Smooshed together all the text I have written - both the earlier "reflection" and the recent speech preparation material with the slide show that I started. The slide show gives me a tangible chunking format to work from. I also have now incorporated the simulation within the presentation slide show. Have developed more of a focus - three parts of the process - technical, student and teacher - to coagulate the sprawl around. This feels a little radical and risky to stay away from the deliverables so much but it makes sense to me - I think this is what I, me, have to offer.
I will practice the presentation with Karen tomorrow as part of process of cleaning it up. Also have to turn my attention back to the guidelines and really gets those wrapped up and fully completed. On Monday practice with Lucie with more organizing and practice. I think I do need a couple more screen shots and will go to Landmark on Tuesday. Should be starting to figure out the reflection paper by then. Also some technical details of saving all my materials correctly.

 
Monday I wrote a large part of the guidelines explanations. Went to Landmark on Tuesday and finished these. Asked Rob and Liza (both who are very interested in creating course web sites) to read through and critique what I have written. I think I got some good stuff down, but have lost some focus by trying to write to different audiences - landmark faculty, other teachers, marlboro faculty. One insight came when thinking about the value of navigation - really the value of have orientation markers, knowing if you have arrived at a destination - that came across with the usability testing. For now I put the guidelines aside until this weekend and work on the presentation. At Landmark on Tuesday I made some screen shots and added them to a powerpoint presentation. I may want a few more shots and I may not want to use powerpoint, but I want to work through my ideas first. that's what I am doing today - Wednesday - have spent several hours writing a mock presentation that is basically a narrative of my capstone experience. It's way too long (5 pages and only 2 thirds the way along), and probably I will find more to include once this is captured. I plan to rework this for the rest of this work week and then return to the guidelines on the weekend. On Monday I want to practice my presentation in front on Lucie. Perhaps I can do the full version and learn how to cut it to size for the actual date. I would welcome the opportunity for someone to hear the whole ball of wax.

 
the home stretch, the fourth quarter, the bottom of the nineth. Here we go, time to focus and gather it all together. I feel as if I have a lot of data and loose ends. I have met some of my goals and have not met some of my goals. Met with Peggy yesterday, Saturday, and she encouraged me to take stock. She was affirming and suggests that I have done good work. I have come to resolve for myself that my approach and results were more of a process than a product. But I have learned some things and now is the time to account for those. We also had capstone seminar and went over the presentation. We all had a short trial and it went terribly for me. Ironically I have been for at least a couple of months using the idea of the presentation in my head to figure out my progress and have developed short drafts of pertinent things to say. However, most of those things did not come to me. Of course, the message here is to better figure out what I want to say (I told Peggy that I would probably develop everything I wanted to cover and then edit it back to the proper length) and then rehearse. My goal would be to practice in front of Lucie when I meet with her next Monday. That means I will finish the bibliography and review and write up notes about the usability tests, then write up the paragraphs on the guidelines, then prepare the presentation. That should be done by Monday. Then pull together the reflection paper and put all the materials on a disc. This by Friday. Meet with classmates on Friday for some more rehearsal. My goal is to feel "present" on the day of the presentation - to really feel like I have something to say and to convey it with interest.