Late nights aren't what they used to be...

So here I am wide awake at nearly 3am... on a weekday.  If you know me this might not be a big surprise, but the reasons why I am awake are quite different than what my previous reputation(s) would suggest.  Here I am up late contemplating how to integrate all of my recent projects with a course I previously designed using Moodle.  My old course was pretty much all about poetry (mostly the technical stuff), but I am trying to integrate some new material about themes and eventually a section on writing cover letters and resumes.  It is kind of crazy how all of the courses in the Instructional Technology program seem to be intertwined and connected... I really enjoy the fact that I can continue adding depth to previous projects utilizing some new skills and techniques.

Progress

My instructional website is meant to teach individuals how to write a cover letter.  I feel as though I have rejuvenated my confidence with cover letter writing as I have just landed a new job!  I have accepted a position teaching 9th and 12th grade English in the district where I currently reside and am already employed as an athletic coach... Fun fun fun.  Back to the website-- I am trying to figure out how to use text input fields to capture text entered by the learners to compose different parts of the cover letter.  For example, my site is composed of several sections that address the different parts of a cover letter.  On these pages I would like the learner to input an example of what that section, or specific paragraph might look like.  At the end of the experience, I would like all of the text collected to compose a sample cover letter.  Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Instructional Website

So as I am hunting for a new job teaching (which in Ohio is like hunting for Unicorn) I am considering what to do with the instructional website design I am completing for class...
Then it hits me -- build your website on something timely and relevant.  Since I plan on teaching secondary language arts again, and I am job seeking... why not make an instructional website on how to produce efficient and aesthetically pleasing cover letters and resumes?  I usually teach that to my students and I am currently attempting to use the same concepts in my quest for employment.

Since this was my first summer term at Kent State, I was a little unsure of what to expect with the accelerated courses.  I appreciate the opportunity to blog for credit because it allows me to reflect at a slightly slower pace than some of the coursework.  I have been considering how to approach the instructional website... maybe too much so, since I haven't been able to pick a topic.  I constructed an online course regarding technical poetry in a previous course at KSU, and have been contemplating whether an instructional website to supplement that course would be of benefit.  The second option is to choose an entirely different idea, one that might relate more closely to the current courses I am taking... decisions, decisions.  I suspect my next blog might be the conclusion of my contemplations...

Let the fun (summer courses) begin!

I am blogging and tweeting.  These are things that I often joked I would never do.  I can justify changing my ways to embrace these technologies-- they do hold a certain amount of value and a great amount of potential depending on how they are used.  Blogging to replace informal writing seems like a great way to utilize technology, but for me this is blogging to be reflective.  After the first few days of summer courses I have been reminded that we are not trying to reinvent the wheel with these technologies.  Perhaps we are trying to inflate a tire that loses air pressure every so often?