Student Activities Manual for Blitt/Casas' Exploraciones
Mary Ann Blitt began her Spanish studies at the age of 13 while living in Madrid, Spain. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and after spending a year studying at the Universidad de Granada, she returned to the university to obtain a teaching certificate. She later attended Colorado State University, where she received her Master's degree in Spanish with interdisciplinary studies in French. Currently, she teaches Spanish at Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods in Kansas City, where she coordinates the Study Abroad Program and is actively involved in professional development workshops. She travels whenever possible and has studied not only in Spain but also in Mexico, France, and Canada, and has also trained teachers of English as a Foreign Language in Asuncion, Paraguay.Margarita Casas was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She completed her Bachelor's degree in sciences and techniques of communication in Guadalajara, Mexico. She holds two Master's degrees from Colorado State University, one in Spanish literature with an emphasis on education, and the other in Teaching English as a Second Language. Currently, she is an instructor of Spanish at Linn-Benton Community College, where she served as Foreign Language Department chair for 11 years. She has collaborated on a couple of textbooks prior to EXPLORACIONES and has published a novel, ITALIA EN CUATRO ESTACIONES, winner of the first Literature contest of the Universidad de Guadalajara. She is an avid traveler who hopes to inspire her students to travel and see the world by themselves.