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What is a GenMars Mindset?

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3… 2… 1… Blast-Off

“Takeoff and landing are the most thrilling part of a trip on an airplane.”

-The Martians in Your Classroom

Stepping into a new role this year has me a little on edge. I have all of these ideas and plans, but I know that others are going to look at me like I am a Martian!  The Martians in Your Classroom: STEM in Every Learning Space written by Rachael Mann and Stephen Sandford confirms that I am doing what is best for “Gen Mars” (the students of today). According to the book, Gen Mars students are the students who are sitting in our classrooms today: full of inquiry and curiosity.  So, I am left with the question posed in the book, “How do we prepare Gen Mars for a world that will continue to change exponentially?” In developing this GenMars Mindset with your students, here are four ways to be inspired.

Look Through the Telescope

“In the Martian Classroom, students learn to communicate and use their voice to make an impact, both in person and virtually, to share ideas globally.”

-The Martians in Your Classroom

How are we teaching this mindset in our classrooms? If we were to look through a telescope into space, we would be amazed at the sights. I remember the first time I looked through a telescope, I was in awe. I could see the pieces and parts that create the bigger picture. Our classrooms are no different.  As we plan, with the bigger picture in mind, our Gen Mars students need to be creating, inventing, discovering, and failing as they are mastering the parts and pieces. 

See The Constellation

“Invention is the twin of discovery.”

-The Martians in Your Classroom

Creating an abstract picture through innovation and discovery, I am ready for my students to inventio (invention and discovery in one creative act.) This is rarely a pretty picture as students are discovering and learning about themselves through the invention process. If we want our students to be successful, we are going to have to let them take the seat to discover their own journeys, even if that means having a risk of failure.It all boils down to passion and how much passion our students have in what they are working on. “Having the willingness to go after something and put in the hard work, regardless of the guarantee of success or acceptance of the ideas is part of the process.”

Notice The Stars

“One of the most important discoveries in the Martian Classroom is that ideas are built on other ideas. Ideas become inventions.”

-The Martians in Your Classroom

The stars are unique in their own ways. Some of us marvel at them when the skies are clear and all is calm. And the others, take them for granted; passing by them without a glance. We, as educators, must bring awareness to look at everyday items and be bothered by the normal. It is a mindset that needs to be re-thought as, What else could I use this for? How could I change this to help others? How do we cultivate this atmosphere in our classrooms to impact our students? We model, give opportunities, and time to discover. “Challenge students by giving them assignments that they do not have an answer key, questions that still do not have answers.” Also, we have to tap into the students interests and passions. Every one of our students are stars, unique in their own way; one size doesn’t fit all.  

Explore

“Education aims at the boundaries of knowledge, not just the minor improvements.”

-The Martians in Your Classroom

Exploration and Implementation. The vulnerable and scary part of this journey for many educators who may read this book… The What Now? We must believe. Be ready to fail. We must be models of reflection. Have the mindset of process over outcome. We must dedicate our classroom time to discovery and inventions. It is time to blur the boundaries and not teach in seclusion. We must collaborate and reach beyond our four walls to include other educators, the community, and our Professional Learning Network.  While you may be completely overwhelmed, just imagine being the first person to think about traveling towards the moon. 

I am grateful to Rachael and Stephen for this book as they are spreading the word that being a Martian should be a normal sight in a school.  Wouldn’t you like to have a Martian as a teacher? Our future needs us to develop and lead Gen Mars to think beyond, be bothered by the status quo, and know how to find and solve the problems of the ever-changing world.

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

-Walt Disney
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Jamie Chenault is a middle school technology instructor in Kentucky. She is a Google Certified Educator and Trainer, PBS Digital Innovator, and Apple Teacher. She loves spreading inspiration through her blog at jamie-chenault.com. Follow her on twitter @chenault_jamie.

A Student’s Best and an Assignment’s Value

I’m on a constant search for amazing stories, and I particularly like those that tell the story of the good people can do—when given the chance.

Stories of amazing learning can define a school for its community, and fostering and sharing successes in ways that become stories shared should be an emphasis for every school.

Amazing learning, though, can require giving students opportunities that completely step away from their day-to-day experiences. The Memory Project, for example, gives high school art students the opportunity to brighten the lives of orphans thousands of miles away. The change in purpose from earning a grade to doing something meaningful for others can create powerful moments of learning.

