HyperDocs for adult basic skills education -- have you made one? Would you like to make one?

Integrating Technology Colleagues,

Last week I learned about HyperDocs, and I am excited about the possibilities for them in adult basic skills (including ESL/ESOL) education.  A HyperDoc is a Google Doc that is designed as a lesson using multimedia, in an engaging, colorful format, with activities, audio, video, assessment. Think of it as a "lesson plan" for adult learners, or for professional development for teachers of adult learners. I learned about this in a webinar I was presenting on the Media Library of Teaching Skills (MLoTS) to colleagues in Texas from a participant in the webinar, Ashly Winkle. Since then I have learned that other colleagues have made or want to make Hyperdocs for the teachers or adult learners they work with.

Have you made a HyperDoc? Would you like to make one? Do you want to learn more about making them and how they can be used?  If you have made one and can share it please let us know, and gives us a link to it.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Integrating Technology, and Program Management CoPs

djrosen123@gmail,com

 

 

Comments

Ashley,

I love the idea of the HyperDoc.  I have been doing a lot of research on technology integration, and I am amazed at how few people have the basic skills necessary to function in today's world.  The more we implement technology in the classroom, the better prepared our students will be when they leave us. 

Thanks for the great tip!

For many years, it's been possible to do this with any full-featured word processor or presentation software. Both allow the embedding of videos and articles for offline use, which is useful if a teacher or students don't have reliable access to the Internet, or who don't want to join Google's ecosystem. For those who do, two clear advantages of using Google Docs are the ability to collaborate and not having to worry about copyright infringement, because you can link to the articles or videos instead of downloading them.

I don't have time to check this out, but is it possible to upload home-made instructional videos into Google Docs without first having to upload them to YouTube or a server?

Robert, as you probably already know, Google bought up YouTube specifically to facilitate easy sharing of videos within any of their applications. If you have a "home made" video, I would guess there is a way to embed it if you went through all the hassle of hosting the video on a site of your own somewhere. Alternatively, there are some plugin for SOME of the google tools that allow for embedding of videos that are not from YouTube, but again you have the difficult and expense of hosting. 

Another thought on this... once a video is uploaded to YouTube and you add it to a Doc or Sheet or Presentation or any of the other Google tools, it is possible, I believe, to view those videos while you are offline. The rational is that Google has settings that allow you to store all your  work locally on your computer to facilitate off line use. Then when you connect to the Internet later, everything gets synced and updated automatically. If you try to host your video on any other service, I highly doubt you would be able to access while offline. Now that I really think about it, you may access the video fine if the video is on you system, but students or others at their homes would not be able to access the video because it is located on your system still. 

I can understand there are reservations to not going whole hog into any given system. If you try to do so within the Google systems, I think there is much more work involved than just adopting the built in tools they are constantly adding and updating :) 

(come to the dark side my young padawan  !!!) 

Colleagues,

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Ashly Winkle’s Padlet of HyperDocs yet, here’s what you’ll find when you do:

  • An example of a Basic HyperDoc Lesson Plan Template

      HyperDocs for adult learners and teachers (the organization of these by categories is mine; there may be better ways to organize them)

  • Science:
    • Scientific Method (ABE or ASE)
    • Planet Earth (ABE)
    • Planetary Motion
    • Planet Earth
    • Planet Research
  • Writing
    • Extended Response (HSE)
    • Grammar
  • Reading and Literature
    • The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
    • Fetching Raymond (ABE)
  • Social Studies
    • Great Depression (ABE or ASE)
    • Memorial Day (HSE or ABE)
    • The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
    • Major Themes of Civics and Government
  • Digital Technology
    • Google Lesson: Picking the Right Search Term
  • Professional Development
    • (MLOTS) Teaching Reading and Vocabulary
  • Other
    • Learn How to Study
    • Goal-setting (ABE or ASE)
    • HSE Action Plan

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Hi Ashly, Thank you for sharing the link to your Hyper Docs on Padlet. These are really amazing! Could you tell us a bit about your creation process? It seems like it probably takes quite a bit of time to create them. It would also be interesting to hear how you are using these with students.

