. We got our reading lists through for second year a couple of weeks back but I've barely had the time to even look at it I've been working so much! However, it's not as though I've left it months and months to start planning for my second year, I'm very dedicated to university and that is why I am working so much, so that I can save my money for petrol as I am commuting next year.

I got a new job about a month ago and even though it's only a small contract I have been given hours nearly every day which is great, I can't complain about extra money especially as I would hate to be sitting around at home all summer.

My plan is to get all of my reading done before I go back to university because we have been given the reading list for next year so I definitely think I should get a good head start and be ready for university this time. I honestly did not feel ready for uni last year and I don't know whether that's something that all freshers feel but anyway.. I did!
So, I'm going to get my head into the books and hopefully then I will feel ready to start my second year and as I have most probably mentioned before do better than I did last year, because although I was happy with my results last year I do still think if I hadn't been as wrapped up in nights out I would have done that bit better, even though they weren't every night I admit I got talked into going out sometimes when I really didn't want to!

I doubt you'll get to hear about what I'm going to by studying next year as I'm not sure if the blogging will be carrying on. I will let you all know as I would love to carry on posting as much for you guys as for myself.
At first I didn't think doing this blog would benefit me that much however, I was very wrong. As much as I hope it gives you all a good idea of university life and studying teaching etc, it allows me to reflect back on my weeks at university and I am really excited to finish my blogs for the year and then read back over them all, I have stopped myself from doing so and I have mainly been posting and not looking back because I want to leave it all for afterwards so I can look back and remember my first year.

I will let you know before I finish blogging if I will be carrying on next year, fingers crossed!

That's all for now, next week you will have my video post so look out for that!

An insight into my Second Year!

Today myself and everyone else carrying on through to their second year of studying education studies received emails telling us about our reading lists for next year. This may sound uninteresting but actually it's an opportunity for us all to get a head start on what we are all going to be studying.

I am sure I have mentioned in a previous post that we all had to choose two options of our own choices to study next year which I have now had a chance to look at in more depth. However, some of the books are not available as ebooks which means I have to buy them.  

I don't remember ever talking to you all about how important university books actually are... don't think I'm boring because trust me I used to think they were useless but they are soooo not! They were my saviors when writing my essays. I am so not a book person but now I've had to learn to be because there is no surviving university or passing university without opening some books. 

Yep, this is what I felt like my desk looked like a lot of the time...BOOK OVERLOAD! 

But, in all seriousness I am genuinely excited to find out more about what I will be studying in my second year and I think this is mainly down to the fact that I have grown up and learnt a lot throughout my first year and I am now in the complete right mind set to focus solely on my studies and achieve my goals. 

Going to university taught me a whole lot from living by myself to how to write a proper essay, and mainly how important my degree is to me.

Summer update!

So, I haven't really got much 'degree' related to post about this week, so I thought I would tell you all about how my summer is going... which is very well!

The one great thing about being a student at university is the LONG summer..

So:

• I've been on holiday to Spain which was amazing but a week is soooo not long enough!
• I have managed to bag myself two new jobs and I have been able to leave my old one which is great because I was not enjoying it anymore.
• It's my birthday this month..19th which I suppose is quite a boring birthday but I have loads planned, not thing necessarily to do with my birthday, some obviously, but I just have good plans in general at the moment.
• I may be planning a last minute holiday..maybe if I can afford it...I guess student shouldn't go on holiday twice a year should they...save save save! 
• I'm getting bored sometimes...long summers are good but not so good when everyone else is still at work/school.

One thing I can tell you all about is that I keep getting notifications about resits in the summer which I don't have to worry about but it's quite interesting because I can tell you all what it would be like if you did have to resit and whether you'd feel all alone because it's the summer and maybe the lecturers don't work in the summer....

WELL...
that's definitely not the case. The resit process is extremely good, lecturers have scheduled dates that they will be available throughout the summer so that students can meet with them and have revision classes which I think is really good, the tutors really care about their students and want them to do well so they give up some of their summers to help and guide those who didn't quite meet the requirements to go through to their second years but are so determined still to achieve their degrees.

There are notifications all the time on Breo about what to revise, the exam questions have been put up and it just seems like they are getting all the help they can get which is really reassuring to me and hopefully will be to all of you guys as well.

So, don't panic you wont be alone if you don't quite make it through.

I hope all of your summers are going well..

BYE! 

What's right for me?

After getting my results and knowing that I am going through to my second year of university I have been thinking a lot about my future career. Back when I chose my UCAS choices and got my acceptance letter through for Education Studies at the University of Bedfordshire a year seemed a long time and now... that year is up!

So, I am kind of weighing up my options at the moment and one of those BIG choices is whether to specialise in Primary or Secondary education. This has always been so unclear in my mind for a number of reasons..

1. I work so well with young children from my past experiences at Primary schools, however I have never had work experience at a secondary school so perhaps I should look into gaining myself a bit more experience in secondary education before I make that decision.
2. I like the idea of specialising in one subject and teaching it in many different ways and forms to secondary ages.. I think this would be so interesting especially because I would get to teach my favourite subject and wouldn't have to worry about those I don't like so much. I love the idea of teaching English/media studies which are similar subjects.

I have a while to decide.. well really I don't have to decide until I study my PGCE after my degree however I would like to have an idea of what I am going to be doing in the near future before then. 

DECISIONS DECISIONS DECISIONS!!!

I thought this picture was extremely fitting for this post, so I shall leave you all with this.. until next time!

Through to second year!

Hello there!

So I got some extremely exciting and weightlifting news yesterday....

I PASSED MY FIRST YEAR!!!

