A while back we had a PD afternoon themed around inclusivity. For me, this was the perfect opportunity to introduce HyperDocs to my colleagues. HyperDocs are interactive worksheets - they are a little different to printable worksheets, because they have links to a digital resources, and students also answer digitally, (which can mean they contribute to collaborative work). I think they are a great way to flip the classroom or for blended learning - students can work at their own pace and the teacher can assist those who need extra help. 

My top tips for HyperDocs:

• Make them a two column document - with the teacher resources on one side and the space for the students work on the other side. This makes it clear for the students and teachers where their work goes, and also you can clearly see what parts of the document the student is responsible for.
• Distribute it through Google Classroom, so you can automatically make a copy for each student
• Make sure your questions are open, and not 'right or wrong'. We really need to banish multiple choice quizzes as they are just a memory test (fine for checking for understanding/checking students have read/watched something, but not for much else)
• Add in some thinking routines (ideally students should be familiar with these...because they are routines)
• Give students options  - you could do a bingo style, where they have to complete a certain amount of the questions available - or for each box, give the student several options
• Make sure the students are not just typing their responses, they are creating something to share (videos, images, adding to an interactive map, finding and sharing information etc)
• I like to frame my hyperdocs with a debatable question - and have students explore resources on both sides of the debate, before completing their final task.
• Also use factual, conceptual and debatable questions throughout (if you are an MYP teacher, add in your units FCD questions!)
• Use Hyperdocs has a great way for students to practice information retrieval (include citations and get students to summarize their resources, and tell us why they are relevant!)

Here are two of my HyperDocs:

• Is graffiti art?
• Are Robots Beneficial or Dangerous for Society?
• ​(Also  check out this excellent MYP Assessment Hyperdoc our MYP Coordinator Carmen Samanes created for a PD day!)

Here is the training resource I used with my colleagues:

Finally saw some resources to get you started with creating your HyperDocs:

• Ted Ed Lessons - I love this, because they are nearly all interdisciplinary - they are fun - AND they have interesting questions and further resources you can use!
• Have students make videos with Adobe Spark, PowToons, Animaker, Go Animate, WeVideo, or Plotagon. (Don't lock them down to one, give them those as options)
• Have students add to a collaborative document...maybe a MindMap with Coggle, a resource wall with Padlet or a map with Google's My Maps.
• Use online articles - I really recommend The Day. It's aimed at schools and below each article you will find debate questions, activity ideas and further resources, which will help you develop your HyperDocs!
  
  Let me know your top tips and useful resources for HyperDocs.
  

We will be visiting Union Square Station to get food while in Washington DC. Students, in groups, including a teacher, will interview people in the station.

IB Global Context: Globalization and sustainability (exploration: interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities)

One of the more lighthearted activities we have planned for our Grade 10 trip to Washington is Classical Art Memes!
Global Context:  Personal and Cultural Expression (exploration: social constructions of reality)
​
We will start off this activity, with the serious prompt "What is Art?"...

...we will then move onto "What is a meme?"

We will then show some students come classical art memes we have found online, (best to do this, instead of letting them freely search, because some online are inapropro...)

Students will be tasked with creating their own. 
We may also let them use any photo manipulation tool they want... Here is an example of people using the Face App on works on art:

This activity can easily be adapted for any art gallery...

On last year's trip we seemed to spend a lot of time at the airport waiting at the gate -to make sure we start off the trip well, we decided to add an activity here!

IB Global Context: Scientific and Technical Innovation  (exploration: adaptation)

The students will get sent a link to the presentation below. It includes information from one of our colleagues, Dennis, a former pilot - as well as the prompt: The plane you are going to fly today may one day also be in a museum. Technology is constantly evolving and adapting and that includes planes! What do you think travel will look like in 30 years time? Students will write their thoughts in their journals.

We think students will get a kick out of seeing these old pictures of Dennis. We will also have them make connections with this presentation when they visit theNational Air and Space Museum in Washington!

What other ways can we kill time while waiting at the gate? I'll bring a few card games, but other ideas would be appreciated :)

Every year our school takes Grade 10 to Washington DC. Last year I became a Grade 10 advisor (to line up with also becoming their Personal Project Coordinator), so had my first ever visit to DC. Two of my colleagues (and friends!), Ilse and Sherry, have been working on changing the experience to make the trip morning meaningful and to link more to the IB - With the help of some thinking routines and the IB's Global Contexts. They brought me on board after their initial planning to help them with the activities.

Throughout the trip, students will be adding notes to a journal. The activities we have designed are supposed to be short and sweet and will not take up the whole time they are at any particular location. 

I will share several of the activities on this blog, so that other educators may use them in they are also visiting DC.

Our activity for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
IB's Global Context: Identities and relationships (exploration: Identity formation; self-esteem; status; roles and role models).
This museum opened shortly after our last trip, so none of us have been there yet. However, we were able to use resources we found on their website. When students arrive at the museum, they will sort themselves in small groups, and will each be given a double sided card. On one side they will see the object they should find when walking through the museum - on the other side they will find prompts to answer before and after seeing the object, (we think there might be a bit of a wait outside)!

Here's a link to the presentation - feel free to make a copy and adapt it for your school. You can also find out more about these images on the NMAAHC website here.

More posts about our Washington DC plans soon :)