Members, if you haven't had a chance to check out Ashly's documents yet, please do. You will be glad you did!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, ELA and Teaching & Learning CoPs

 

I have added my file from Google Drive on Ashley's padlet. Although HyperDocs do take some time to create, I feel like it is similar to lesson design. The Hyperdocs I have developed for ESL are usually put together after I do a successful lesson. The things I look for in a lesson is a combination of collaboration, critical thinking and communication and is student agency involved in the process. If I find that I can incorporate all those items in a successful lesson, it is worth my time and energy to develop it for others to use. The link to my ESL lessons are at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1bE4lFg_1sEaEJJUjhKaXhEeGc

Some are more developed than others.

Hi Susan. Thank you for sharing your docs! I have a question. I saw that you used Thinglink on one of your HyperDocs. I have been looking at that site a bit, but haven't had much time to explore it. Can you tell me a little about it?

Is an image tagging platform that allows you to create lessons inside of images. You can do flat images (180) or even 360 images. I love it and my students love it too. Let me know if you want more information. I can direct you to Susan Oxnevad who is the director of the education platform. Thinglink is not a free tool to create with although it is free for the students to use. 

Hi Ashly - 

Here's a link to the "Best examples of Thinglink for education"

You can have a free account, but the Pro account which includes a class management option is only $35/year. I've been thinking about making them for holiday lessons, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Jacqueline Vulcano
@edtech4adultesl
www.facebook.com/groups/techtools4adultells/

 

Yes, I have issues with any platform that monopolizes... but I'm willing to use the tools we've got so, yes, I"m making all kinds of little YouTube videos because they import so nicely into so many platforms and learning management systems.   

I also agree that we're caught in a funny loop as far as collaboration goes.   It's hard to collaborate effectively because we're so busy... but if we collaborated, we wouldn't be so busy...  now back to the math lessons I'm so far behind on... 

Hi Susan, Thanks for sharing your work. You are always so generous! I love that students -- even beginning English learners-- are creating their own vocabulary examples and engaging in all kinds of technology skills at the same time, e.g., searching for images, uploading images, adding text. The bonus is that the vocab examples can then be visited by other students to build vocabulary knowledge. What a win-win-win!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition and Teaching & Learning CoPs

Hi Susan. In the beginning, it was time-consuming because I was not entirely sure what I was doing and some of the ones done by other educators were a bit more complicated (I will include a link for you to view theirs' as well), and I wanted to simplify them a bit to meet the needs of my students. The cool thing is if you find another HyperDoc created by someone else, you can also make a copy and edit it however you want, which saves a lot of time. It takes me about an hour to prep one now. I absolutely love making them and really love what it has done for my students! They allow students to work at their own pace or together. Plus, my students' computer skills have been greatly enhanced. They are fantastic if you have a sub as well. 

I try to integrate HyperDocs into a live lesson. So, even thought they are working on their own and at their own pace on the majority of the lesson, we might read and discuss, or watch a video, or do an activity together. It never makes for a dull lesson. Each lesson is highly engaging and I feel like my students are learning on a much deeper level.

I am in the process of putting a trianing on HyperDocs together in a face-to-face environment, and I am now talking to David about making a video. I am also planning to do a Tech and Tell webinar on it hopefully within a few months.

Here is the Padlet to HyperDocs others have created. Some of them are amazing, but a bit much for some of our students. Regardless, you can get some great ideas!
https://padlet.com/mourakd/kg7szw5nerr9

Hi Ashly, As you say, some of these examples are really amazing. I love how teachers can copy them and then adapt for their own context. I see how you did that for the grammar Hyper Doc. The Word Crimes video by Al Yankovich is pretty funny! Some of these Hyper Docs are so involved, they are more like units rather than lessons, which would be drawn upon over several classes.

Thanks for giving us some insight into the creation process, Ashley!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, ELA and Teaching & Learning CoP

Colleagues,

It's great to see LINCS Integrating Technology CoP colleague, Ashly Winkle's HyperDocs. Thanks, Ashly!  Another Integrating Technology colleague who has been making HyperDocs is ESL teacher/professor and LINCS ELA CoP member, Susan Gear. Susan wrote about one of her HyperDocs in a short January 23, 2017 Tech Tip for Teachers blog article, "Getting Started with Virtual Reality in Adult Education" http://edtech.worlded.org/getting-started-with-virtual-reality-in-adult-education/ . Susan, do you have other HyperDocs you can share with us?

