Will Richardson

Speaker, consultant, writer, learner, parent

Getting Organized

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Pam says:

I know in an earlier post Will mentioned getting a plan together. We need to start doing some serious thinking along this vein.

Ok…here goes. I’ve been using my time on this snow day to put to text my ideas for eBN and more. I know that we all have been thinking about the evolution of our little enterprise, and what it means to be taking it (at least symbolically) to the next step. I’m feeling like this is getting serious, and ya know what? I want it to get serious. Nevermind that my kids and wife are wondering if I’ve gone over the top already. I’m feeling called on a couple of fronts.

First, the money. In the next day or two, I’m going to start a written plan with the idea of getting funding. I’ll be stealing from here and there in terms of goals and vision and method, but I’m going to go back to the questions that I posed here a couple of weeks ago. If anyone wants to add to the list or tackle one or two and suggest some content, feel free. I’m shooting to have a rough draft done in the next six weeks or so.

Second, the book. Pam broached the idea again, and Seb and I have been talking off and on about it. The debate on form is not as important as getting it together. From where I sit, eBN should be the book in digital form. If we want to print it later…

Here’s my outline, up for feedback. I’m thinking that if we’re game, we can all take pieces of this as our own and contribute them to the site. No way only one or two of us pulls this off in any timely fashion…

  • Chapter 1–EBN—vision, purpose, membership etc
  • Chapter 2–Intro to Web logs—definition, examples, uses, etc.
  • Chapter 3–Theory and rationale for classroom use
  • Chapter 4–Best Practices/ Teacher stories
  • Chapter 5–Software and Hardware choices with annotation
  • Chapter 6–Manila in Depth (Currently eBN’s Top Pick)—How to’s , documentation, online training etc.
  • Chapter 7–Add ons—Rss, Chat, Zonk etc…with relevant classroom application
  • Chapter 8–Issues—hosting, security legal, tech support, assessment etc.
  • Chapter 9–Resources

    And I am feeling like there is a time pressure here. We’re adding steadily to our ranks…not yet near the tipping point…but I think it’s approaching faster than it may seem. Any day now, there should be a big feature in TechLearning mag. The Middlebury group will be showcasing Web logs this summer. We’re all recruiting like crazy. Hey, it never hurts to be ready…and the sooner we get up and running, the sooner we’re able to effect change.

    There’s more. As Pam again says, eBN needs support. We need to create and moderate forums, provide and acquire hosting, run online help desks, do fund raising and membership recruitment individual and institutional. Ok, this may be a bit over the top, but let’s get it all down now…dream a little…what do we want this to be when it’s as finished as it can be? (Remember, nothing is ever truly finished.)

    Call me crazy, but I believe. On! On!
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