Bringing out the best in our students does not always require a major project, though. It can also be a function of tweaks to assignments: encouraging connections to something outside of class, working in a group when individual roles tap the strengths of each student, or allowing options for how they show their mastery of what they are learning. All of these elements can lead to stronger work.

Verifying Value

As a guy who started a charity built around sharing learning through video, I’ve spent years exploring how video and expanding one’s audience can change how students think about the quality of their work. (See nextvista.org/tag/gsvff for videos from last year’s Global Student Voice Film Festival for examples of students’ talents for telling stories.)

My focus on video has sparked for me lots of reflection on what makes for strong assignments, and raised plenty of questions about the value of assignments I’ve given or seen in the past.

As an educator, when you give an assignment, you do so because it will help your students learn something. The homework, the classroom activity, the project, the oral quiz, the written exam—we do these kinds of things because they are supposed to help students become comfortable with concepts and material in the curriculum.

That’s why we do them, but that doesn’t mean that they result in the learning we have in mind.

This is obvious in the sense that not every student masters what we put in front of them. For many of us, though, there may not be enough conscious questioning of whether a given assignment results in any meaningful learning for those who complete it.

Questioning Quantity

The most common target I’ve encountered in discussions of the value of learning activities is the math problem set. Imagine a sheet of paper with fifty equations to complete. The questions about the assignment are easy enough for us. Would ten have been just as effective? How about five and feedback in the form of a couple of sentences on what the student thinks is challenging when doing this kind of problem? It’s possible that fifty is too few, but at core, the real question is whether we have a ready explanation for why we assign that number of problems.

It may not be all that different for writing. If you assign four essays over the course of the semester, is that meaningfully better than three? Should you have assigned five? If you can’t easily draw and convey distinctions for the different goals for each of the essays, then doing another may not be yielding enough value for the student to merit their time spent doing it, nor your time spent grading it.

Another way to put all of this is: is what you are giving students nothing more than busywork? If what you’re having them do is failing to help them move forward with their learning, then the assignment is simply filling time. The answer to the question above is yes.

Homework?

I have seen some seriously animated conversations about this idea with regard to the role of homework.

Those who feel homework is important may be drawing from their sense of how school should be, based on how school was for them. Giving loads of assignments may be seen as being a dedicated and demanding teacher. Coupled with this thinking, there is a directive in many settings that new grades should be entered into the system every week (or every few days) to allow parents to be able to follow the progress of their children.

Those who feel homework is or isn’t valuable are often thinking very specifically of its role in their own subject. It may be that in generalizing these ideas, one is infuriating one’s colleagues who see their work differently. Someone who sees limited value in one kind of problem set, for example, might not be considering the importance of practice for learning in an arts or world languages classes. Still, in those classes, like any other, what’s required may or may not help with what needs to be learned.

Pupils’ Perspectives

Whatever the intensity of the disagreement we and our colleagues may have on these topics, we often fail to tap the strongest perspectives on the value of the assignments we give: those of our students.

Have you ever asked a class how you might change an assignment so it would be better for their learning? They’ll probably have ideas because learning is what they are tasked with doing during most business hours.

You may need to find clever ways of asking them. A class discussion suffers from being limited only to those unafraid of speaking up in front of the larger group. You might use a survey or try an online chat or forum to prompt more participation, and then use ideas from that as seeds for group discussions.

In asking for their insights, it’s no small possibility that some eager-to-talk students have the specific goal of simply lessening what you require of them. The question “Am I giving you too much homework?” might result in a predictable affirmative, depending on the culture of your school and community. The question “How might we change this to make it as valuable to you as possible?” is something different.

Of course, students may struggle to articulate what truly works for them. After a half dozen not-so-useful ideas, though, a  student may offer a thought that enlivens learning for them and changes how you think about what’s possible. In following through on suggestions they offer (or tactfully explaining why you won’t), you will be demonstrating your commitment to help them learn in the best way possible, and at the same time let them know that you actually listen.

The fundamental question is whether or not your current class practices result in genuine learning. Being honest with yourself about the value of what you assign, along with getting meaningful feedback on what you try, can make for a better, and notably more effective, classroom environment for everyone.

