Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc!
If you have been in the world of education long, you have seen every teaching style get praised for a while and then a few years later criticized. We have gone from whole class lecture, to jig-saw everything, and now we encouraged to teach in small groups. Well, I don't know about you, but i do no have the ability to clone myself to be in multiple places at once---or do I?
We recently went to TCEA, and it seemed like many of the sessions we attended someone mentioned video at least once, so I tried to stay on that theme and went to several sessions about using video in the classroom. I thought they would be encouraging the use of already made YouTube videos, but I was wrong! The going trend is to video yourself. One presenter even claimed students would rather watch you on a screen that watch you at the front of the class. That means. . . . I can clone myself!
So, I came back and I started using Screencastify to video myself teaching lessons, but then what do I do with those videos? How do I get them to the kiddos? Well, duh!
Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc!
Not only that, the hyperdoc follows the lesson cycle and forces me to think through from beginning to end what I want my students to accomplish. My lessons now seem to be more thorough. AND, I can differentiate my lessons for all the students using Google Classroom.
So, for those of you who do not know, a hyperdoc is a set of instructions on a Google Doc which contains links (underlined blue font) to multiple different things. In my hook, I might include a snazzy song from YouTube. After that I might give them a link to a form with some questions to answer before they read. Then, there might be instructions for the students to read from their book, or there might be a link of me reading to them from their book. Then, I always try to put in a Google Form to quiz them over their reading to ensure they actually read, PLUS I get an automatic grade. Win, win! I use different types of Hyperdoc Templates to make my lessons. Most of the time I use numbers down the left hand side to show the order they should work. I do this when I plan to pull small groups randomly to check in with them. Our Texas Hero Report was perfectly set up on a hyperdoc. The students worked through the hyperdoc and I was able to pull kids based on who they chose to research. This gave them an opportunity to compare notes. |
I'm currently doing more station work in my classroom so I can differentiate and try to help those that are struggling before we get to the end of the year testing. I plan my stations on a Google Slide, with links included, and then rearrange them and send them out through Classroom so the students know where to start working. I choose a station where I plan to sit down with my preselected groups and make sure they all get the same Hyperdoc. This makes small group lessons so much easier. Sometimes we meet so I can read to them, sometimes I meet with a group so I can give feedback on their assignment, or sometimes I just go stand by and observe their collaboration. |
My teaching partner (Carol Adams) and I even create lesson plans using hyperdocs! We share links to resources and blog posts so we can communicate better because we don't always have time to sit down together and plan face to face.
I am a big supporter of hyperdocs. If you need help setting one up, let me know. And just because I like it--one more time:
Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc! Hyperdoc!
"Have fun stormin’ da castle."
-Mad Max and Valerie
This blog post was written by A.C. Williams Elementary School 4th Grade Reading teacher and iCoach, Amy Scaff. |