Is My HyperDoc More Than a Worksheet?
Have you ever come across a HyperDoc and really couldn’t see what is so great about it? Does it seem like it's just a doc with links?
There is no one right way to design a lesson, it is all about the choices you make. Like any lesson you create, they are personal to your curriculum objectives, to the needs of the students you work with, and may include layers of additional tasks to align with learning goals you are working on. I like to say they are full of “hidden pedagogy” since we are not privy to knowing what came before, during, or after the lesson to enhance the learning experience.
Self-assessing your digital lessons can be done using the two checklists provided here, with criteria based on SAMR - technology integration, Webb's Depth of Knowledge- levels of critical thinking and the ISTE Standards- technology use standards. These checklists can help you determine whether your lesson meets your learning goals for your students.
Click here to download two free checklists for evaluating your digital lessons.
SAMR provides a technique for moving through degrees of technology integration in your HyperDoc lessons to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching, moving away from simply using “tech for tech's sake.” John Spencer describes these levels of technology integration in his video on the topic. When evaluating your digital lessons it is important to remember that it is ok to move between the SAMR levels based on your answers to the following:
- Does your lesson meet your learning goals for your students?
- Does your lesson use technology for enhancement or transformation of learning? Is that your goal for technology integration for this lesson?
- Are there portions you can revise to meet your goal?
Start with substitution, reflecting on your answers to the questions in the box. Move across the levels with your learning goals in mind, is there a way to revise your lesson to move a level?
The corresponding colored checkboxes are ISTE standards for learning with technology. Examine them for concrete examples of activities for each level of tech integration. This can help you determine where your lesson falls, and can inspire ideas for how to elevate it to where you would like it to be.
How do we create rich HyperDocs where all students learn at a high level of critical thinking? Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Levels (DoK) categorizes tasks according to the complexity of thinking required to successfully complete them. These are not levels to be mastered in order, or to develop lessons that fall in one certain level. They are meant to be flexible, providing opportunities to enhance student thinking as they move through a lesson.
Determine how often you wish for students to focus on tasks at each level so that students gain the most from the learning opportunities you design. Begin by examining the corresponding colored checkboxes to determine where your critical thinking tasks fall, and use the ideas to spark inspiration for how to revise the lesson to reach the levels you want for your learners.
HyperDoc lessons become more than a doc with links when you revise and edit them with purpose and intention. The craft of instruction is based on this practice. The next time you see a HyperDoc, consider how you could elevate it based on technology integration, critical thinking, and learning with technology.