For more ideas on how to improve your teaching, please take a look at Making Your Teaching Something Special: 50 Simple Ways to Become a Better Teacher, by Rushton Hurley from EdTechTeam Press.

image credits:

1. Web designer’s notebook by Galymzhan Abdugalimov from Unsplash (license)

2. untitled by freestocks from Unsplash (license)

Rushton Hurley holds graduate degrees from Stanford University, is heavily involved in service efforts in his community, and has worked and studied on six continents as a high school Japanese language teacher, principal of an online high school, a teacher trainer, and a speaker. He founded and is executive director of the educational nonprofit Next Vista for Learning, which houses a free library of videos by and for teachers and students at NextVista.org.
A regular keynoter at conferences around the world, Rushton has trained and worked with teachers and school leaders on all continents not called Antarctica. His fun and thoughtful talks center on inspiration and creativity; the connection between engaging learning and useful, affordable technology; the power of digital media; and the professional perspectives and experiences of teachers at all levels. His first book, Making Your School Something Special, was released by EdTechTeam Press in January of 2017. His second book, Making Your Teaching Something Special, was released in June, 2017.

15 Ideas for Back to School Creativity with Intention


sketch by Amy Burvall

It’s a new year — even if, like most teaching professionals, the real new year is whenever you start with your new class for the current school term. Does your family, like mine, tease you for thinking in “school years” rather than the January-January calendar other folks outside of the education sector seem to adhere to? Nonetheless, returning after holiday break holds the same strange combination of anxiety and anticipation. How will the students (and you) adjust to waking up early and working for several hours straight? Will they be excited about what they’ll be studying in the next few months? How can even the most passionate and prepared  teacher compete with the fond and recent memories of lounging ‘till 11 in snowman pajamas, travelling to exotic locales, or simply reading for pleasure (not an assigned book report) whilst sipping hot cocoa all day? This is the time when you can truly use some ideas for boosting back to school creativity.

Educators reading Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom (my book with Dan Ryder, published by EdTechTeam Press, August 2017), often write us to share that the “pathways to critical creativity and rigorous whimsy” we offer are perfect for energizing students. We are often told that it gets students thinking deeply about the content in the curriculum, and learning from the process of making. Most importantly, learners demonstrate what they know or how they feel about a topic by articulating their creative reasoning in an intentional way, as Dan likes to say, “If they build it they will get it.”

Because most of the book is like a handbook of sorts, featuring strategies that can be used in any discipline, applicable to any topic, and adaptable for all ages, many teachers have found it useful for classroom community building. It helps to breathe life into existing lessons, or even as a go-to for that inevitable time you need a substitute to cover while you’re down with the winter flu.

Here are some ideas for igniting back to school creativity.

Try focusing on three themes:

  • Leveraging the MOBILE
  • Getting kids MOVING
  • Thinking METAPHORICALLY

Whether your plan is to review or start anew, to focus on community or content, here are some ideas for those crazy first weeks back to school. The ones with hashtags are specifically adapted from the book, allowing you to share your photos and remixes with our Critical Creativity community at https://twitter.com/IntentionBook.

MOBILE : How might students leverage their mobile devices for creative thinking and making?

#Intention

sketch by Amy Burvall

Imagiphor:


This is really a portmanteau of “image” and “metaphor” and it’s a great way for students to share some of their holiday vacation photos while applying metaphorical thinking to the course content at hand. Most of us have a growing collection of images in our mobile phone’s camera roll; Why not use them to explain a concept? Imagiphor is a quick challenge using the resources one has in one’s pocket. Ask students to take three minutes or so to locate a photo on their device that metaphorically represents the topic or concept at hand. They may share their image and explanation with a partner, or perhaps drop the image in a shared folder for further class discussion. For the added fun that comes with serendipity, students might exchange devices with their partners and source from their collection!


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Wonder Walk:

Ask learners to explore the outdoors (or somewhere outside of the classroom) and record their observations, reflecting on meaning. Create a prompt relevant to the curriculum, perhaps related to certain vocabulary terms. They might hunt for dichotomies with two opposing concepts, or search for evidence of a particular theme. Students should annotate their visual evidence with writing. They may then use the chosen artifacts as inspiration for a poem or story, or share their findings in a presentation.

