Yo+creo+que...

 A Little Bit About Me I am a native of the southside of Chicago and currently reside in the southwestern suburbs. I graduated from Saint Xavier University in 2005 with a Bachelor's Degree in Education with minors in Language Arts, Social Studies, and Spanish. So, if you're wondering why I am sporadically using Spanish, it's because I am a long-time Spanish student and current teacher of //la idioma bonita//. For the past five years, I have taught numerous levels of Spanish and Reading Intervention. This year, I am encouraging my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to set aside their fears and live //la vida española//! In addition to my life as a middle school teacher and basketball coach, I am also a graduate student at Saint Xavier University working towards a Master's Degree in Reading.

When outside of the classroom, I enjoy a wide variety of activities. I love to be outdoors hiking, running, walking my dog, and riding my bike. I am a big sports fan who supports the White Sox, Bears, and Bulls in good times and bad (it seems the Bears have more bad times than good). I have been to six different MLB stadiums in the past five years and someday hope to visit every single one. One of my favorite activities is to sample the various styles of pizza wherever I go (If you can't tell, it's my ideal food, all food groups covered... yum!). Between Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, California, and New York, I have to say that New York pizza is like no other and is by far my favorite. When confined indoors, I can usually be found reading a book (usually something historical), watching a movie, or attending a concert. In two months, I will be taking my first trip out of the country and couldn't be more excited! My travels will take me to Buenos Aires and Puerto Iguazu, Argentina and possibly Montevideo, Uruguay (time permitting). I cannot wait to speak Spanish in a real Spanish-speaking country; it's both exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. I will also be busy planning a wedding that will take place in the summer of 2011, there's still so much to do!

Closing the Digital Divide My biggest dream is to be part of the change that this world needs. I hope to make progress through education and communication. I envision a world in which all people, who are created equal, will be treated as equal. Unfortunately, it seems like the children who need to experience technology in the classroom, mostly because they will not see these new-age tools at home, are the last to receive the precious gift. I am fortunate enough to be part of a technology-rich school district, and the large majority of the students become experts in using the technology because they spend hours experimenting not just at school but also at home. When I speak to colleagues and read literature written by those who teach in more impoverished areas, they often times have only heard of the technologies my students and I have at our fingertips on a daily basis. According to Cummins, Brown, and Sayers functional, inexpensive hardware and operating systems must be made easily accessible and available to people in all global communities in order to close the digital divide. I hope to use a wiki in my current and future classroom by connecting with Spanish-speaking students around the globe. In the NCTE article "New Literacies and 21st-Century Technologies", it states that students who are part of electronic environments are able to gain immediate access to things that would've taken days or weeks only a decade ago. It would be an amazing and enriching experience for my students to communicate with native-Spanish speakers and to hear about, first-hand, the far off lands we talk about on a daily basis. In return, it would be great for kids in other countries to connect with kids in the U.S. Not only would this type of exchange benefit all of their language acquisition, but it would allow them to feel globally connected. For example, when we read about floods and evacuations near Machu Picchu or when the Honduran president was ousted from power last year, it would be have been eye-opening to hear the youths take on the situations. The kids in today's classrooms are the leaders of tomorrow, and they will make decisions and discoveries that will shape and transform all of our lives. Therefore, I desire to use technology, specifically this wiki, to connect students and teach them to realize that what they do makes an impact on others around the globe. Ideally, these globally-aware kids, who will be tomorrow's leaders, will make better-informed decisions about relations with other countries, cultures, etc. as a result of knowing someone who lives in a far away place. I have a strong instinct that suggests people's views would open up if there was a more human connection with the world's issues. NOTE: Since I am constantly evolving, this page may change many times.:) ​  The above document is my final reflection for EDUG570, Technology & the Reading Specialist. This, too, may change over time.

*Some of My Favorite Quotes* "Any genuine teaching will result, if successful, in someone's knowing how to bring about a better condition of things than existed earlier."

// -John Dewey //

"Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contibute the best that they have and all that they are." // -Hafsat Abiola //

"How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak?" // -Isabel Allende //