I got the results back for my two exams, they were average results , which means I have now passed all four of my modules for my first year of university and I can continue into second year. 

I am so thankful I passed, realistically I think I probably could have done better than I have during my first year, although I'm not disappointed with my results I know if I had been just that bit more focused I would have done better. Not that it matters overall at the end of my degree. First year only counts to get into second year and has no input into the score of my full degree. I think this may have been a factor in why I decided to rush a couple of assignments that were due in for the next day and go out when I had finished. 

I'm not saying I was a party animal or anything...cause I am so not one of those...I just probably could have planned my time better so that I didn't have to decide whether to go out or finish my assignment. 

However, saying all of this, I do think that freshers should allow themselves to have the 'fresher experience', all be it I decided not to go crazy and get drunk every single night but I certainly allowed myself to go out and have a good time when I felt like it. I was never the person that went out even if I didn't feel like I wanted to. University for me was never and is never going to be about the party. My mindset is that I'm there to get my degree and achieve the career that I desire, but there's nothing wrong with a night out every week or two(that is part of being a fresher at the end of the day). 

Evidence of a good fresher night out!

I am now waiting for the conformation of whether I get the choices I picked for next year and fingers crossed I do because passing my first year has given me such a buzz about my second year. I am so ready to knuckle down and get my head stuck into some placements at some schools. 

This year has gone so quickly in some ways but in others it has dragged on, it dragged because I had to move flats as my first flat mates were all girls and I am sure you all know how nasty girls can get especially if you don't 'fit' into their crowd, and in others it flew by because after moving flats I had a much better experience living at uni.

It's all a learning curve is all I can say! 

Making choices!

Hi everyone!

Seeing as it's the time of the year that A-Level students are sitting their all-important exams that decide whether you'll be getting into your favourite uni, your second choice or going through clearing (preferably not this option), I thought I would dedicate this blog post to narrowing down my UCAS choices front five to just two...and as you who have already done so know this is extremely difficult for a person like myself who picked several courses at the same university.



I say it's hard to make a decision if you're someone like myself, however, at least I was one hundred percent sure on the university I wanted to go to rather than having to choose between unis, yet, I had to choose between courses. I knew from about the end of year 12 which is the first year of sixth form, that I wanted to take the teaching route for my career, and therefore this meant that I had to apply for universities on UCAS, because let's face it there's a degree for everything nowadays, in fact it's more common to have a degree than to not in this era! So I went to look at some universities close to home because I knew I wanted to be closer rather than miles away from home. I ended up loving the university of Bedfordshire's Bedford campus which is where all teaching courses take place and I also liked the look of Northampton, but not as much as Bedford. So, I went ahead and applied for two courses at the university of Northampton and three at the university of Bedfordshire. When it came to deciding on my final two choices I was STUCK. I had applied for the course 'Education Studies' at both Bedford and Northampton but I had also applied for Early Years and the Young Child in Education at Bedfordshire as well, which weren't the courses I wanted to do. I had to decide on the course or the university and eventually I decided on the course and put Bedfordshire as my first choice and Northampton for my insurance, both for the course I was most interested in: 'Education Studies'.

I am SO glad I decided to pick the course over the university itself because at the end of the day the course is what we are all there for. Even though, I got my first choice I would have been happy studying the same course at a different university as I knew it was the right degree for me and I've definitely made the right decision because I LOVE my course!

Of course you've got to like the university you're going to be studying at otherwise your experience will not be great, you should pick universities and courses to suit you and you alone, it's not anyone else's decision but yours. My main piece of advice would be to go to LOTS of open days even to universities you're not overly keen on; you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and you may well have a completely different view of that university once you have seen it for yourself. Oh, and don't pick a uni just because your friend is, you can stay in touch with that friend and, trust me, you'll meet plenty new ones!

Trust your instinct and go for the course and university that you are completely sold on, good luck in your exams!!

Exam advice!

I've decided to write this post to try and give you all some advice on how to prepare yourself for you exams, and what to expect. I think this is important for you all to know because I went into one of my exams this week thinking I knew everything about the topics that were going to come up and ended up panicking slightly when the question wasn't as straight forward as I'd expected it to be.

First of all, and this is the ONE piece of advice I stress you all to take in if you take in at least one thing from this post, and it's to expect the unexpected. The only problem I found when I opened up that question paper was that the question was so difficult to understand and I struggled to read between the lines as to what it wanted me to answer. Luckily, when I came out of the exam I spoke to some friends and it seems as though we all got the same thing from the question and therefore wrote about similar things, but in all honesty I was not one hundred percent sure when writing it that I had chosen the right theories and topics to discuss. 

So here's my advice and tips for you all:

- read the question, and I know what you're all going to think, everyone tells you this and it's obvious, but trust me I panicked and confused myself even more. Everyone was expecting that a significant name of a theory would be written within the question and it turns out it wasn't and therefore we all worried ourselves. What the question actually wanted from us was to think outside the box a little bit and understand what theory the question was actually talking about. 

- plan your time, this is vital. This particular piece of advice was a godsend to me when I was writing my exam answers. As soon as I opened my exam papers and read over the questions until I understood them completely(or as much as I possibly could), I then wrote down every last piece of information that I knew about the topic in question and then went from there and began to write whichever question I had decided to write first. 

-re-read your answer as you write, most people tel you to read over your answer at the end of your exam, however I think it is a much more beneficial idea to read as you write. I think this solves a lot of babbling and going off of topic which is unfixable when you have five minutes left of your exam. 

So, I hope this post gives you all some confidence in how to prepare and plan yourselves for your exams now and in the future, I will certainly be sticking to these rules from now on. 

Exams are next week!!!

I have just realised that my exams are next week, and that has given me a lot to think about...for a quite a few reasons.