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Photo Scavenger Hunt:

Create a calendar of subject-relevant topics for learners to photograph, perhaps even collaborating with peers in your department. Each day of the month is a different challenge. For example, in math they could search for parallel lines, geometric shapes, patterns, or symmetry. They could hunt for things demonstrating a vocabulary word or science phenomena. Showcase the photos in a common slide deck or class Instagram. You might want to have a photo contest with learners choosing the categories and winners.

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Stop-Motion Animation:


Welcome students to the classroom with a variety of materials to produce a stop-motion animation film, such as modelling clay, googly-eyeballs, magazines, markers, construction paper, plastic bricks, etc. Present a topic as the creative constraint so that students have a focus. Quotations from famous individuals in your discipline are always good, as are broad concepts, events, or vocabulary terms. It’s best if students work with a partner so that one person can position the props while the other holds the camera steady and shoots the footage. Recommended apps: StopMotion Studio or ImgPlay (both available in the Apple App Store and Google Play).


Photo from David Theriault’s classroom

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Q-Llision Vlog (#IntentionQLlisions):

Formulate an open-ended, interesting question. Questions with a bit of controversy are best, though in this context it might be related to hopes or goals for the New Year. Setup a recording station (such as a class tablet), or a Flipgrid grid (highly recommended!). You can even walk around the room with your phone recording each student and splice the clips together, or have students film each other and send you the footage to compile. This strategy really provides insight into students’ feelings and thinking processes, and it’s interesting to see how the addition of body language and vocal tones add to the richness of their responses.

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MOVE: How might we encourage more physical movement in the learning process?


sketch by Amy Burvall

Human Magnetic Poetry:

How do you bring a poem to life? Cut-up and magnetic poetry are two techniques that involve physically remixing words to create poetic phrases, but what if this process became more physical and personal and we used our own bodies? Ask each student to clearly write a word on an index card (it’s best if they are assigned different parts of speech to get a variety). They then walk around the room, holding the word in front of them, scanning others’ words. The challenge is to try to form a poetic phrase (this can even be as short as two words) with others. Someone (either the teacher or a designated “paparazzo”) should archive the phrase with a photo, then students can remix by mingling more and connecting with others.

  • #intention

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Mash-Moves:

So you think you can you dance an idea? Dance moves are often named for the things they resemble, like the “Moonwalk”, the “Sprinkler”, or “Running Man”. Ask students to think of a way to physically represent a process, vocabulary term, event, or other content-related topic by inventing a dance move using one or more parts of their bodies. They then perform a series of these repeated movements to develop an entire dance and call out the title of the moves while performing them for others.

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Tableaux and Data Viz Tableaux (#IntentionTableaux):

#intention

Intention workshop participants,  by Amy Burvall

A tableaux is a visual representation of a scene by a group of actors standing in character without moving. This pantomime could include ad hoc props or costume elements that participants can create in a short amount of time. Participants must consider the composition of the scene, playing with height, poses, and emotion. Choose a topic (such as a scene from a book, a famous film, a current or historical event, or something from your previous unit) and plan the tableaux within 10 minutes. Each group can attempt to guess what the human sculpture represents.

Another variation, “Data Viz Tableaux,” uses a set of data that’s collected and visualized as a human freeze frame vignette. Students first collect any set of data (everyone’s favorite music genre, for example, or something relevant to the curriculum). Group members then have a limited time to plan and execute a sculpture with their bodies and any props or costume pieces they can create from the materials at hand. Groups should use height and position to help tell the data story. Other groups can try deciphering the data visualization before the group debriefs their intentions.

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Gif-Flection:

This is a wonderful icebreaker or exit ticket and even works to obtain some affective data after an exam! Animated GIFs are visual metaphors students are probably very familiar with. Many students might have a GIF keyboard on their mobile device but they can also use sites like https://giphy.com/ to search for particular “mood” GIFs. Pose a question upon which students should reflect, such as how they felt about their performance last semester or on the test they just took; what the new year might feel like; what is their returning-to-school mood; or something that could reflect an opinion about a curriculum topic. Ask students to find a GIF that matches or demonstrates their feelings and walk around the room holding their device, displaying their chosen GIF. As an extension, ask students to draw some conclusions about the types of GIFS chosen by the class.

