My Route to Choose

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

I love that poem! I don't know how times I have read it and it never gets old. My whole career as a teacher seems to match this poem since I always change positions or duties from year to year. It also seems to explain my attraction to Web 2.0. Unfortunately Web 2.0 is still the road less traveled, but since I took that road it does seem to make all the difference.

There are so many ideas that I have gathered traveling this road. I learned that students could and should be responsible for their learning. To know that I don't have to talk the entire period and I am doing the students a disservice by being a dispenser of information. That sometimes I need to "back off" and let the students as Tim Gunn from Project Runway say "work it out."

So from my previous travels and this class, here is my action plan:

1. To keep blogging! I want to include more tool reviews than I have done in the past. While others already do it, I think my perspective might be helpful to others.
2. To not judge so quickly. I have a tendency to not use a tool if I don't understand its purpose right away. Voicethread, here I come!
3. To keep up with Google Reader. I have read so many amazing articles that I want to try to keep up with the blogs I have chosen to follow.
4. To remember to choose the right tool for the right project. Sometimes the newest tool isn't the best tool for the project.
5. To remember is not about the tool, it is about student learning. Before any Web tool is introduced in class, I will have a well developed plan on how it will further student learning. Technology should be transparent.
6. To never be afraid to take chances. It is okay if the project or the tool doesn't work, if I learn and reflect on the experience.