1. I feel like I need more time to prepare even though I am all revised out I still want more time, but I suppose that's always how it goes. I cannot believe I have turned my whole revising attitude around, all those years at school I had such a laid back attitude towards revision and generally always decided that going out for lunch or anything other than revision was more worth my time.. But from doing a-levels and now am at university level I have realised that achieving a first does not come without some hard work.




2. I will no longer be a fresher. This I'm not so scared about because I realise that I'm only two years away from gaining a degree and that's the one and only reason I am at university, to get my all important degree to put me in the right direction to having my dream job and career. So I guess I'm glad I wont be a fresher anymore, and to be honest I don't think I could cope with another fresher's fortnight again..non-stop partying takes it out of you!




3. My summer holiday is less than five weeks away! This time in five weeks I will be laying by the pool in the sun, without any kind of exam thought in my head.. BLISS!




4. My birthday is soon...ish! That's always a good thing.




5. I have the whole summer of no uni work, this is such a nice feeling. Summer is my absolute favourite time of the year, I am so excited to catch up with friends and just have a brilliant summer with everyone I love!



Those are all of the current thoughts that are going through my mind right now, first and foremost revision but after next week it will be the thought of a relaxed and enjoyable summer at home.

Understanding Education and Schooling (Exam Overview)

Ok so here's exam overview part 2, and in this post I am going to describe as best as I can the main things you should know about my second exam which is from the topic Understanding Education and Schooling. This topic covers a wide variety about education as a whole.. and the best thing about this exam is that we have been given the questions already!


So, what happens is a few months before our exams we are given five questions to choose from and you only choose two to answer...sounds easy right?! Each question relates to something we have covered in this particular unit and basically you just pick the ones you think you can answer the best.
I have picked a question about learning styles and behaviourism for mine and all I have to revise are the lecture notes and slides to do with these two topics.


This is by far the easier exam to revise for out of the two because its obvious what exactly I need to revise, however, I have to say I'm not doing too bad at Social Constructions either.. touch wood!
There's not a whole lot I can say about this exam because I'm only revising two particular topics within the unit as there is no need for me to learn anything else, as long as I know everything I need to know about learning styles and behaviourism I think I have a good chance of doing well.


So, for the learning style question, they want to know that you understand what a learning style is and the different concepts of using them within educational settings, and this question also wants you to focus particularly on the disadvantages that using learning styles could give to a young child and schools.


The behaviourism question wants you to give a clear explanation of what behaviourism is and then is focused on how behaviourism techniques are used within the classroom.
So, they are quite different questions, but I like this because I have not yet mixed any of the theorists up in the wrong question and I think that this is purely because the questions I have picked are so different.


I hope these last two posts have given you a good insight into what you should expect for your end of first year exams!

Social Constructions of Childhood (Exam Overview)

Ok, so I think I need to go into more detail about which subjects my exams are on and what the revision I'm doing entails.

Social Constructions of Childhood is one of the four subjects that I have been studying for my first year of university. It involves a lot to do with the history of education and the theorists supporting these views. I'm going to break this post down into two parts.. firstly I will talk about section A of the exam and secondly section B.

There are four questions in total, two for each section and we have to answer one question from each section.

Section A
This is examining part two of the unit and the first question supposedly deals with older sociological thoughts which therefore means we have to talk about theorists and their ideas about childhood, dating back to historical childhood.

The second question is dealing more with recent sociological thought. So, new theorists ideas on childhood and perhaps linking back to the ideas from previous years and seeing if there are links? Well that's my thoughts on how I would answer that question anyway..however even though I will look over this question I am mostly going to be revising for the first question as I feel this will be the easiest option for myself.

So, for my revision I have made a mind map containing a section for each theorist/idea that may come up under the first question in section A, and I have included a few bullet points of the most important things for each theorist/idea.

Section B
This is all to do with part three of the social constructions unit.
The first question focuses on images, culture or literature. So, how the child is perceived in these views.

The second question, which is the one I have chosen to write about focuses on children in film, TV or news. I decided to pick this one because I remember enjoying this particular lecture the most out of the two and I find it overall more interesting to talk about.

I think it is so important to pick the question that you feel most comfortable talking and writing about, there is no point picking the one that you think the examiners will 'like most' because there is no such thing. It should be interesting to you and therefore encourage you to revise more and come out with a good result in the end because you took the time and made the effort to construct a good response to your specific question.

I hope this blog post gives you an idea into the structure and layout of what you will experience in terms of exams if you are coming to education studies at the University of Bedfordshire next year.

On another note I think I should inform you all that I was able to choose my optional units for next year. It took a while but I am happy with the options I have chosen and I think these are definitely the best ones for me.

If you don't already know, in year two of education studies everyone has the same two core subjects and we are given about five or six optional units to choose from so I chose 'Lifelong Curriculum' because it is recommended for anyone wanting to study a PGCE (which gives you qualified teaching status) after their degree which is what I want to do, and also 'Children and Young people in the Digital Age' which is briefly described on our unit selection document as these three questions:

1. What are the challenges and opportunities experienced by children and young people in the digital age?

2. How are these constructed and understood in different media, settings, policies and practices?

3. What are the potential implications of new technologies for children and young people’s welfare, education, employment and social experiences?

I decided on this other option because it seemed the most interesting for me and I enjoy working with computers and this is one of the main things we will be using, it also involves a 5000 word e-portfolio for our only form of assessment which encouraged me even more because exams are not for me! 

How I felt when trying to choose my options!

Speak soon! 

Third term has begun!