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Weird / Wonderful / Worrisome Wall:

I got this idea while frustratingly asking my daughter, “What did you learn at school today?” only to be met with a sigh and “…Nothing.” I thought perhaps she just needed a better creative constraint. It’s listed under “movement” because as students research they are asked to step away from their desks and place their thoughts on a common learning space in another part of the room. Create a space (such as a bulletin board or piece of the white board), where learners can share their feelings about things they have researched or learned about. For “back to school” this could even be current events in general or current events in your discipline.  Students reflect upon current events or topics they have researched or encountered by classifying them in the category titles “Weird,” “Worrisome,” “Wonderful.” These can become discussion prompts for the larger group.

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METAPHOR: How might students practice metaphorical thinking skills while reflecting on what they have learned?


sketch by Amy Burvall

One Word to Rule Them All (#IntentionOneWord):

This exercise started as an attempt to maintain a diary with as minimal an effort as possible. The objective is to distill something complex, such as an experience or content knowledge, into a single word and augment that word using metaphorical typography and/or relevant doodles. Sum up something — what was the biggest takeaway or feeling? Enhance the written word by creating meaningful design with the lettering. For example, “growth” could have letters that look like vines, branches, or measuring sticks. I tried this recently at the end of a unit on World War I poetry (see image), but it would be excellent to use this for goals for the New Year.

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Color Palette (#IntentionColor):

Storytelling can involve words, images, and …color! Ask students to think carefully about the main themes in a novel or poem — what colors would they assign to them? How might we represent a person’s life story, a certain community, predictions for the New Year? What “colors” are your classroom, country, or best friend?  Students may use paint or paint chips from the hardware store, colored markers or paper, a digital app or the web sitehttps://www.colourlovers.com/ to create the original palette. Challenge them to give a unique name to each color (and the palette) by using descriptive language. They should be sure to explain their creative reasoning behind each choice.


Intention workshop work, photo by Amy Burvall

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Viz Vo Volley Snowball Fight (#IntentionVolley):

Are students missing the snowball fights they had during break? Ask them to write a challenging new vocabulary term (or one they remember from the previous unit), and their name on a piece of paper. After everyone in the class has written a word and crumbled their papers encourage them to throw the papers like a snowball fight. Each person should choose and unravel a paper, read the word, and draw a picture representing that word. Sketches can be as simple as stick figures and geometric shapes, but students should try to find a deeper meaning in the vocabulary term. Post all illustrations to a common space and have a gallery walk, discussing the different ways people visualized the vocabulary. (Note: If students are unsure of the meaning, remind them that this is a good time to look it up and get to know the term better).

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Sculpture of “Stuff”:

Anything can be made into art, even the most random junk in the bottom of your backpack. This challenge asks students to create a spontaneous sculpture or other art piece by arranging everyday objects from their surroundings (bag, desk, etc.). The work should metaphorically represent a concept — perhaps their big “takeaway” from a topic or experience. Pareidolia is the phenomenon of seeing patterns (like faces) in things. What can a house key become? What does an eraser look like? Can that rubber band be made to look like an animal? Students (in teams or individually), place objects on paper and use colored pens to draw around them, “filling out” the scene. They may mix multiple items together in a 3D sculpture. Learners should share their creative reasoning in a gallery walk or other oral presentation.


Intention workshop work, photos by Amy Burvall

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Oreo Challenge (#IntentionOreo):

This divergent thinking activity is traditionally based on the Oreo cookie — a circular, black and white sandwich confection with both crispy and creamy parts. While it’s great to use as a reflection of relevant curriculum content, I’ve also used it in workshops as a way to explore social justice issues or current events people care deeply about.  Ask students to create a visual representation of a concept — think of it as an advertisement for an idea. They should use the Oreo cookie as the constraint, placing it on a paper background so they can draw and arrange things around it. It’s best to give a time constraint as well (maybe 15 minutes), and offer students a chance to share with others in a gallery walk.

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BONUS COMMUNITY BUILDER: How might we nourish our classroom community?

