It was about a year ago this month that I sat down to develop a 3-day workshop on Chromebooks for our Science teachers. At that time, I had just spent the previous year working with our ELA teachers on Chromebook deployment in the classroom. As I was working on curating resources for teachers, I ran across the topic of Hyperdocs.
As a learning tool, Hyperdocs are the coolest thing since WiFi. With a Hyperdoc, you can essentially create a paperless learning tool, that includes all of your links, questions, activities, etc… – similar to a modern webquest.
Fast forward to today, and in a class recently we discussed Hyperdocs. Since there were many in the class that had not used them, I thought I would pass on a few tips and resources to get started.
How To
If you’ve never created a Hyperdoc, this video will help you get started at creating a Hyperdoc in Google Docs.
Format
Hyperdocs can take on any format – Google Doc, Google Slide Deck, or Google Site. Don’t feel like you have to use a certain tool over another. Try them all, and use the tool that fits the situation best.
Google Docs –
- Table Tool – If using Docs, Tables are your best friend. Use Tables to format your Hyperdoc so that students can answer questions – either individually, or in a group.
- Background – Make sure to add color to your doc by changing the background color. The best response I received from a student using a Hyperdoc was that they liked using it because the color made it feel like a game instead of work.
- Fonts and Styles – Make sure to dress up your headings for each part of your Hyperdoc by selecting Fonts and Styles that set each section apart.
Google Slides
- Editing Mode – Remember that just because you are using Slides does not mean that students have to view your hyperdoc as a slideshow. Set up your Slide Deck and share with the students, having them follow the lesson by navigating through slides in the Editing Mode.
- Video – If you need to use Video in your Hyperdoc, this is a great format, as Slides allows you to insert YouTube and Google Drive videos, while also gaining the ability to edit the start and stop times.
Google Sites
- Pages – For each section of your Hyperdoc, create new pages. Sort and order the pages in the order you want students to complete the lesson.
- Video – Google Sites is another tool that allows for greater use of Video, as YouTube videos can be embedded directly on the page.
Hyperdoc Thoughts
Uses
- Challenge Board – One use of a hyperdoc is to create a Challenge Board in which users complete a series of tasks in a Grid. Here is a sample of one I created covering different Google Tools. Each tool has a tutorial video, followed by a Google Form to quiz the user on their knowledge.
- Collaborative Document – In a collaborative document, you can set up a table to that multiple users can enter their answers to prompts or questions. Check out this example.
- Individual Lesson – By setting up a document as an individual lesson, you can extend the hyperdoc into a weeklong lesson or unit on a topic. Then you can use separate tables to Explore, Explain, and Express what they have learned. There are several ways to do it, but try this one as an example of what I mean.
Still have questions? Try doing a Google Search for Hyperdocs. There are several great resources out there from other Google Trainers. Find what fits for you, give Hyperdocs a try as a Summer Project before you return to school! Good luck!
The Techy Coach 