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Hi! After so time, I’m back. I was working on Xmas and after that, I had to study (you know, exams and so on).

First, I wanna talk about Bologna plan. Not all the points that it includes, only those which affected me most.

Sincerely, I don’t really care about privatize as a lot of people care… I think that is important, but it doesn’t worry me. Yeah, I don’t like it, but I do not have problem with that, my family, as a medium status,haven’t been affected with that. So, I respect all people that complaint about it, but I’m not gonna follow them actively.

I’m gonna talk about what Bologna plan means in my degree: Science Computer Engineering at UAB (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Faculty: E.T.S.E. [Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria]).

At first, even though it meant more work at home, it seemed good (yeah, why not?): Homogeneous studies among Europeans, the continuous work matters (so you don’t depend on just an exam at the end of the term)…

Nevertheless, it hasn’t been exactly like that.

You have to work during the semester, and really, I think that’s fine: It makes you pay attention kind of regularly, and when you arrive at the end of the term, thanks to this work, you don’t have to study things that you didn’t even know that existed. It was a mistake, some years ago (not far), when you had to start to study a subject that you realized that you didn’t understand ANYTHING about it, although you may have been at class every day… But without pressure, without do paying attention…

So, from the one hand, it’s right… And it must be right. But this is all in theory. What happens in reality?

As I’ve just said, I BELIEVE in Bologna plan, but as I’m going to argue… I do not believe in the way it’s been applied.

At least, in my case, of course. There are a lot of Uni’s that are applying it and… Dunno, if you apply it right, it’s a success.

However… My subjects are not good approach. I can’t explain it in a general way, so I’ll show it to you with an example… I know it’s not the best way to argue something but because of the naturalism of the subjects (extremely opposite from one to another), I have to do it in this way. This is a singular case, but in every subject, even though the methodology could be different, it’s more or less the same in bologna’s point.

Computers Networks subject (CN from now on): (*I will talk about theoretical part… The practical part have nothing to do with the points that are gonna be exposed).

According to our timetable, we have had 3 hours of CN per week. However, it was just an hour per week…

The main communication way in this subject is through a Wiki. Divided per groups of 5, we had to reply a few questions (4,5 or 6) per week, adding a total of more or less 30 questions per group. Furthermore, sometimes we had to reply a problem in group. Once a week, we had an hour to ask our questions to the teacher and clear up all we hadn’t understand when we did the wiki. The other two hours assigned to the subject represents the time that we had been learning CN using wiki and the notes that the teachers had upload in the net. The problem was (and is) that questions were too much simple… Just following the notes you were able to reply all the questions… Without understanding nothing! So, you didn’t learn NOTHING. I think that CN it’s quite interesting, so I tried to learn and ask to the teacher, as much as possible…

At the end, I’ve passed, course, but a lot of people that almost didn’t know nothing too, because the exam was very bad approach: 30 test questions and 5 short questions. You could do the test just studying the test of the past year and without need of understanding anything, and the short questions… Well, they were right.

If I get all the premises exposed before, I can conclude that Bologna plan, in this singular case, could have been very instructive if we would have done the wiki seriously and if the exam would have reflected the real acknowledge about the subject. Unfortunately… Well, you already know the results.

Furthermore, the continuous evaluation didn’t matter nothing if you didn’t get a 4.5/10 at the final exam (so, all your work during the semester would been for nothing).

If I were the teacher, I would done the wiki too, but in a different way, and the exam would be 50 short questions (more or less, doesn’t matter if it’s 50 or 30 or 70!). It will make you study week after week, and the exam would show the real acknowledgement that students would have obtained. It’s a real pitty that some people didn’t learn nothing in an interesting subject like that

And the second thing that I wanna talk about today, is about a subject (AM, Mathematic Analysis), considered the hardest subject of Computer Science in UAB…

In this case, I think that Bologna plan is very good… Hats off to it!

You did 3 exams during the semester: Everyone it’s a 10% of the final mark. The final exam counts a 70% of the final mark.

I think that it’s very fair: You have to study/work during the semester, but you also have a final exam to avaluate your acknowledge. But if you have a bad day on the final exam, you can pass if you have work hard during the semester. Really, I think that this is a very good example of how Bologna plan should be applied.

Nevertheless, I don’t like the way they TEACH AM! Why? Since the subject was “created”, it has 3 topics. How is it possible, that after so many years teaching AM, the teachers aren’t able to teach the 3 topics?! Yes, that’s right… This year we have only done the 1st and 2nd topic only! We have had to learnt the third topic at home…

I have to go… And I can not expand me more, but I wanted you to know that I’m very disappointed with what university is teaching me: From one hand, the bad apply of Bologna plan, and when it’s OK, the teachers fail…

I have only explained two subjects… But in ALMOST every subject I have to complaint because I don’t like THE WAY that is being used to teach the students… Even though I like the subjects.

I encourage you all to reflect on wether University is what it should be….

You can also see partícipe del mundo y la sociedad II (In Spanish, sorry for the inconvenience) on Kuragari’s blog.
… SaMy*^12

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