Our blog assignment for this week is to blog about any topic we have covered so far. Due to the current world climate, and our education system turning upside down because of quarantine and social distancing, I think talking about the uses of Quizlet would be a fitting topic.
Quizlet is an online site that allows students and teachers to create their own study materials, practice tests, and quizzes all online!
Students can create their own flashcards and study guides by entering terms and their definitions into a study set creator on Quizlet. Teachers can create tests and quizzes for their students to monitor progress and accurately asses their students. Teachers also have the option within Quizlet to add more to their study materials. Teachers can create audio files, upload images and diagrams, and use custom highlight and text to really upgrade regular study materials.
Personally, I use Quizlet often to prepare myself for assignments and I find creating and taking quizzes as a prep tactic to study is very beneficial. Not only do you learn by using the flashcards and study sets, creating quizzes and writing the questions I find really helps me retain the material.
This is a Youtube video of a Quizlet Live Webinar. The video itself is quite long but the moderators really get into some more fun things that Quizlet can bring to the learning experience!
I can’t wait to use Quizlet in my classrooms in the future.
This week I would like to take the time to talk about the Danielson’s Framework for Teaching! There is a lot that goes into the Danielson Framework, but I would like to give a little more explanation of the FOUR DOMAINS.
This Framework provides a common language for educators to use across the board. It is a way to formulate lesson plans in the most effective way possible to help both teachers and students as well!
The Framework begins with four domains: Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. The domains choose to focus on 4 areas in an educator’s world that need to be organized and prepared in order to be able to communicate any material to students effectively.
The Danielson Framework gives us some specifics in each category to look for in order to be the most prepared possible.
Planning and Preparation— Demonstrate Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy Demonstrating Knowledge of Students Setting Instructional Outcomes Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources Designing Coherent Instruction Designing Student Assessments
Stage one of any process is the planning and prep. If a teacher is not prepared to teach the students or has a lacking understanding of what is required, this can go badly very quickly.
Classroom Environment— Creating Environment of Respect and Rapport Establishing a Culture for Learning Managing Student Behavior Organizing Physical Space
Classroom Environment is such a crucial domain, it helps teachers be able to set a tone for their classroom and begin to set limitations and expectations with their students and their class space.
Instruction — Communicating with Students Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques Engaging Students in Learning Using Assessment in Instruction Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness
Possibly the most important domain, Instruction gives teachers a small outline of things to use in a lesson. What I like the most about the specifics of this domain is that they included being flexible and responsive in order to instruct well. I agree with this wholeheartedly. If we as educators are not able to listen to our students and see where we may need to be more responsive to their interests when learning or be flexible in our approach, we will not reach every student. Reaching every student should be a goal for all educators.
Professional Responsibilities— Reflecting on Teaching Maintaining Accurate Records Communicating with Families Participating in Professional Community Growing and Developing Professionally Showing Professionalism
Professional Responsibilities is a domain because while reaching students and providing great education is the ultimate goal of teachers, we cannot ignore the professionalism and importance of our jobs. We are bound to help our students grow, but we are also responsible for our own growth. Continuing to make that a priority will lead to more confidence and success!
Here is another video that further explains the Danielson Framework! Additional resources I found helpful can be found HERE.
The show is based around a group of criminals with their own pasts who join up to rob the Royal Mint of Spain, in Madrid.
Led by the self christened ‘Professor’, the group is composed of 7 other characters, who each give themselves new names after famous cities. The show is spoken in European Spanish and takes place in Madrid and other parts of Spain. Mostly centered on the heist itself, the show does not highlight many specifics about the Spanish culture but does immerse the viewer in the language, energy, and the actors bring the characters and their emotions to life beautifully.
While the show itself does not highlight too much of the Spanish culture it takes place around, the show has become globally popular. The beautiful cinematography and storytelling ability of the writers brings this tale to life. La Casa de Papel is one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English language series.
There are a lot of similarities between the culture shown in this show and that of the United States in my experience. The characters used most of the same technologies, transportations, and food. The weather, though different from the US, was what I expected for Spain. The temperatures there never getting too chill (assuming this from characters not wearing heavy outerwear) and staying more in the 60F-80F degree range, which is normal for that country. The personal character development and relationships between men and women, however, was very much in line with the experiences I fell like many of us have had.
I can see why this show resonates so well with a global community. The characters want to rob the Royal Mint of Spain to get money for themselves and their future families because they do not feel that the ends of paying for an education and working a job their whole lives justify the means. The group’s goal is to only steal from the rich or the government and to not harm anyone in the process. This, I think, can deeply resonate with a lot of people across the world as we look at the socioeconomic struggles of most people in the world today and the global political tensions. Robin Hood was celebrated by the people but hated by the Lords. Taking from the rich and giving to the poor is a sentiment that I believe a lot of the people around the world watching this show can agree within today’s world.
I found more cool info about the series from the BBC here!
