This semester was so intense but I learned a lot in every aspect.

As some of you know I was really torn over some great offers for

next year. It is fascinating how positive choices can really be

dichotomizing. I could not not go wrong with any of my choices

but when you are someone like myself who really puts her

heart and soul into her teaching, you will probably also

invest yourself, not just intellectually but also emotionally

in this big decision. At any rate, I just want to thank all of

you for being so caring and reaching out when I was paralyzed

over these decisions this semester!

On a different note, since I am finally am able to access my blog

(yes, even I could not break the code for my password until today!)

I thought I would share one of the highlights from this semester:

Darius Goes West, a moving documentary.

One of my classmates, Logan Smaley, made this documentary

on a boy who was part of the camp where he worked. Logan shared

this documentary with all of us through the ASKWITH forum here

at Harvard. I was really touched by this documentary. Darius, the

protagonist in this documentary is an adolescent with

duchenne muscular dystrophy, one of the 9 types of muscular

dystrophy that is a degenerative disease, mostly strikes

males from what I recall hearing; most people with this

disease only live into their late teens or twenties.

Watching Darius Goes West will give you perspective and

also inspire you. Darius is a true hero! Logan, his

brother and the rest of the crew are also incredibly

inspiring!

I highly recommend you watch Darius Goes West on

Viddler or YouTube. I have attached it to this blog. Make

sure you have tissues with you because Darius and his crew

will touch your heart and also make you question why more

places are not universally designed for people with physical

disabilities. You will be thankful for watching this award

wining documentary!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2yoOlicmww

Home Sweet Home: Québec city and NYC

As a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., I feel like I have the best
of both worlds! To give you a taste of my native home, French Canada's
capital known as Quebec city, and my second home NYC otherwise
known as Gotham, I chose these two videos. Without a doubt, the
music accompanying the NYC video will liven anyone's spirit!

Diigo and Audacity

In my UDL class, I recently learned about diigo, a "social annotation" tool which allows you to highlight, clip and post sticky notes on web sites! Furthermore, you can choose to share these notes (highlights, clips, and sticky notes) or keep them private.

I find diigo practical because it saves me time from having to stir my memory by re-reading an entire bookmarked website. Instead of printing pages from a website and highlighting various parts, I can save paper and space from my files by highlighting a portion and placing a virtual sticky note with my thoughts and even share them online with a friend. You can learn more about this online tool at www.diigo.com

Another tool that I highly recommend is Audacity. Yes, do not let the
name fool you, this software allows you to record sound. You can
even edit sound you recorded! After experimenting with it last night,
I used it today to record a lecture and it worked (-:

If your professor is not using a microphone in a large lecture hall or if he/she does not speak loudly, definitely sit close to the professor (i.e. in the front row) when using audacity or attach a microphone to your computer. Thanks to Audacity, I can go back and listen to a lecture and add any information I might not have jotted down in my notes! You can download it for freee at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Good words and music are always a potent combination

I found more videos I want to share and thought you might
appreciate. The first one is called "Inspirational Quotes".
Not only are the quotes worth jotting down, but John Lennon's
music for the background adds an additional soothing touch.
The second one titled "No Matter What They Tell Us" combines
music you will recognize and hopefully enjoy, and conveys
a universal message. The third one I could not help but
post because the images and the music from Louis Armstrong
are visual and auditory treats I love and wanted to share
with you. Enjoy!

Learning to post videos on my blog

New York, New York!

Next to Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of my favorite places in New York City.

I am in the Learning & Teaching program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and enjoying the buffet of classes as well as the talented and diverse group of students in our classes. Prior to HGSE, I taught middle school Mathematics in New York City. When I first started teaching Mathematics, I taught mixed ability classes in 5th and 6th grade. For my last 4 years, I taught Honors Math to 6th through 8th grade students. All of these experiences were exhilarating! In addition to teaching Math, I spent one year as Assistant Director of Admissions at an independent school in San Francisco.

Prior to venturing out into the real world, I was a Fellow in Urban Education and Child Development at the Yale School of Medicine's, Child Study Center. The Yale Child Study Center is where I gained first hand experience with children who had a range of learning differences and were being evaluated for all sorts of reasons from PTSD to autism and other pervasive development disorders. Before this fellowship, I was a student at Wellesley College, where I earned my B.A. in History with a minor in Psychology.