When I received details of an online Open University (OU) course about the using the Internet I was intrigued and quickly applied for a place. Happily I was accepted with the starting date six months ahead. Those months were spent trying to beg or borrow a computer and with only two weeks to spare I acquired a second-hand one for £200 from a friend of a friend.

We began by learning how to install software - programmes like FirstClass for conferencing (similar to Forum at Ulm), using zip files and a virus checker. This was really diving in at the deep end but, as always, once you get started it becomes clearer. Instructions were always available in printed booklets that arrived regularly, much to the postman's consternation. My OU tutor could be telephoned if things were not going well as deadlines approached. Actually "talking" at the conferences with other students gave me moral support and their suggestions for solving problems were very useful.

Following on came large modules to study on-line or print out - many forests may have been destroyed in the process! The modules contained a full history of the Internet from ARPANET to the introduction of the worldwide web. As the mysteries of Binary, Bits & Bytes began to unfold, I completed my monthly essay for assessment and began to think about what I would put in my first web page!

Difficulties encountered during the course were many and varied especially for people who had no previous experience of computing or unfriendly 'mice'! Studying IT in isolation is not for the faint-hearted. It's all too easy to lose motivation and give up when the going gets tough as it inevitably does at times. Building a web site replaced an end of term exam. I learned to use HTML while grappling with the unknown in the form of AOL Press and other web builder programs. I spent many a long hour on the computer tinkering with source codes to make links work properly.

It was, however, a most stimulating experience and I have no regrets taking this route to understanding how to use information technology. It has prepared me thoroughly to be a buddy at Strathclyde University as I now have a good grasp of most functions that people ask about. However there is little doubt that having a friendly buddy session is a much gentler introduction to surfing the web!