Module One - "You" which introduced us to the T171 website and the First Class conferencing system, encouraging us to get to know the students in our tutor group. First we considered and discussed the principles of 'Netiquette' and groupworking in preparation for the rest of the course. Then we practised using the main types of software - word processors, databases, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, graphics etc. (many of us had already done this before taking T171). The basics of HTML and web page design were also introduced. At the end of this module, our group was divided into two. Each sub-group produced a Web Channel comprising a Home page and links to individual web pages on various subjects chosen and created by members of the group . The individual web pages were Tutor Marked Activity (TMA) 2.

Module 2 - "Your computer" which took us through the history of the Personal Computer using companies, personalities and technologies to illustrate its development. We studied Intel and the Microprocessor, the start of the PC industry, Xerox PARC, IBM and the PC, IBM clones, Apple and the Mac, OS/2 and Networking. At the end of this module, we produced TMA3 -a Web Report of 1500 words (basically, a web report is like an essay produced in HTML, meant to be read online and including hyperlinks to relevant pages on the World Wide Web) A choice of two subjects was offered. I decided on the second option "Choose one personality from Module 2 and examine their impact upon the IT industry". Douglas Engelbart was my choice of subject for TMA3.

Module 3 - "The Net" which covered the history of the Internet through its technologies and the people who made it happen. It comprised sections on the ARPANET, its history and development, the origins of the World Wide Web from CERN to Netscape, UNIX, Usenet, the Free Software Foundation, the GNU Project, Minix and Linux, and the significance and ethos of the Open Source Software movement. At the end of this Module we produced TMA4 - a choice of two offered subjects in the same web report format as TMA03. Again I decided on the second option "Choose one technology from Module 3 and examine its impact upon the Internet". I chose UNIX as my subject.

The End of Course Assessment
T171 does not have an exam at the end. Indeed all of the course material is delivered online through the password-protected T171 website and the First Class Conferencing System. Assignments are submitted through a special OU online system (ETMA) to be downloaded and marked by the Tutor. They are then returned to the system in the same way to be collected and downloaded by the student.

Instead of an examination, T171 has the End of Course Assessment (ECA) which takes the form of a small website produced by the student. It consists of three parts - first an index or home page that links the sections together, Part 1 which reviews some of the work done during the course and Part 2 which examines significant issues from Modules 2 and 3. It draws extensively on the work done during the course, encouraging the student to reflect on his or her studies and reach conclusions on progress and performance.