Hi Barb - many thanks for this considered post. It's really good to know that you have tried drawing a footprint and that you managed it on your own.
One or two people we know have managed to draw their footprint without any discussion with us, by reading what is on the wiki and watching the video - but we know it is not easy and time consuming. Heli Nurmi wrote a series of six blog posts about drawing a footprint (http://helistudies.edublogs.org/). She is now steeped in EdcMOOC so you need to scroll back through the posts to find those about footprints. It would be interestingif you could get your course instructor to draw a footprint and then compare them - but she would need to be prepared to give up a bit of time!
The comment you make about images shaping constructs in the mind is interesting. We thought the images would be helpful, but i now wonder how much they will influence the way people interpret the factors. Interesting thought!
Thanks Barb.