Quote:-----Original Message-----
Sent: 28 June 2008 05:56
To: peter woodbridge
Subject: RE: Emailing: 2006 attempted IRSE mod 2 layout pt 3.tif
Dear sir
Thanks a lot for so much information. This is very much helpful to me.
I request you to share other information regarding module 1,2, 3 & 5.
I hope you will not disappoint me.
Thanks a lot once again.
Regards,
Shiv Mohan
Sr. Signalling design engineer III
Middle East & India ATKINS
I'll do what I can, HOWEVER:
1. I had the Module 2 Study Pack because I basically wrote it last year. I am rather disappointed with the IRSE that they have not yet managed to distribute it despite me making the deadline given. Whereas I believe there is a reason for this delay I intended that it should be available in plenty of time for this year's exam; hence feel totally within my rights to do so when I receive a direct request.
2. I cannot though distribute other "IRSE" information that I happen to have copies. If you have registered for module 1,3,5 then the official Study Packs and past Papers should definitely have been sent. Please let me know when you registered and whether or not these were received; perhaps the post takes a long time to get to your part of the world if not sent air mail....
3. I personally believe that those Study Packs need updating and extending. In particular I feel that the one for Module 3 is particularly weak in terms of the actual use it is for a student. The unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of exam entrants are not particularly "studious" and clearly do not take full advantage of the material that is available- in this situation it is hard to envisage anyone being particularly motivated to undertake the quantity of work required to improve the Study Packs. None of us have enough time in our private lives so making a lot of effort only makes sense if you believe it is actually going to be appreciated and of value. In a sense provision of a detailed Study Pack for Module 2 (for historic reasons there was previously nothing) is an experiment to see what difference it might make to exam results and thus to confirm / refute the assumption.
4. When running Study Groups I decided not to use the Module 3 Study Pack. I did start producing something myself to help people with Control Tables [I have already placed it on this website] but it wasn't directly aligned to IRSE exam paper, neither did I ever finish. My most recent group tended to be more interested in attempting the written questions and the IRSE request to write the module 2 Study pack took priority. I was hoping that members of that group would "write up" their attempts at questions after we had discussed them in a Study session and thus I might acquire a "portfolio" for future such use- the reality was, I am afraid to say, that few ever did. So it's fragmentary but there is a certain amount of additional information that I could make available.
5. I need to find out from Peter the implications / constraints re putting more large files on the Forum for download. In one sense this would be the most sensible means of distribution rather than emailing to individuals, but I am mindful that he has made this site available as a personal initiative and I have no visibility of his costs and how these might be affected. Also it was never our intention that this would be a "free download site for stuff" but an INTERACTIVE forum to respond to student's queries and where they could receive feedback on their attempts in a timely manner before the exam; currently it is very much a "one-way street". Indeed I placed some "revision bites" in the module 3 section and stated that I would be able to add others if I received feedback that they were found useful; I can tell that they have all been downloaded many times yet no-one has requested more. The one response on that thread is from someone to whom I have already separately given the whole set. The logical implication must be either that people just download to collect but never get around to studying or alternatively they don't actually find that they are useful; put yourself in my position- why would I decide to post more until I get some indication that it may be worth my effort?
As far as mod 5 is concerned- the situation is much the same as mod 3- I do have some copies of previous students' attempts which perhaps I could post, but I'd need to agree it with them first. I'd be in a stronger position to ask them to agree to this if I could demonstrate that current students were prepared to share their offerings; I hope you see my point.
PJW