I went into our Toolbox for this topic thinking that I’d never used a hyperdoc before, but after completing the readings and listening to the podcast, I realize that I’ve used this format, but just didn’t know the new lingo. I have been teaching for a while, so remembering the days of webquests, which are the predecessors to hyperdocs, and these were always really work intensive, but also successful. One thing I used to dread about webquests was gaining access to the technology and then hoping that the internet actually worked at school that day. Webquest lessons were one of those lessons that took a lot of work to create, and I also had the extra burden of having to have a back-up lesson because the technology was likely going to fail me. For this reason, I used them sparingly although students really loved them. Now that Chromebooks are ubiquitous in schools, hyperdocs are an excellent teaching tool. During our virtual year, I relied heavily on Peardeck to create interactive lessons that students could complete at their own pace/level. My hyperdocs were no where near as comprehensive or visually appealing as the professional examples, but now that I have seen the potential of this as a teaching tool, I will certainly put it to use. On many of our readings, the professionals commented that teachers need to lecture less, and I welcome that! Don’t get me wrong–I love to talk about things (see how long my blog posts and discussion board posts are sometimes?), but my students don’t retain it when I just stand up and talk, and it is certainly only fun to lecture to an engaged audience, so these are a great tool. I also love how easily you can incorporate differentiation, ELL and special ed support, and create opportunities for students who finish quickly to continue exploring instead of sitting and waiting. Finally, I really appreciate the abundant templates that teachers have shared. As a novice, it will save valuable time to be able to use someone else’s brilliant template and allow me to get comfortable with the new format as I formulate my own approach. Hallelujah, hyperdocs!
I agree with you that as a novice having access to so many templates is wonderful! The only downside to that is getting overwhelmed by all the options. It also seems like there are so many different tools to use, I don’t know how you can keep up with all the changing apps.
I completely agree with you! I had to start a Google Doc that keeps track of what apps are available for what purpose (video, audio, hyperdoc) and what accounts I have. It’s overwhelming, and sometimes, I use too much time exploring.
I love this idea of creating a document or possibly a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the resources we are learning about this week and their different features. Thank you for sharing.
Yes! Having the templates is definitely a huge help when getting your career started.
Totally. Especially because I’m not very good at design, so using other people’s sleek designs kind of trains me, too.
Ugh…webquests. Such a love/hate relationship. Broken links, slow internet. But so great when everything went right.
Have you looked at Symbaloo to organize your apps? I loved using it and having the links all in one place was so convenient for me/students AND it nearly eliminated student error trying to type in a URL. I didn’t have to spend the first ten minutes of independent work circling the room getting kids logged in.
I have not looked at Symbaloo, but will do so immediately. I do feel like we lose a lot of time just getting to right site and logging in. I don’t blame the students, though, because it’s too much for me to remember and keep up with, too! Thank you for the tip!
I had the same experience as you. I didn’t think I had experience with hyperdocs. I actually hadn’t until last year. I hadn’t used Webquest like you but it sounds like a lot of extra work when you factor in the backup lesson. The amount of work that needs to be frontloaded is a little daunting but if it is as engaging as it seems, I think it would be worth it. The range of ways that students can engage and respond would also make grading more fun.
Good point about grading!
Nancy,
You make a very good point when it comes to having to be prepared with an alternative lesson plan in the case of technology problems that could be associated with hyperdocs. It is scary to think that our culture and education system is so dependent on technology for students to be able to learn—especially during a pandemic. Regardless, I’m glad to hear that you have a good experience in terms of working with the resource, Pear Deck. I’ve heard great things about this online tool and it seems to have a lot of benefits towards educating students. I also agree that hyperdocs serve as an amazing resource when it comes to formatting content and traditional instruction in new ways. It is very beneficial towards our student population to come up with different ways for teachers to present material, because every student is unique in their capability of comprehending and applying the content that they have learned. Great perspective on hyperdocs!
–Lauren Chubb
As a parent to an ADD child, the digital learning resources that have been developed during covid have been daunting. It is difficult for him to flip back and forth between pages and retain information in enough detail to answer the prompts on a separate page. I would print information out for him, or we would use a computer and a laptop. One for him to read the material and reference it and one for him to answer questions about the material. I hope that teachers are able to adapt digital learning to a variety of learning capabilities and styles. I am not a teacher, but I hope to be an instruction librarian for a university, so I am excited to learn about so many resources that have been unfamiliar to me.
I have so much sympathy for ADD kids dealing with the digital learning resources. Each one takes a lot of skill to navigate, and I think there is a lot of inconsistency with the use of digital learning tools in districts, so students have to learn programs for every single class, and that’s too much for any kid, much less one coping with attention deficits. I also notice the huge difference between understanding, digesting, retaining, and connecting information in an online textbook versus a paper book, so the virtual world is great, but definitely has its setbacks.