Time to Get HYPED!

Hey, GID Friends! It’s me, Paige, again!

In past blogs, I’ve described my units in detail, phase by phase, which is a terrific chance to reflect on each step. Since I made the switch to coach, however, my role in the Guided Inquiry process is just so different- I don’t necessarily have that deep insight about each phase of each unit. What I can reflect on, though, is the introduction of one to one technology into the process. I’m asked all the time  how the technology has impacted teaching and learning. There are multiple ways to answer that, but one of the most important changes is in how students do research. Before we were one to one, research was a huge event. Now, students have all the information and tools they need right at their fingertips, every single day. That shift has allowed research to become more integrated into curriculum across content areas. I’ve blogged before the one to one initiative about my struggles with technology, but even then I was of the opinion that the benefits SO far outweighed them- and that’s even more true now.

Since my experience with Guided Inquiry has changed so much, it was hard to put my finger on what to write about. When Kelsey invited me to blog along with her, she had the great idea to talk about a tool, which she alluded to yesterday. We want to talk about the inquiry journal, specifically about the digital inquiry journal we developed together. There’s MUCH to be said for the benefits and uses of digital inquiry journals, but I’m not going to say it. I’m going to save it for Kelsey to say tomorrow. Today, I want to share a little about our favorite digital inquiry journal tool- HyperDocs.

I first learned about HyperDocs last fall while attending iPadpalooza, a professional development conference at the University of Oklahoma. I heard about it AGAIN only weeks afterwards at The Oklahoma Technology Association’s yearly conference, Encyclomedia. It was SUCH a perfect fit for the one to one classroom that I was like, “Okay- I’ve got to tell people about this.” And that’s the thought that led to my GET FIT presentation Kelsey referred to in her post. Before I deep dive into information about HyperDocs, however, I want to share with you how the presenters at iPadpalooza convinced me so quickly of its value.

The presenters posed this question: “Which of the following seating arrangements would you find most and least comfortable as a student? What about as a teacher?” They then showed the following pictures:

 

There was discussion as different participants shared the various pros and cons of the seating arrangements. THEN, the presenters shared THESE photos.

                           

 

If you can’t tell, each photo shares the level of engagement of each position in the room. I’m sure there was discussion about this, but what I really remember is this revelation that came from it:

When we put a device in front of a student and use it authentically and effectively, every seat becomes front and center.

Then we, as teachers, can free ourselves up from the constant battle for attention and engagement and spend more time focusing on individualized instruction. Now, I know that HyperDocs certainly isn’t the only way to use a device authentically and effectively. It’s not even the tool I use with teachers most often! But the fact remains that when teachers DO use HyperDocs, students are free to move at their own pace throughout the lesson. Teachers are free to circulate around the room, providing support as needed and stopping for discussion when it’s warranted. And personally, I’m a fan of both of those outcomes.

SO WHAT IS IT?

I’m sure some readers are already familiar with HyperDocs, but in case not everyone is- a HyperDoc is an interactive Google document with instructions, links to resources, tasks, bookmarks, and a multitude of other clever things to get kids thinking and interacting with content. You can create a HyperDoc with everything you need for your lesson and share it with your students just as you would with any other digital assignment. In my district, that is most often via Google Classroom, but there are other ways. When your students are done, they can turn it in, again, just like any other digital assignment, but they don’t have to click around between a bunch of windows (agony if you have younger ones!) and if you do use Google Classroom or something like it, you don’t have to upload a bunch of stuff to it and crowd it up, and then hope that students find all of it. It’s all right there for them.

OKAY, THEN. HOW DO I DO IT?

To develop your own HyperDoc, start with a blank Google doc. Once you have that, there are four steps you can go through to fully develop your HyperDoc lesson:

  • Determine your objectives. When teaching and learning with technology, it’s easy to become distracted by all the bells and whistles. We’ve got to remember that it’s not about the tech- it’s STILL a standards based lesson.
  • Select your learning cycle. You can organize your HyperDoc in any way that makes sense for your content. HyperDocs lends itself to almost any organizational structure, including the 5 Es (Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand, Evaluate) and the traditional lesson plan format (Opening, Direct Instruction, Group Practice, and of course, Guided Inquiry.
  • Choose your packaging. Although Google Docs is the most common, HyperDocs can also be housed in Google Slides or Google Sites.
  • Build your HyperDoc. Determine the workflow- what do you want students to do? Choose a template- there are TONS out there. Finally, create the links and bookmarks within your document.

Here’s an example of a HyperDocs lesson. This is one I use when presenting on HyperDocs, and it still has my last participant’s answers in it. I left it that way because I love for those who are new to HyperDocs to see how it can be used for classroom discussions and for students to interact with each other. Not every HyperDoc has to include this, but it’s a great way to make sure students are hearing voices besides their own and learning from each other. I think there’s a fear that we introduce technology, those things stop when really, if it’s used correctly, opportunities for them are greater than ever. You might also notice that the table of contents is also hyperlinked. Those are actually bookmarks within the same document. This is especially helpful for students when the document becomes very long- like it would if it housed a Guided Inquiry unit. This isn’t a technology blog, so you can find more on creating bookmarks in your google document here.

I think this is a good place to stop, because Kelsey is going to share more with you about our specific inquiry journal tomorrow. I hope this has been helpful and not too techy! I find consistently that in addition to just being functionally better than a paper journal, digital inquiry journals help students to be more aware of their own inquiry process- always a good thing!

If you’re interested in learning more about HyperDocs or implementing them in your classroom, here are some of my favorite resources:

HyperDocs- Changing Digital Pedagogy

HyperDoc Templates

#hyperdocED presentation

HyperDocs and Interactive Notebooks presentation

HyperDocs Tour

 

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