About me

Introduction

Hi Everyone,

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 feel I was an advanced beginner in terms of technology. As we started our new school year I have learned how to teach with Zoom, navigate two screens, create online games and speaking activities, trying out new vocabulary learning websites. I think I can say I graduated to a comfort level between advanced beginner and competent. And every day I learn something new!

Our district is implementing Canvas next school year. We have been learning this past semester how to use it and I am excited that I can experience Canvas from the student's view. District 155 has transitioned to 1:1 in 2018.

I was raised in Germany and am bilingual. 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 hobby is creating Bitmoji classrooms - so addicting!

Looking forward to working with all of you and learning how to implement various multi media tools in my lessons that hopefully will engage my students!