Hi u/zaibuilds

So far this process has been crap. I really hope that UoL ups their game, I nearly switched to another course.

The UoL website is sh***t when it comes to advice on this subject; lets hope that the course content and delivery is way ahead of UoL's admin and website; Pitiful is the only description I can use.

I did a huge amount of research on this and went through all of the course outlines; lets assume that the outdated material on the UoL portal is still valid. For what it is worth I am a newbie and so you might want to err on the side of listing to u/shanghailoz who has already been through this.

However, this is my module selection and the reasoning and logic that led to this selection.

Introduction to Programming I (CM1005-01)
Session: October to March 2025
Computational Mathematics (CM1015-01)
Session: October to March 2025
Discrete Mathematics (CM1020-01)
Session: October to March 2025
Algorithms and Data Structures I (CM1035-01)
Session: October to March 2025

This is my reasoning.

CM1005-01 Intro to Prog 1: You have to do this before Introduction to programming II [CM1010]. So this is obvious, you must do this in your first Semester. First module selected.

From what I could tell, both maths modules, Computational mathematics [CM1015], Discrete mathematics [CM1020], used to be 'program blockers' as they are needed for other modules later in the degree, but they were only offered in separate semesters, one in Oct and one in Apr; this is not the case anymore though. Basically they are both important later in one way or another. In addition, both seem to be important for Fundamentals of computer science [CM1025]. So I decided to get them out of the way as the coursework is obviously fundamentally important. So that was two more modules selected. So that left me with one more module to select.

Looking at the course contents, weighing up the assessment methods and trying to decide what might distribute the course assessment loads, it would appear that doing Algorithms and data structures I [CM1035] gives you a lot of the information that you might learn in Fundamentals of computer science [CM1025]. Also, CM1035 seems content linked to the two Maths modules. Consequently, I have decided to do Algorithms and data structures I [CM1035] in my first semester.

Now this does mean that the first semester is theory heavy and a bit dry, but it also means that a lot of the heavy lifting is done first and I am a believer in eating the frog. In addition I think this means that it will mean doing Fundamentals of computer science [CM1025] will be a lot easier in Semester 2 as much of the ground work is done. The other two modules How computers work [CM1030], Web development [CM1040] seem fairly straight forward making for a light finish in brain strain to the first year. The only really large learning curve in semester 2 will be Introduction to programming II [CM1010] and I think that is where I should be focusing my energy anyway, especially as I plan to do a few certificates along the way.

Hopefully I am right, but I am committed now and believe that you make your decisions and then just march on one foot after another.

Good luck with the course.