I'm sure you can tell by the title of this post, yes it's official the last few weeks of my first year of university began on Monday and I am definitely the most worried about this term...might have something to do with my two exams at the end of this month? Yes, it certainly does... I'd love to go into more detail but I'm afraid that will have to come after I have actually sat the exams. A word of advice though.. START REVISING EARLY!
I know that everyone used to say this to me at school and I was never overly bothered and dare I say it..didn't care that I wasn't revising as much as was expected, but I have definitely learnt my lesson with these two exams and am revising because you have to pass these exams to carry on into your second year and it would be such a waste to ruin it all with failing your exams at the end of the year.. so yeah REVISE!

So it has been revision revision oh and more revision...urgh. Well I say 'urgh' but it's actually going really well and I feel extremely organised, which is a first for me because I was never the 'organised one' when I was in school and sixth form. Oh well, I think I've changed for the better in that respect.
After my two revision lectures on Monday I am most worried about the Social Constructions of Childhood exam..purely because I have been given a number of questions that will definitely come up in my Understanding education exam..so I'm most prepared for that one for sure.
I'm not saying these exams are easy, but I certainly feel more confident about these than I did about any of my A-Level exams...which is not what I was expecting at all.

Here's a picture of my revision..how exciting!

As far as contact time with university is going, I have actually finished all of my lectures for the year..so I'm actually back at home now for the summer basically. So I am having to motivate myself from home which in some ways I find easier and in others..more difficult. I would say I had more distractions at uni because I lived with flatmates and went out during the week..whereas at home I've not got many distractions
during the day as everyone is either at work or school..and then I have my little part-time job which sometimes gets in the way but I suppose that's the price you have to pay if you want to run a car and live a comfortable lifestyle.

Sorry to bore you with revision talk all the time but I'm afraid that is what my life consists of at the minute...I can't wait to tell you all about how the exams went and my grade(preferably if it's a good one)!

Third Term!

Ok, so I guess it's time to start thinking about my 3rd and final term as a first year at the University of Bedfordshire. It's not much of a term to be honest for me because we have one final week of revision lectures and that's it. Most people will probably stay in Bedford until their exams are finished but I've made the decision to go home after the last teaching week and then drive to Bedford for my two exams.
As for preparation, I think I am as prepared as I can be at this stage, I feel a little skeptical about my exams at this point but I think after I have attended the revision lectures I will feel a lot more comfortable and ready to sit my exams in May.

My Easter break has been jam-packed! I have actually managed to bag myself a job back home which is great as I have a lot planned over the summer and therefore need money! I feel like I have been at home for absolutely ages so goodness knows what I'm going to do with myself all summer. Work , work and work I suppose..oh and go on holiday..

I have been asked to talk about when I applied for university in this blog post which has actually proved quite interesting for me because it snow feels like a lifetime ago! My decision was pretty easy when it came to narrowing down to my firm and insurance choices. I knew I wanted to stay close to home and all of my university choices were within an hour away from where my family and I live. I picked all of the same courses 'Education Studies' for each university and therefore all I had to decide on was the university and halls of residence. I chose Bedford for a few reasons, 1: the halls are so nice and clean, 2: the university is also very nice and small which I liked, 3: the lecturers I met where all so friendly and welcoming and 4: it was my all round favourite university that I had visited. I wasn't fussed whether I got my firm or insurance choice purely because they were both as good as each other and meant I would be doing the exact course that I wanted to do.

The inside of my accommodation in Bedford, and yes it actually does look like this! 

The entrance to Liberty Park. 

I want to stress that it's not all about the stats and figures(it is partly) but you have to like the university you are looking at, one thing I think every applicant should remember is to not settle for second best. Aim high and do not be afraid to come out with your insurance choice, so choose wisely everyone!

Good luck with your UCAS applications and Happy Easter to you all!

Things I didn't know about University but wish I did!

Easter's going too quickly and my exams are creeping up around the corner so I thought that instead of posting another 'exam related' blog I would treat you all to a list of things I didn't know about university that I really wish I had before I went!

So here goes;

1. Things Cost Money. Looking back I was quite naive when moving from home where most things were at easy reach and money wasn't a huge issue because I had a job and supportive parents, to moving out on my own. I soon realised that everything costs money and it's hard to get by if you don't have any. It wasn't the daunting amount of money I am forking out via my student loan that is the problem, it's day-to-day costs that I never thought about when living at home. Most students prepare themselves for the costs of going out drinking and books, however I forgot about the simplest of things like snacks(no-one can sit through a 2 hour lecture with their stomach rumbling), fancy dress outfits (no-one wants to be the odd one out), fines for not handing your books in on time (I've had one and don't intend to have anymore after hearing about the fine)!!
   So, keep a good eye on your bank account before it's too late and you've spent all of your loan and have to open an overdraft...which luckily I haven't had to do! 
2. Self-Motivation is an absolutely KEY skill to obtain. So, most people are told that 'don't worry you're first year is easy you won't have to do much work' however, this is not the case. Prepare yourselves for a huge step up in terms of workload. It takes a while to get used to but you will soon learn that you have to get up, go to the library, and finish that essay, otherwise you have to rely on exams or other assignments and you're more likely to fail! Some decide to write their essays the night before and stay up all night writing it but if you want a good class degree this is not an acceptable standard of essay and you will not achieve a very good grade. 
3. Not everything is as it seems in the prospectus. Make sure you visit the universities you are applying for, there would be absolutely nothing worse than picking any old uni(they all look nice in pictures) and turning up to it looking more like a prison that a university. I did actually look at the University of Bedfordshire beforehand however a friend of mine is stuck in an awful halls of residence and the uni's not much better. So, try before you buy!



Yes, it looks amazing and yes, it tastes amazing but it's too expensive for dinner every night!

