Hyper about HyperDocs

http://hyperdocs.co/ 

I'm using this tomorrow!

These are my favorite words to hear during a professional development workshop. When I hear this, I know I have shared something with teachers that is relevant, applicable and scalable. I also wasn't surprised to hear this during a workshop in which we used a HyperDoc as our main tool.

If you haven't checked out HyperDocs from Lisa Highfull, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis, you definitely need to. On the surface, HyperDocs are Google Docs that are visually attractive and provide links to users to different information. But at their heart, HyperDocs are a student-centered, constructivist approach to using technology for student-driven learning. HyperDocs are organized with key words that invite users to be active members in their learning. The Google Docs are framed around verbs like: Engage, Explore, Explain, Apply, Share, Reflect and Extend. The "Engage" section might have users watch a video that sparks their curiosity. The "Explore" links might lead to websites that have further explanation about a topic. "Explain" might ask students to make their own video or voice recording about what they have learned or this might even be a face-to-face component of the lesson where students are asked to turn and talk to one another. As the verbs get more interactive in nature, there are more opportunities for student creation of products and collaboration among students. I particularly like the "Extend" idea which gives students that are really intrigued by the topic further opportunity for exploration.

Templates: http://hyperdocs.co/templates 

In the professional development workshop that I was co-leading, we created three different HyperDocs using one of the amazing templates available on the HyperDocs site. The workshop was about differentiation so we had teachers self-evaluate and choose a HyperDoc based on their knowledge and use of stations for differentiation. Teachers then used this HyperDoc to organize their learning for the session. In our case, each step in the HyperDoc was also a station and we asked teachers to physically move as they completed each step. This was useful for pieces of the HyperDoc that involved physical things (like manipulatives) and for promoting group discussion. Using the HyperDocs kept learners on track and clear in the steps they needed to take. The HyperDocs kept all the links in one place so there was no confusion about "where to go" for certain activities. And, above all, it ensured that our learning was student- (or in this case teacher-) centered and active. We did not stand and deliver a lesson on differentiation, teachers experienced a differentiated lesson and the HyperDocs helped us manage it.

Since that day, I have had numerous teachers share that they have moved to the HyperDoc as a way to organize their instruction. I love that this resource has thoughtful and intentional pedagogy embedded in it. While I'm sure some teachers can adapt a HyperDoc to make it just an electronic worksheet, I think the way Lisa, Kelly and Sarah have created and organized the HyperDocs really lure all teachers into crafting a more student-centered and activist approach to learning. I found it to be simpatico with my creed of Ask, Create, Play, Solve, Share. I believe that just seeing the examples on the HyperDoc Girls website, encourages teachers to think more about what the students are doing and less about what they as teachers will be saying. Their excellent book and website both have loads of tips and background about their thinking behind HyperDocs that are worth checking out. Let me know how you are using HyperDocs in your school. I, for one, am thrilled with a tool that is easy-to-use and has meaningful instruction at its center.

3D Printing in Social Studies

People who know me know I've been talking about 3D printing for years. I get giddy when I think about how accessible 3D printing has become and that my children are growing up in a world where they can print their own tools, toys and trinkets. Therefore I was over the moon when my director purchased a 3D printer for us to bring into the schools where we work.

I had one teacher who was interested right away. A sixth grade social studies teacher had been going through our technology professional development program, Teacher Leadership Program, and was looking for a project he could dig into. Together we developed an idea to have his students design a coin about one of the first five presidents (a topic directly from our state standards). Each class would vote on the best design and then we would print the best ones.

There was a serious buzz in the room when I brought the 3D printer in. We have a Makerbot Replicator Mini which is compact and light-weight, so I carried it into the room myself. Students were full of comments and questions:

• "It's smaller than I thought it be."
• "How much did it cost?"
• "How long does it take to print?"
• "I want one!"

First I reviewed some key aspects of the software we were going to use to design the coin. We decided to use 3D Tin by Lagoa. This software allows students to log in with a Google account and since our school has Google accounts, this was perfect. 3D Tin has some great starter tutorials as well so students were encouraged to watch several of these before getting started. Students took to the software well and taught each other many of the less intuitive aspects of the program. 

