My name is Maria Besten and I work at Crystal Lake South High School in Crystal Lake, District 155. After years of working in the corporate world I earned my BA in German Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University and then my MA in German Language and Literature from the University of Nebraska. I have been teaching German as a foreign language for the past 12 years. I have taught all levels from German 1 through German 4 A/P. I also hold an ESL endorsement and have taught ESL 1 - 3.
Prior to implementation of remote learning I felt I was an advanced beginner in terms of technology. As we were all thrown into e-learning at the end of last year, I think I can say I graduated to a comfort level between advanced beginner and competent. And every day I have been learning something new! Now that we have started the new school year with full remote learning other challenges, such as Zoom, have made their way into my daily lesson plans. I have already taken two classes at USF that taught me some new ways of assessing my students using online platform, but I want to continue to learn more about different web tools.
Not only are we adjusting to our new schedules and delivery of instruction, we are also required to use the learning platform Canvas this school year. It certainly has been and still is a very steep learning curve and I hope that soon I will appreciate what Canvas can do.
I am married and have two girls, Alana and Alexis, and our little fur baby Nahla. In my spare time I like to work in the yard, read and travel. My newest addiction is creating Bitmoji classrooms - so addicting!
Looking forward to working with all of you and learning how to create engaging e-learning lessons in a collaborate classroom!
Hello Maria,
ReplyDeleteI too feel like I have had to jump along my learning curve since remote learning began. I really realized how much I DID NOT know when I actually had time to explore the remote learning resources that I needed to use for my kids.
I also returned to teaching after earning another degree and working in another field. It is nice to have another person to relate to in this way. I haven't encountered too many people so far that have chosen to do this. I admire you for also getting your ESL endorsement--that is SO much work! I have only been able to make it through one course so far with that! Looking forward to learning from you in this class!
Hello Maria,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, it's great to have another World Language teacher in this program! Willkommen! I am a Spanish teacher, ¡bienvenida! Congratulations on graduating from advanced beginner to competent!
I also have a lot of respect for you teaching ESL. I took a few ESL classes at NIU, and after a few courses, observing my colleagues, learning about how much planning and paperwork was involved for every student, I realized that 1.) it was not for me and 2.) I have a GREAT amount of respect for the ELL teachers at my school! It truly is a tough job and I applaud you for being ESL certified.
Hi, Maria,
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to learn German and taught myself some basics when I visited Germany over a decade ago. It's a beautiful language; I'm glad some schools are still teaching German. My high school doesn't and I wish it did.
I hope this course helps you even more with growing competency and love for educational technology. Yes, it's great for you to feel the student view of Canvas; it'll make you more experienced with the LMS format.
Hey Maria,
ReplyDeleteI just want to say how impressive it is that you are a German teacher. I think that is so cool and thought they did not teach that language anymore. Super awesome! I look forward to working with you on continuing to implement technology in the classroom.
I have heard Bitmoji classrooms are addicting and I am trying to resist the temptation, but I might just go for it! haha. Looking forward to working with you!
Matt
Hello Maria,
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see another World Language teacher. I look forward to collaborating with you. I thought about going the ESL route also. I find it interesting and very useful in the community I teach at. I teach in Aurora which is very diverse. I hope to talk to you soon about traveling and maybe get some recommendations.
Hi Maria,
ReplyDeleteYet another World Language teacher here! I teach middle school Spanish in District 204 in Naperville. I cannot imagine the change that you went through going from the corporate world to the classroom. That had to have been incredible. After earning this technology endorsement, I'm hoping to earn my ESL endorsement. Looking forward to working with you.
Jodi Lange