Making the Jump to Hyperspace with HyperDocs

Scotty-full power to the front thrusters to make the jump to hyperspace! Sometimes at this point in the year we need an extra boost to make it through the day. As we continue our march toward the finish line for the year, I have yet another excellent use of educational technology to shift how we teach and how students learn. 

Whether it is shifting our thinking on study guides or it is changing the culture of introductions of new concepts, Hyperdocs is an excellent tool to accomplish this goal. 

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What is a HyperDoc?

Google defines a HyperDoc as the following: HyperDoc is a term used to describe a Google Doc that contains an innovative lesson for students- a 21st Century worksheet. Essentially, a Hyperdoc is a collection of learning materials that are put together in an easy to follow and interactive GoogleDoc. Below is an example of a HyperDoc that I have used to substitute study guides for students. 

*(You can also do this on Microsoft Word and post the file to a learning management system)*

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 With this HypderDoc, I listed what multimedia students had access to, what was the guiding question they should following when watching/working through the multimedia presented, and a check-in activity to assess comprehension after each activity to guide their learning. 

The second HyperDoc I've listed is a self-paced, "Choose-your-own adventure for introducing the topic of the preterit tense". It allows students to learn the necessary materials without enduring lectures, maximizing the benefits of technology, and personalizing the learning experience in an engaging way.

Why Use HyperDocs?: Here are some uses of HyperDocs

• Create an interactive study guide to help guide students through effective study strategies and have them check for understanding in a clear way to demonstrate success or the need for extra support. 
• Create a self-paced lesson to introduce students to a topic in a more personalized, self-paced way. Post a "choose your own adventure" type of activity and allow student choice and voice in how they acquire the material. 
• Create a set of resources for students to investigate a topic that is connected to project-based learning or authentic project-based assessment (Example-Posing the question: Is Social Media harmful to interpersonal relationships?Follow up with different pieces of multimedia evidence that students self-pace through to arrive at a final decision). 
• Gameify and create a tic-tac-toe board of activities on a topic to practice a previously acquired skill. Students who get tic-tac-toe and demonstrate competency with a topic win! (See picture above for an example of this provided at THIS link)

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How to make a HyperDoc/Tips for Making HyperDocs

1. Decide the purpose of your HyperDoc (study-guide? self-paced lesson? Gameify skill practice?).
2. Collect a list of multimedia resources (anywhere between 8-10 websites is a safe bet).
3. Create a GoogleDoc and design the visual layout with different images, fonts, links, etc.         (HERE are some examples)
4. Share the document with your students as a "view only".  (With word, post the .doc file online for students to download)
5. Design an assessment to evaluate students' understanding of the central concept of the HyperDoc. _________________________________________________________________________________

 Try it out! I guarantee it will change your thinking on presentation and assessment of material. Students will love the autonomy and choice! Finally, it brings personalized learning to a new level!

Enjoy taking the jump to Hyperspace with HyperDocs! As always, thank you for reading and please follow me on Twitter @SrBonito1!

Until next time,
Scott