  • Who else has adult basic skills (including ESL/ESOL) HyperDoc examples to share with us?
  • Those who may be working on creating lesson plans now, including people in the LINCS Reading and Writing group, what do you think about using a HyperDoc format for these lesson plans?
  • What do you see as the pros and cons of using HyperDocs?
  • How can HyperDocs' potential for face-to-face or online group learning be realized?
  • How can HyperDocs use Open Education Resources well?
  • Can HyperDocs be used to create good lesson plans in science?  Health literacy? Financial Literacy? Anyone have examples to share?
  • How can HyperDocs support peer-to-peer learning?
  • How can HyperDocs support learning critical thinking skills?
  • For those who teach numeracy or math, how can they support math thinking and discussions in the language of math?
  • How can HyperDocs support so-called 21st century adult self-directed learning/learning navigation skills using digital technology?
  • Could a program's entire curriculum be developed using HyperDoc formats?
  • Would HyperDocs be a good way to develop a competency-based curriculum?
  • How can we use HyperDocs well for Professional development?

Pick one or more questions and reply! Eager to hear your thoughts.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

David, as with so many good digital tools HyperDocs offers endless possibilities. Very recently, we started a discussion in a few of our CoPs, called "Integrate It"  at "https://community.lincs.ed.gov/discussion/integrate-it. The idea proposed there was to create an occupational-training segment for health or other occupation, and then to have members contribute activities to not only support the training content but also reinforce academic or other auxiliary skills.

I would like to work with you on posting that segment withing the framework of a lesson plan. After that, we could invite members from different communities to add their suggestions in a blossoming plan that contains wonderful content for instructors to use and adapt. I'll email you a template with the occupational segment entered. Hopeful, among us all here, we can start building it...and they will come! :) Thanks. Leecy

David and group members, HyperDocs is no doubt a great addition to the repertoire  of any teacher, but I have a big favor to ask- could someone please write a How To...showing us how to create a Hyperdoc step by step by step by step. I went to several videos and I know that eventually I will "get it" but it would help me and a lot people I think if we could have simple instructions written for the "Complete Idiot".

Thanks, Paul Rogers

Thank you! Once people see how easy this is, I hope we all create some samples. What a great resource. 

Kathy 

Thank you, Ashly, I made my first one, and posted it on Facebook and on my WhatsApp group!!! HyperDocs is similar to Google's WIX but it appears a lot simpler - and the WIX page can serve as the template for all the information. So now I have to experiment with creating texts with audio and video.

 

 

Just sharing that the screencast site requires Flash technologies so if people experience difficulty opening the file, lack of Flash support on your device is probably the reason. 

Thanks for putting so much effort into helping us learn how to create HyperDocs, Ashly! Much appreciated!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition and Teaching & Learning CoPs

Friends, 
I am teaching a 'boot camp' for a local community college. The idea is that students how placed in developmental English classes will participate in a week long boot camp where they will do a pre/post Accuplacer. The goal is to help the students refresh on skills - or even cover some gaps in their current knowledge so at the end of the course, they can take the Accuplacer again and place out of the 099 courses. After reviewing this conversation, I decided to use HyperDocs. Thinking about this, I felt that a hyperdoc would be great for students to direct their own learning and attend to skills they needed to improve. At the culmination of each activity, the students will come together and discuss what they learned. As this topic has excited many of our community members, I'd love to hear some specific ideas of how you will incorporate these documents in your instruction. 

Kathy

Colleagues,

Since I posted on July 10th about HyperDocs there have been nearly a thousand views, and 33 comments, in this discussion thread; that suggests a high level of interest. Also since then, Ashly Winkle has joined the discussion and provided some ways to learn about how to make HyperDocs. I watched the video she made for us and decided I could make a HyperDoc based on viewing and discussing one of the Media Library of Teaching Skills (MLoTS) professional development videos; it's a numeracy video on teaching ratio and proportion. You will find it at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Uiiize4zBlGSeO2tOSouEnYNnzj6Gbtsbx_1IHFRtQE/edit  or HERE You may need permission to access it, but at least until the end of July I will be quick in granting it. However, in August I will be slower, and you may even have to wait for permission to access until September, so look at it in July!

