The full text is available online. You can find it at other sites, as well. I've prepared an outline of the dialogue, with a focus on the issues relevant to this class.

The Parker Pen Company has published a short, but informative, history of handwriting which will give you a good visual account of not only Plato's writing tools, but the tools of the Sumerians, Romans, and modern scripts.

"The Phaedrus Kit" posted by Earl Jackson Jr. in 1999 contains a wealth of information about the Platonic dialogue, including an extensive discussion of writing as technology, listed under a section of the kit called "graphotekne".

Jackson recommends the Voice of the Shuttle. It is a phenomenal resources for college students in the humanities, and it has extensive links to resources under the topic, " Technology of Writing."

Bernard Suzanne, a life-long student of Plato's work, has written a succinct essay that covers the life of Plato and summarizes important aspects of his life. Suzanne stresses that Plato was both a writer and philosopher, and that his work is meant to encourage exploration and speculation, not provide answers:

First and foremost, it must be understood that Plato was not a dogmatist, and he never tried to put into writing the answers he might have himself given to all the questions he has us rehash with the dialogues, at least not under the form of well-crafted doctrines of the kind his pupil Aristotle was so fond of. He knew too well that each one must find the answers in himself and by himself, and give them not only in words, but in deeds. (from Suzanne's essay)

Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Maintenance is likely the most famous modern extension of The Phaedrus. Pirsig is haunted by a ghost figure he calls "Phaedrus," and says:

the ghost of rationality was what Phaedrus pursued and what led to his insanity, but to get into that it's vital to stay with down-to-earth examples of rationality, so as not to get lost in generalities no one else can understand. Talk about rationality can get very confusing unless the things with which rationality deals are also included. (from Part II)

Cass Dalglish's essay, "Textual Dance," presents a scholarly argument for connecting the oldest and newest poetry, as well as providing an example of a creative re-enactment of the oldest poetry (scroll to the bottom of the essay). This piece can give you some insight into both the history of writing, and some inspiration for "doing things with Phaedrus."