4. Lastly, takeaways. It is so easy for students to become lazy when they move to university because food isn't free or magically put in your fridge. It costs money, a lot of money so before you decide it's too hard and expensive to cook recalculate and you'll soon realise that takeaways every night is going to cost a significant amount more than buying a weekly shop. Don't be lazy, get some cooking skills in you now before you get to uni and it's too late!  

It's Easter!

Hi everyone, well the first week of the Easter break is over and it's safe to say I have enjoyed being home! There has been lots of catching up with friends and family but also a lot of revision for my exams that are at the end of May!

As for how the exams work in your first year, you have to go to a hall in Bedford to take them rather than at the university itself, I'm not sure why I'm afraid!
The best thing about these exams, and also what makes them so different to school GCSE'S or A-Levels is the fact that I have been given the questions for them, which is so much better than going in without any idea of what could come up... My revision style is completely different to school, which is good because I was quite worried that I'd have to go back to revising like I had to at school, I didn't want to have to do that because let's just say I'm not the best at sticking to revision schedules. It's different and more suited to me because I have to write my essay for the exam and memorise the essay and theorists so that I can go into the exam and write my essay after setting out my plan.
We also got to have a look at the different options we can choose to take next year which was really good for me because I have one main problem and that is that I do not take well to exams and exam conditions, I don't know why but I have never done well in exams(even my A-Levels!). By getting an insight into the options it allowed me to see what topics involve exams and which do not, this is such a bonus... However, I am going to make sure that I do not exclude certain topics just because they have exams! So, deciding time is after Easter I think and I know that I'm going to take digital technology for sure as I'm interested in this more than others, I can't quite remember other topics but I know for definite there are these two; SEN( Special Educational Needs) and lifelong learning, just to give you all a little look into what you could study in your second year of Education Studies.

As well as revision, I went on a trip to London with my family to see a comedy show at the O2! It was hilarious and was a nice break from revising the whole time. I also caught up with some friends from uni last week which was nice!

It is so strange to think that I have nearly finished my first year of uni, I can't quite get my head around the fact that this time last year I was trying to decide where to go! When people tell you time flies when you're at university, they definitely are not lying..trust me! I had no idea it would go this quickly. Uni was definitely the right decision for me, but it isn't for everyone I admit. I'm so glad I have had the opportunity to study for a degree and eventually get to my goal of being a teacher.

That's all for now. I'll update you on my second week of the holidays next week!

Easter Update!

Ok so I thought I would give you all an Easter break update....

Number one, I've realised I'm pretty much moved home forever now...how crazy is that?!

I have one more week after Easter that I have to go back for which I'm pretty sure is just for revision lectures and a top up before we have no more contact with uni until October! I cannot believe that my contact time with university finishes this early!
One benefit of being a student is definitely the time we get after our exams to relax, although mine hopefully wont be spent relaxing as I am going to try my hardest to get a job that gives me lots of hours so I can save up and have fun throughout my summer, I would hate to be bored and money less for the whole of my time off!

As for my Easter holiday plans;

• I suppose it's going to have to involve lots of revision, I'm going to revise until I can no longer stare at my books and notes for.
• I'm going to see Miranda Live Tour. I bought my mum tickets for Christmas so I'm definitely looking forward to that!
• Catching up with friends that I haven't seen since Christmas! 
• Probably a few nights out thrown into the mix...just for good measure! 
• Spending much needed time at home getting settled back into home life and knowing that I'm not moving away again in a few months time. 

I will be sure to give you an update late on into my Easter break to see just how well these plans are going and whether I have managed to stick to each of them or if some of them aren't quite going as well as I had hoped for. 

I expect you are all revising like crazy for your A-Level exams and praying you've done enough to get into university next year!

Happy Easter and Happy Revising (if that even exists)!

Lazy at uni?

So many of my friends and I have been talking about how LAZY we've become since moving into halls, this doesn't really apply if you're a commuter, but we often sit in bed all day because we either haven't got the money to go out and do something, or everyone's gone home for the weekend and we have absolutely nothing to do.

I admit that before I moved into my new flat I was guilty of most of these things, mainly because I didn't want to socialise with my old flat mates, so I'd sit in my room watching tv on my laptop, on social networking sites, speaking to family and friends from back home or when my other friends weren't at home I'd try and spend most of my time with them...although they did go home a lot.
I think it's hard to get motivated and go out when you're at university because it's just so easy and you've got everything on your doorstep, well we have here in Bedford.

But since moving into my new flat after Christmas I have been so much happier, because I'm a sociable person I hate being by myself as I just get bored so quickly, so now being able to sit in the communal area of the flat and just being able to talk to nice people is so much better, I don't think I would have many nice things to say about university life at all if I hadn't moved flats.

Saying that I would always want to be out and with people is a lie because uni gives you the best of both worlds, you can have a cosy night in by yourself which I'm sure everyone needs once in a while, or there's always someone about wanting to do something.

I'm definitely not as lazy now though, but tips to get out of that lazy, room hermit mode are;

1. Join the nearest gym, I was a member at a gym for a long time before starting university and I had every intention of joining the gym on campus however I never got round to it, which is silly because it was only £35 for the whole year!
2. Bag yourself a job! This has been a godsend to me for so many reasons; I'm not bored on weekends when uni's shut. I have met some wicked friends in my colleagues. I enjoy the job I do which is working at weddings and big events for a local hotel which helps. It gives me that extra cash to be able to go out on student nights and enjoy the fresher experience, and it means I can keep running my car whilst I'm at uni which I know I'm lucky to be able to do because most of my friends have either sold or sorn their cars while they are away. 
3. Invite friends or family from home to come and stay with you. 
4. Leave food shopping and other weekly errands until the weekend so you have something to do with your time if you're bored and your flat mates have gone home. 