I hope other professional developers give HyperDocs a try and share their activity/lesson plan. I would also love to see examples of adult education teachers who create HyperDocs for their students. If you have a little time this summer, give it a try, and share with us what you create. You can give it a Creative Commons License, as I did mine, and then it's up to you how others can use your HyperDoc, ranging from just as you designed it and only for non-commercial purposes, to permission to modify or re-purpose it if they acknowledge you as the original author, and perhaps provide a link to the original, to any way they want.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

You will find a discussion started earlier in the year in a few CoPs inviting everyone to collaborate on an integrated activity. I have just added an invitation to have folks continue the process, following the upcoming COABE Webinar, Integrated Education & Training: A Service Model for Adult Education Across the Spectrum," Aug 25, 2017 2:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada). "Integrated Education & Training (IET) is a promising practice based in adult learning theory. Through IET programs, adults seek goal-oriented, relevant, practical knowledge." You may register HERE. 

Our earlier LINCS discussion, "Integrate It," can be found at https://community.lincs.ed.gov/discussion/integrate-it#comment-20199. It occurs to me that collaborating on the integration of the suggested activities could be really enhanced usingHyperDocs. Take a peek. What do you think? Leecy

Ashley, your HyperDoc is a work of art: creative, charming, inviting, and very useful. Do you want others to contribute to what you have are creating? Is that possible? It would be wonderful to have a cooperative experience among members here. Any ideas on how that might best happen? 

In the "Integrate It" discussion that I referenced earlier, we suggested having members contribute ideas on how to integrate academic skills into an occupational training segment. Maybe we should start something using HyperDocs. What reactions do others here have as to how to get something like that started? Thanks! Leecy

I was hoping that adult educators would start sharing their own HyperDocs on this Padlet. This Padlet can also be found on the collaboration page on my website. Once they share it there, I will be able to put it on the website. My vision is that we have a library of adult ed HyperDocs to share, use, or edit! I can probably incorporate a discussion page as well so that we can share thoughts and ideas.

https://padlet.com/msashlylcot/8usb20rvkq4g
 

Hi Ashly,

That's a a great start to what I hope will  be a large collection of Hyperdoc activities and lesson plans.  Could you tell us how one can add a HyperDoc lesson, resource or activity to your adult education Padlet library?

Also, adding a discussion page sounds like a good idea.

 

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Integrating Technology CoP

djrosen123@gmail.com

1. Go to : https://padlet.com/msashlylcot/8usb20rvkq4g

2. Either double click on the background or click on the plus sign in the lower right hand corner

3. On your post, type a title and click on the plus sign

4. Copy the link to your HyperDoc and click on the right arrow key

5. Once the link loads, click on "ok" and you are done!


 

In this explosion of technological divergence, nobody can keep up.  Is there a way to include in any great new Thing a prominent link to "this is what this is and how you could participate"?   I look at these and think "great thing these people are doing but no, I don't have time to figure it out because of this other great thing I'm trying to figure out how to do."  This one looks easy -- but it's only easy if you know what to do... 

Susan, check out Ashly Winkle's post above,July 19, 2017,  which includes a simple tutorial she created on using HyperDocs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wtgzXfEzzM5fP1aTpusB2wDjiZwkspEZsTcKEmruX_k/edit?usp=sharing 

What ideas do you have on how to get us to collaborate on a project? Of course, I would like to participate in a project where we are integrating academic-skill development (yes, math included!) into occupational training, but I'm game for anything that will help us collaborate on something and get to know each other better. Your thoughts? Leecy

I think that is the biggest challenge with technology. When I train on technology the biggest recommendation I make is to only focus on one or two tools at a time. There is soooo much out there, and so little time to invest in it. You can't learn and/or do everything at once. You have to choose items that meet the needs of you and your students. Once you master one or two things, you might want to explore others, and eventually you find ways to "mash apps", or integrate different tools together.

I recommend learning Google Apps along with HyperDocs (the two go hand-in-hand) above others because I have found them to be the most beneficial to my students and me. The lessons are rich and engaging. Everyone in the room is actively learning and you are there to facilitate that learning. When I first learned about HyperDocs, I actually purchased the ebook on Amazon. I took the time to learn and play around with them before officially "jumping in". It was a time and financial (about $10) investment that has been well worth it for me. That being said, however, just because HD lessons are good for me, does not necessarily mean they are good for others. You have to use what is right for you, do not let yourself become overwhelmed, but at the same time, allow yourself to be open to new opportunities.

Ashly, I am so sorry to have missed the presentation. Will you do something similar again?

If someone here attended, please share your experience with us! I would also like to know how to do a live YouTube video presentation. Both activities sound wonderful. Oh, and one more item. Would I just use a posted link for a  on my iPhone to join? I'm hoping to get proficient on using my iPhone for more than calling and texting! :) Thanks!  Leecy