Ok, I don’t vent very often, but I want to take a few minutes to share my ideas that are racing through my head!

I now have all types of thoughts rambling in my head about a final project. I know we were given the option of a paper as the final project and at first I thought, “Maybe a paper would be a lot less hectic,” but no, I want the challenge. I am ready for the challenge. I am trying to gear toward something that I can use in a classroom in the future. Whether it be with elementary students or higher ed. students, I would want to be able to use it with either. I liked the idea of a tutorial and I was thinking something along the lines of a tutorial encompassing all we have covered so far and of course adding as we cover new things along the remainder of the semester. I feel like I am stealing someone’s idea, and Nate couldn’t remember who came up with the idea of the tutorial, so whoever it was–I am sending the credit to you for this idea! :-) Don’t get me for plagiarism. :-) I liked the idea of the tutorial. I would call my tutorial, something along the lines of “Getting Connected–A Guide to a Distance of Community Learners.”

At first, I was scared to write ideas about the final project, but we are all a team and we need to work together and offer each other ideas and suggestions. I would, of course, begin my project with some links to places to sign up for a free email account and walk through a basic set-up for email. I would lead into blogs and some basic links to set up a blog, and then walk through setting up a blog–with tips thrown in–and how to get linked, or “feed the gator.” I would include voice in the tutorial. I am trying to figure out how I would record my movements on the computer. I know there is something out there, but I will have to research and see what the cost is, or if I can find something that is free. Of course, this is just an idea that is feeding off of someone else’s idea.

I also thought about borrowing someone’s classroom and a topic that they are covering and designing a tutorial for them to set up their own blogs where the class would become connected and I would act as the facilitator. The teacher could be included in this as well. I was thinking about younger students that may not have computers at home and was wondering if I could get the teacher to work with me on providing time in class for these students to write some on their blogs. Everyone wouldn’t have to write, in class, each day–the teacher could divide the class over a week’s time. If students wanted to write in their blogs at home they could. Then I thought of the liability and if it would be ok as long as I provided the teacher with a permission slip to have signed and keep on file. If parents objected then those students could be left out of the project, but be provided with another computer activity during the time they would be working on their blog. I may be thinking too deep on this, but I don’t have my own classroom, and I have only been through student teaching–so I think on all the “warnings” we have been taught. :-)

I don’t know if anyone can follow this, but when I have ideas surfacing, I have to write them down, and tonight I was at the computer and I thought, “Why not have a record of my thoughts–I can shuffle them later.”