Designing in 3D is definitely easier for some students than others. Some got frustrated quickly while others drew complicated objects while I was still getting some students logged in. Showing students how to return to a home view or rotate objects were two key techniques.

What I loved about this lesson was that students got more creative due to some of the limits of the program. They drew images using small blocks (like one might in Minecraft). They got more symbolic than they might have been given other projects where they could copy and paste images or long passages of text. I also loved how they inspired each other. One students would figure out how to draw, say, the Washington Monument, and suddenly you'd see others working on a drawing of the Capitol. Our English Language Learners did fabulously with this lesson. Since most of the modeling is visual, they had no problem creating great images for their coins.

I also loved all the natural curiosity the 3D printer brought out. Students started showing up before school and during lunch to watch it print or to ask questions about how it worked. Some students that aren't your typical high achieving or tech-geeky students were the best at finding creative ways to make their 3D model or to help out with the printing process. My heart is always lifted by lessons that draw new students into the learning process.

Vokis Can Bring out Student Creativity

(this piece was also posted at: Voki Guest Blogger/)

I still remember the first time I was introduced to Voki, I was at a tech conference. The presenter was showing a number of different fun, new, tools, but Voki stole the day. Honestly, I can't remember the next 20 minutes of the presentation because I was so busy having fun playing with Voki, recording myself, giving myself new outfits, sending emails back to my boss saying things like "Vokis are so much fun!" I was immersed in learning the new tool and practicing my digital literacy and fluency. It is the same for our students.

Voki opens up a world of hands-on creativity for your students.

Show any classroom of students Voki, and you will immediately see them trying it out in a myriad of ways. I had the pleasure of joining a student tech club after school one day and I did a quick demo of Voki. The teacher and I had a plan that they would use their Vokis to introduce themselves to me (a visitor for the day) and then we would share what each student did. It was a nice plan, and the students would have done it. But we quickly realized, we had set the bar way too low, these kids had more ideas about what they wanted to do!

Voki lets you have your Voki speak in several languages.

Some students immediately started playing with the language feature of Voki. While this tech club is in a richly diverse school, where many languages are heard every day, these students still had a great time listening to phrases spoken in languages they had never heard before.

Voki allows you to re-record until you like how it sounds.

Some students probably practiced what they wanted to say 5-7 times before they saved their Voki. This repeated practice is fantastic for English Language Learners and other students working on their oral language skills. Asking a student to re-read passages can be tiresome, but ask them to make a Voki and they will repeat the passage until they like how it sounds, over and over again.

Voki lets students play around with identity.

Let's face it, not all students are pleased with their self-image. I've seen students change their avatar dozens of times to find a "look" that they want to project. Don't overlook the importance of this! As students travel the weary path of adolescence and pre-adolescence, they crave opportunites to try on different looks and personas. Using Voki to do this is a safe and fun way to change your hair color, add an earring or see how a British accent sounds. Letting students play with these avatars as they complete a content-based assignment is as developmentally appropriate as free play in Kindergarten.

Voki is a great way to discuss Digital Citizenship.

Our students might not need our guidance when it comes to figuring out how to make a Voki, but they do still need our guidance about what makes a good and appropriate Voki. Voki is a fun way to get students talking about what make a quality presentation. If the assignment is to have an Abraham Lincoln Voki talk about three of the most important parts of his presidency, showing him with sunglasses on isn't the best way to convey your message. Likewise, students should never use Voki to share too much information about themselves or to embarrass others. It is imperative that we have these conversations with students and why not do it with a tool they love!

Voki can be used in any classroom:

Science: Make a Voki to explain the outcomes of a lab. (I've seen students do this for their Science Fair presentations!)
Social Studies: Choose a Voki of an historical figure and have them give three important facts about their lives.
English: Make a Voki that represents a character from a novel. Have them "saying" the theme of the novel.
Math: There is a lot of vocabulary in Math. Have a Voki provide definitions for key terms.
World Language: Provide a description of a person in the target language, see if the students can make a matching Voki.
Physical Education/Health: Let a Voki give facts about staying fit and healthy.