I think this is a picture of the gym in my accommodation or if not it's very similar I was struggling to find it online.

University living is what you make it so try hard and you'll have an amazing experience. Everyone's in the same boat remember! 

Organisation skills.....

This post is going to be all about organising your time, things, work and everything else that comes into being a university student.

I thought I was quite an organised person if I'm being honest but that all seemed to go majorly downhill after being at uni. I didn't really think about organising my work and notes beforehand and focused more on making my room as homely and nice as possible..which it did haha...here's a picture!




However my notes from lectures etc looked a little something like this...yes it's an over exaggeration but they were pretty all over the place!




I've been trying to think of ways I can make sure my works not all over the place next year and I've made a pact that I'm going to keep everything in order so that I can find anything from any lecture within seconds rather than having to sift through hundreds of unorganised pieces of paper.
Its getting really annoying not being able to find anything to revise from and I've even been thinking of using my iPad next year but I can't find the right software to be able to edit slideshows on and add notes. I need to think of something before second year as I can't be having this next year as well!

Another thing I've realised I'm not a pro at is organising my time efficiently and to my best advantage... I often find myself rushed for time when writing assignments or even just getting ready to go out so I need to start giving myself extra time before completing tasks even just ten minutes to have a breather.. so that's going to be another pact of mine for second year...I feel like I'm writing new year's resolutions again which I kind of am, new year of university, new resolutions and goals.

Speak to you next week!

Megan

Guest Speaker

This week during one of my lectures we had a guest speaker come in and chat to us about his line of work which is to do with working with people with disabilities.

It was an absolutely brilliant presentation and speech, he came in and was so open about his own life choices and that really moved everyone in the room. It made me feel a whole different level of respect for him.

One of the many things university offers is the opportunity to attend different presentations, guest speakers etc even if it's not solely to do with your particular subject. It doesn't necessarily matter if it doesn't entirely match the degree your studying it's all about giving students the option to hear other people's stories and learn things that you may have never even heard about.

I enjoy hearing and learning about things I have never come across before so this is the type of thing I would enjoy and it doesn't matter if it's not of interest to you I'm just giving you as much information as I know and can think of about what being a part of the University of Bedfordshire is like. That involves benefits, negatives, all kinds of things.

One thing I would like to clear up if any of you think like this, is that when you go to university it's not at all in any way, shape or form like being at school. It's a whole different ball game, it's a gigantic step in a persons life. Everyone grows up in different ways and whether you decide to wait and go travelling or go straight into university after school, it's your choice but university will still allow you to mature the same way other university students do. It's like you're almost teaching yourself sometimes, lecturers don't call your parents if you miss one lecture, however if it becomes an excessive amount they will consider your place on the course. You don't have to write down everything your lecturers says and it does not have to be word for word, its however you learn best.

It's so hard to explain how different university is compared to school but I hope my blog is able to give those who aren't at university a good insight into what it's like to an extent.
Basically, you're going to have to grow up when you start university, you're going to have to motivate yourself and then you will achieve but until you realise you've got to put hard work in, it's not going to be an easy ride.

This saying is so so fitting to university.

A little more about the course..

Education Studies is a great all round teaching course and for people like me, who know they want to go into teaching but don't know whether they want to teach young children or older children, it opens up brilliant opportunities to figure out and decide what career it is you want to go into.
Personally, I always thought I wanted to teach young children, of the reception/year one age, however, after being on Education Studies for the past seven months I have changed my mind and now want to go into year 6 or year 7 teaching as I feel this would be more suited to me.

Some people will be wondering if we get to go on placements, and then answer is YES, but not in your first year. Which I was quite disappointed about but I am excited to go into my second year this September knowing I get the chance to go into settings and get a real feel for what it is exactly that I want to do.

Education Studies in your first year is a broad range of subjects, with early years, understanding education, social constructions of childhood and inclusion through professional practice as your four subjects. However, these are not carried on throughout the three years of the course, for your second year you get to choose two of your own subjects and you have two core subjects, so as you can see this is where you begin to shape your own career in teaching and education.

I am so happy I chose to do education studies as I was still so unsure of what I wanted to do as a career, I didn't even know if teaching was the way to go but I've always loved teaching and thought "why not!".

Can't decide on a course?

For those of you wondering what the course actually entails, I am going to describe as best as I can the main points:
1. Understanding Education and Schooling is a subject that covers a wide range of education as a whole. The first assignment I did was to make a timeline about someone who went to school between a certain period of time, which was so interesting and allowed me to learn more about education in that particular period of time.
2. Social Constructions of Childhood covers mainly the history of education. This is also a very interesting subject as it teaches us about where education comes from and how it has evolved over time.

These first two subjects are the only two subjects we have exams for in our first year.

3. The Young Child in Education is a as it sounds really, it is only focused on early years education which is not exactly suited to me but allowed me to make a decision about where I wanted to focus my teaching career in.
4. Inclusion Through Professional Practice is the most difficult to get your head around at first. It looks at all different educational policies and also focuses on disability studies at points. I really enjoy this subject as a whole and the assessments are really suited to me. We had to do a poster presentation and an annotated bibliography to accompany this, and I have just handed in my critical essay for this module(which is not as suited to me as the presentation).

Good luck in whatever you decide!

So there's a quick insight into Education Studies as a whole. I know from experience, that looking at all for the education and teaching courses is a bit daunting and can confuse people(it did me!). I hope this blog post gives you a good idea into the course and helps you to make a decision about your university career!

April Fools!