Line and Caret (#IntentionLessandMore):

Heading back to school in a new year can be the perfect time for healing relationships, setting goals, and sharing hopes and dreams. This wordplay challenge involves thinking about opposites — what would you like to see “less of” and “more of” in the world, your school, or your community.  It’s perfect for the New Year! The object of this game is to write a word with a negative connotation, then try to change it into a more positive concept by crossing out and adding letters (“lines and carets”). The goal is to change the original word with few physical markings but give it an entirely new context. (Example: doubt = do; war = warmth).


Sketch  by Amy Burvall

Wishing you a fabulous return to the school year in 2019! Feel free to remix or adapt any of these ideas to suit your own needs as well as the needs of the students. Don’t forget to share your success on social and tag #edtechteam #intentionbook so we can see these fun activities in action!

Amy Burvall is a serial creator, professional dot-connector and frequent flâneuse. After 25 years in K-12 education, she is currently consulting, creating, and curating in the fields of creativity, visual thinking, and digital literacies. Amy Burvall is the co-author of Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom

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What is Up with Flipgrid and Book Creator? Big Updates Announced!

TODAY on EduSlam we release the fourth short video in our two-week series: 

What’s Up with Flipgrid and BookCreator? Big Updates Announced!

⏯  To watch the video which will be released today but disappear on Sept 4

✅ Sign-up HERE

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Get Up to Speed with Flipgrid?

On August 1, Flipgrid announced some very powerful updates to the platform since being bought by Microsoft, and teachers everywhere cheered with excitement.

✅Let’s check some of them 0ut!!

1. Three New Ways to Make Grids

Flipgrid now has only three ways you can make grids to keep kids safe and access easy. We will go over those quickly on the EduSlam – and you will be in know!

2. GridPals – Uber Connections

Now there are #GridPals because connecting kids is at the heart and soul of everything we believe in and this permanent addition of #GridPals is game-changing. It allows teachers everywhere to easily find another class – anywhere in the world – and ask to connect with them around a shared interest.

Want to discuss a book with students in another country? Or teach another class about your geographic region? The world is your oyster with this new addition to Flipgrid! It is easy for teachers to break down the four walls of their classrooms and open up students minds to different views and ways of living. I am so excited about this I get chills.

To get involved, all you need to do is go to the top of the dashboard and choose #GridPals. Next, click on ACTIVE, and then update your profile with important information like grade, subject and location and… voila – let the collaborative magic begin.

Flipgrid knowledge from Holly Clark and Eduslam

3. The Camera Views and Editing

Flipgrid camera views explained by Holly Clark's EduSlamNow students can change the orientation of the camera – WHILE filming!

Students can start with a portrait shot and then turn the camera to landscape to reveal something more. This update allows kids to be so creative with their responses – and should make it even easier to create high-interest recordings that expand the focus from just them.

For those kids that mess up at the end of a response or recording – and would usually have to re-record – they can now EASILY edit that mistake out! No need to re-record just tap the scissors icon and do what 80’s sitcom star  Dave Coulier says… CUT IT OUT!

Get Up To Speed with Book Creator?

The next big thing in the technology-infused classrooms is Book Creator for Chrome. As we get ready to publish The Chromebook Infused Classroom soon, all things point to Book Creator as the game changer in the Chromebook Classroom.

You will now be able to embed ANYTHING into the book – making this an amazing learning journal  – or the perfect place for students to turn in demonstrations of learning and self-reflection.

Here is a video preview of what is to come.

 

Stay tuned on hollyclark.org as we will offer tutorial videos on this in the next couple of weeks to get your ready for the powerful use of Book Creator in your classroom.

 

To learn more – watch the EduSlam or check out The Google Infused Classroom

Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith - eduslam authors

Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith

?blog hollyclark.org

 

 

 

 

 

Google Infused Classroom by Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith

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A HyperDoc Is Not A WebQuest!

TODAY on EduSlam we release the first short video in our two-week series: 

A HyperDoc is NOT a Webquest.

⏯  To watch the video which was released today but will disappear on Sept 4th,

✅ Sign-up HERE

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Words matter, and in a day and age where information is streaming through our timelines faster than we can keep up, figuring out what words mean can be challenging. In defining new terms, it helps to uunderstand the history and context of the term HyperDocs, in relation to the term WebQuest.