To get the most out of Vokis, make sure you give your students time to play when making their Vokis, you'll be surprised with the results!

Website of the Week - Voki

http://www.voki.com/

Create an animated avatar that speaks, create a customized avatar that uses text-to-speech to say what you write. Vokis can be embedded in Blogs, wikis and websites.

http://www.voki.com/

Ideas for the classroom:

1) In History, research a famous historical figure: have them "saying" a famous quote.
2) In Language Arts, create a voki for a character in a novel. Have them "saying" a line of dialogue.
3) In World Language, have students introduce themselves in the target language
4) In Math, have students define mathematical terms.
5) In Science, have vokis report the results of a lab.

For more ideas, check out: Voki Lesson Plans

Ways to offer students choices was the theme of Session #4 of the Virtual Book Club! If you weren’t able to join us, listen to the recording here: Virtual Book Club Feb 18th/19th and please share your thoughts on this blog: Virtual Book Club. We have been reading and discussing Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis  and our focus this time was Chapter Seven (Choice) and Chapter Eight (Creation).

We began with some great comments:

http://mrg.bz/Bo0JPI

• @Durff shared that she tells students on 1st day that they are all intelligent (Gardner), it is her job to find out how to make them shine
• Jim shared that he believes teachers should be helping students learn, not giving them the answers
• Laurel mentioned that some students need content delivered directly from teachers before they are able to make choices in the classroom (and shared an interesting book: Why Students Don't Like School?)
• Monica added that she likes to model how she learns so that students feel comfortable making mistakes in her classroom

We also struggled with considering how teachers can create choices in the classroom in a time of standardization and high-stakes testing (at least in the United States).

• Paul shared that part of personalizing the classroom is establishing relationships with students - it isn't just about content, it is about connecting
• Michelle talked about the need to let teachers have choice as well - when something is working, having the freedom to pursue it, not have to stay lock-step with a scripted program
• Elena introduced the idea "of individual teachers being 'experts' with specific tools and working collaboratively with their peers is a more manageable and realistic approach for interdisciplinary teams."

https://saveourrhinos.wikispaces.com/

We also shared our own struggles and challenges with creating and maintaining electronic spaces for learning with choice in mind. We all agreed that monitoring electronic spaces are difficult to maintain and that we would love to have ongoing eportfolios that follow students through their years of learning in a school (Google Sites, KidBlog, Evernote, Weebly and even PhotoStory were shared as ideas). We debated a bit about how to choose new tools - what is trendy, and what is trendy with a purpose? Paul raised a great point about involving students in planning electronic spaces and many shared stories about ways they've done this.  As part of this, we also wondered how to make sure more students have access to technology beyond the classroom.

From there, we talked about how to structure learning experience that offer students ways to make meaning. Rocky shared the idea of students meeting with teachers to create useful materials for them and Robyn shared a bit about a project her students are doing to save rhinos! Interestingly, we found we have less experience offering students chances to invent or build. It would be fun to talk more about how we could build these concepts into our teaching more.

We ended by trying out the break-out room feature in Blackboard Collaborate. I guess I modeled the idea of the "teacher" not being perfect but willing to take risks since I had no idea how it would work! :) Thanks to everyone who was there for humoring me and experimenting along with me.  I think we'll try these small groups again next time with a focus question. Big virtual hugs to @Durff for telling me more about how to use this effectively at future sessions. And my apologies for those of you listening to the recording since there will be a long pause when you are listening (another important aspect of this tool for me to understand!).

Thank you again for everyone that participated. I'm reminded of the quote by C. S. Lewis cited on page 34 of this book:

The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.

Thank you for being in my circle and adding to my wisdom! And to Mara for agreeing to co-moderate. If anyone is interested in co-moderating next time, please leave a comment or send me an email, I'd love your help!

Our next meeting will be Monday, March 4th at 7:30pm EST (that’s Tuesday, March 5th at 12:30am GMT). For your time zone, click here. We will be discussing Chapters Nine and Ten - Celebrating, Designing, and Managing Global Collaborative Projects. Hope to “see” you there!