April Fools Day is not my favorite day of the year, no one like to be pranked!

I am officially assignment FREE! Today I finished and handed in my final two assignments of the year and I am so relieved because I have been working on them all month! I am not technically work free as I do have two exams coming up in May(I'm not sure on the dates of them yet though)!
I enjoy revision for exams more than I do writing essays though I have to say, I get so bored writing essays, especially when it's nice outside like it has been today!
Oh well, summer starts here for me!
It seems crazy that I have almost finished my first year at university(minus exams), I actually move out of my halls of residence tomorrow and as much as I've enjoyed my time living here, I honestly cannot wait to be back home and eating home cooked meals!!

So.. yeah I have about four and a half months off from uni for the summer, as exciting as that sounds I do have to work to afford to pay for everything I have planned over the summer..so it's not just going to be lazy days all the time.
I guess this is the last post I will write sitting at my desk in my little room and honestly, I'm quite glad. I don't want to put anyone off staying in halls when they come to university because obviously that's the done thing(unless you commute). However, it's definitely not for me. I am so glad I have done it and experienced it for the first year but as I may or may not have already told you, I am commuting to uni next year. I am one hundred percent a home girl and I only live 40 minutes from Bedford anyway so that's the plan for next year.

I am also so annoyed that I haven't mastered how to cook certain things..for example spag bol...I still cannot cook it and I have given up trying!

Bye Bedford..Hello Home!

Vibe Monday's!

So, I went out this Monday with a group of friends and as usual it ended up with me buying a takeaway...total waste of money but it always seems to happen!
As for student night's out here in Bedford, they are quite good! I've tried a Saturday night here before and it was nowhere near as busy as when all of us student's out on either a Monday or a Wednesday!

The morning after wasn't exactly the best...I have to admit I gave myself quite a headache this week haha! It's all good fun though..
I managed to drag myself out of bed for my lectures and seminars on Tuesday which is always ten times more difficult after I have been out the night before considering I have an extremely busy day on a Tuesday.

Moving on.. I think I have mastered how to make a curry now, I never used to make them before I came to university and now I am such a pro! I am getting quite sick of having them EVERY night though so now I'm living off of easter eggs...




I found out today that I have four weeks left until Easter which has made me really excited because that means I have five term weeks until I move home forever!
I can't remember if I've mentioned before that I am commuting to university next year instead of living here as it's not far from home and I will save a lot of money that way.
I also miss home a lot....that is my main reason! I'm glad I have had the 'uni experience' by living here for one year but I am so glad I have the option to move home now!

Megan.

Decisions, Decisions...It's too difficult!

I had a think about what I should write a blog post about this week and I decided a post about how I made my early decisions about university and what spurred me on to make the choices I did. I hope this post interests you all and gives you an idea of the reasons I chose the University of Bedfordshire.

One of the hardest decisions before I even knew if I had got into uni was what universities to put down as my firm and insurance choices.I picked both the University of Bedfordshire and another university just as close to where I live as Bedford is(about 40 minutes). I made this decision because at the time I did not feel ready to leave home, I am still unsure on whether this was the right choice for me but it's the one I chose so I've got to live with it. I'm still unsure because I don't know whether living here and paying as much money as I am to live here is actually more beneficial for me than if I were living at home..to be honest I would probably be much better off if I was still living at home. However, I'm not and I am very glad I decided to take the plunge and move away from home because now I've learnt that it's not for me for the full three years and it has helped me realise that I would actually thoroughly prefer to live at home for the remainder of my studies. I am not slating moving away from home at all, I just think that I've 'got the t-shirt' and in my opinion it's not worth missing home as much as I do. I am so glad I've had the experience though and I wouldn't change my decision of moving here, I would just change the people I was put with in the first place.

If I were choosing a university again I wouldn't change the University of Bedfordshire as a uni as it is fantastic and I love studying here. I might perhaps consider changing the location to somewhere a bit more lively, so a city uni, however this would be such a tossing and turning decision because I don't know if I would be ready to move to a big city on my own. I think my home sickness would kick in and I could feel worse than I did just 40 minutes down the road..
Thinking about it, I have definitely made the right decision for me in allowing myself to live the university lifestyle for a year, finding out it's not entirely for me and having the option to move back home and still carry on my studies. I think if you're like me and are not sure about staying close to home or moving away you should consider universities that will allow you the opportunity to start off living there for your first year and then if it's right for you carry on living wherever that may be or if not, move home and commute to university whenever you have lectures or seminars.At the end of the day most universities cut contact time even further as you progress through your course so you may not even have to travel to uni everyday which would be a bonus for anyone who decides to live at home.

Think carefully and for yourself. Don't pick a university just because someone else is, do what's right for you.

February already?!

Hello everyone!

I can't believe it is February already, I need to get my head down and do these last assignments and preferably NOT leave them to the last minute this time! I think I am on track now and if I put my mind to it I should definitely be able to knuckle down and do these assignments in good time.
I only have two (yes.TWO!) assignments left which are due in just before we leave for Easter.
I am more focused on my exams which are in May of this year...I am getting quite stressed!
Exams aren't my favourite thing to do I have to say, I am not good under exam conditions :(

I was thinking in this post I could tell you all how I have dealt with exams in the past and what I'm going to try to do for my exams later on in the year:

1. Do things that chill me out when coming up to exam period, like listen to music or whatever floats your boat.
2. Don't over complicate things, I try not to listen to what my friends have revised on the day of the exam because if I haven't revised the same things I would seriously panic and therefore do worse in my exam because I'm so stressed.
3. Set myself a revision timetable, so 'on Monday 1 hour on Physics' or something similar, this gives me a plan and I can see what I'm supposed to do on each day, it also helps me to give each topic the same amount of revision time because otherwise I would get all confused and forget what I have revised enough of and what I actually need to revise.
4. Early nights! These are key when taking exams, there is absolutely no use in staying up all night revising because you'll be extra tired in the exam and if worst comes to worst fall asleep and sleep through the exam!
5. Eat breakfast. There is absolutely nothing worse than having to sit a 2/3 hour exam and your stomach rumbles half way through and then all you can think about it food. It takes your mind away from the exam and then you're left off topic and hungry!
6. 
   