In 2013, many districts in our area began purchasing Chromebooks for the annual state tests. As teachers got excited about using technology, Sarah, Kelly, and I worked hard to share ideas about ways to incorporate a variety of web tools available. We immediately noticed some kinks it threw into many colleagues’ instructional craft. From typing in challenging URLs to trying to get students’ attention for directions, to workflow strategies for collecting and evaluating work, teaching with technology was a challenge. As we entered into coaching roles, we wanted to support our colleagues to rethink the way they were delivering content, and to elevate the way students were experiencing learning.

  • HyperDocs were created based on many research and learning theories including Eric Mazur, and Ramsey Musallam ’s work with Cycles of Learning, inspired by Robert Karplus ’s cycle Explore, Explain, Apply. HyperDocs are a way to package digital lessons in order to create quality inquiry-based learning experiences. Teachers design these lessons and give them to students to explore the content, adjust their understanding through the explanation of the concepts, then apply their knowledge in a meaningful way.

That describes the lesson design. What makes HyperDocs unique is the delivery. Whether it be ‘on tech’ or ‘off-tech’ these blended learning lessons can be designed to meet the needs of each classroom. Some teachers may choose to design them for independent, self-paced learning; while others design them to blend with different instructional strategies varying from 1:1 conferring, small group instruction, to whole group teacher-directed instruction. Teachers are tasked with integrating several best instructional practices to meet the needs of every learner. Whether you are trying to reach a language learner or student with Special Ed needs, want to integrate ISTE standards, increase the level of critical thinking, or design a lesson based on the UDL framework, HyperDocs help educators accomplish this! The key to getting it just right is for teachers to focus on studying their students as they learn, taking time to reflect on lessons, and revising them to meet the needs of specific learning goals.

I have often heard HyperDocs being called the new WebQuests. While HyperDocs and WebQuests have some characteristics in common, most revolving around effective learning theories, they are quite different. While I have long admired the work of Bernie Dodge and his creation of WebQuests, HyperDocs were not created with them in mind.

I appreciate Bernie Dodge’s own explanation around the confusion when defining WebQuests,

A WebQuest is centered around a challenging, doable and (ideally) authentic task. Examples of WebQuest tasks might include: writing a letter to the mayor taking a stand on whether a new landfill should be opened; writing a diary as if you were living in 1491; designing a travel itinerary for geologists visiting Italy; or creating a commemorative mural celebrating space exploration. A WebQuest is never about answering a series of questions. Even though a scavenger hunt might require some analysis or problem solving, it’s not of the same intensity of higher-level thinking that a good WebQuest entails. Obviously, there’s a place for both WebQuests and scavenger hunts, but they are different places with very different goals.”  From Larry Ferlazzo’s blog

WebQuests follow a structure by starting with a quest or task. Students, working in groups, divide up the tasks to be completed, and conclude with an application of knowledge gained from the activity. I have seen WebQuests as centered around strong instructional methods such as inquiry, critical thinking, and problem-solving, yet the similarities they share do not make a HyperDoc an actual WebQuest.

So how is a HyperDoc different from a WebQuest? Well-designed HyperDocs are more than a doc with links, or digital worksheet. They include a mindset for effective pedagogy as well, something that is not always visible upfront. They offer a solution to packaging digital content to inspire thinking, exploration, and curiosity. There is never one right way to design a HyperDoc, as long as they include a strong cycle of learning. Due to the flexible nature of Google Apps, they can be easily shared, revised, and edited to become a lesson that you would judge as of quality based on your classroom needs.

Aside from the actual digital lessons that are being created, HyperDocs are bringing together a community of teachers who value discussions around lesson design and collaboration who have previously felt alone in their classrooms. I am constantly getting feedback from educators who state that they feel creative again, excited to deliver their content in a different way, they are feeling successful in accomplishing the many instructional strategies they are tasked to integrate. A HyperDoc is not a program, it’s not a curriculum you adopt, it’s a way of connecting the lesson designing process, to tech integration, to effective pedagogy. It’s about taking time and thought into the lessons we deliver

Essentially, HyperDocs are what you make of them; from the initial construction to the delivery, to the reflection of the learning experience. They are one way, among many proven methods, to shift learning in the classroom.

To learn more visit:

hyperdocs.co  | @TsGiveTs | Facebook group |View a lesson in action

Lisa Highfill
Co-Creator & Author
The HyperDoc Handbook
PUSD Instruct Tech Coach
@lhighfill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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