I have been going home a lot recently for birthdays etc, and this is making me so excited for April when I get to go home for three weeks!!

Megan!

Assignments, assignments...oh and a presentation!

Hi Everyone, I hope you have all had a fantastic week!

I suppose I should start off by explaining the title of this blog...if you haven't already guessed I have been extremely busy these past couple of weeks and I am proud to say that I have FINISHED my two assignments that I have been working on.

The first one is a group presentation that we were assigned and this has been quite interesting to work on because I have been working with other people rather than sitting alone writing an essay which has been great! It is all set to be presented in our seminar time slot this Thursday so the nerves are definitely building up now. Fingers crossed everything goes to plan! My group and I are meeting tomorrow to make any last minute adjustments and make sure that everything works properly and our presentation isn't going to fail on the day. That would just be a disaster!

Feeling good! 

Secondly, I have been writing an essay discussing gender in education an how educational inequality persists. This has been quite interesting too actually because I have found a lot of knowledge from the reading around this topic and I have enjoyed writing the essay itself which is always a bonus!

Excited for the weekend!

I am very excited this week as I am going away for the weekend, which will be so nice as I have the weight of assignments off of my shoulders.

Another exciting thing that I have to tell you is that I filmed a short video last week for you all to watch, of me answering questions about my life at university and why I chose to do it. So I look forward to seeing that and I hope you all do too!

Have a great week!

Megan.

Check list!

So, seeing as I have just started my second semester at university and I know a thing or two about being a fresher I thought I would give you all a post about things freshers should and should not take to university with them... I thought this would be an interesting post for anyone starting university next year to take on board!

I basically took the entire contents of my house, I may as well of took the kitchen sink I took that much!
So, here is a list of things I took that were not needed:

1. Hundreds of different types of kitchen knives..I only used one sometimes two at most!
2. A shower rack, there's nowhere to fit one of those in student accommodation! 
3. A bedside lamp...I didn't even have a beside table so don't take one of those unless you have one.
4. A clothing rail..it did not fit in my room.
5. Too many clothes..There was absolutely no room in my wardrobe and my clothing storage became a huge mess! 
6. Kitchen utensils I didn't even know how to use.
7. Too much food, you need to know how much storage you've got before you go ahead and buy all this freezer stuff that then can't be stored.
8. Random stationary bits that you're never going to use..E.g glue, or sellotape(I never used these).
9. Too many cushions, I took far too many and they didn't all fit on my bed which was annoying! 
10. Cash, you'll just spend it all during freshers and be skint for the rest of the year haha! 

Now I'm going to give you a more realistic list containing things that I could not have lived without during my time at university:

1. A washing basket...invest if you don't have one!
2. Coat hangers.... do not bring all of your clothes and forget hangers that would be so annoying especially because no one at university has the time to iron! 
3. An iron is sometimes needed though so don't forget that one.
4. Cleaning products, kitchen, bathroom, clothes all of it! Trust me you'll need it. 
5. Photos the put up in your room or memorabilia to make it feel more like your own.
6. Extra storage if it will fit, uni rooms are generally tiny!
7. Suitable clothes, don't take summer clothes because you're usually at home for the whole of summer and it's not usually warm in winter let's face it.

You would think all of these things in both of my lists are common sense, but I just decided I needed everything and made moving in and out ten times harder and more stressful for myself, so if I were doing it all over again I would definitely give a lo more thought to what I would be taking with my to university and now ending up like this picture.....

That is what you call serious hoarding!!! Don't end up like this haha!

Okay, perhaps that's a bit extreme but you get the drift!

Books are SO expensive!!!

So, as most first years do I decided to buy every single book I was told I 'needed' before I started university, which was a mistake!

Take it from me, you definitely DO NOT need every single book you are advised to get. My biggest piece of advice is to wait until you get to university and see for yourself what books you need and also don't listen to everyone else because every person is different and one book may work for your friend but will be useless for you. Take your time and research the books that are really worth purchasing.

Also, one of my mistakes was buying books that are also available as eBooks for FREE. So I bought books for £30/£40 which I could've got for free.Yep, quite annoying.
Another thing is that if you end up going to the University of Bedfordshire, the library is the biggest library I've ever seen with every kind of book you could ask for, you don't really need to buy any books if you don't want because the library is such a huge source of information.

One good thing for me was that I got given a £300 gift card when I started my course for John Smith's bookshops which is used by a lot of universities and that meant I didn't spend hundreds of pounds of my own money, however some people aren't lucky enough to be given such a luxury and £300 is a lot of money to be spending on books that you can get access to for free!

I'm not saying don't buy any books they're all useless because they're certainly not useless, some are extremely useful and I wouldn't have passed any of my assignments if I hadn't opened up a book but I know students don't have hundreds to spend on books when they need money for food. So definitely wait until you get there and see what you have available to you in terms of vouchers, money off, libraries, online resources etc. There is so much put on a plate for students that is never used but could be the different of a first class degree to a second.

There are loads of offers for students like NUS cards which allow us money off in so many stores so it's definitely worth a search around for what is available for students and see what you can do to help yourself out.

If you find anything I already haven't then let me know ha!