When educators or education professionals think about lesson plans, they all share the same ideas that learning material should be delivered in exciting, engaging, and interactive ways. With hyperdocs, lesson plans can encompass all of those qualities, and so much more!

To begin our exploration of the world of hyperdocs, I have included a snapshot of the hyperdoc I found on teacherspayteachers.com and it can be found here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Distance-Learning-TN-SS-527-Paleo-Archaic-People-4817706

Just off of first glance, this hyperdoc includes the standard features of everyday lesson plans, but with more creativity and added sections for collaboration. A great start to a student’s day! And a productive way for an educator to begin a lesson by sparking the interests of their students alongside collaborative classroom discussion. Moving forward, the next pages of the hyperdoc introduce a plethora of interactive, exciting, and supportive features which can be seen in this screenshot from page five.

The “Magic” of Hyperdocs

Just from this screenshot alone, one can note the huge amount of resources that can be added within a hyperdoc to bolster student learning outcomes. Alongside these resources, a variety of different forms of media from around the web offer a learner greater differentiation and diversity while exploring new topics. A win-win! Students who prefer to learn from videos, pictures, or by exploring articles can benefit from the various modes of learning within one hyperdoc lesson. In addition to what is shown in the screenshot above, even more resources and web technology can be utilized in a hyperdoc to further the process of learning, collaboration, and gain more engagement. Some additional features can be:

• A link to an interactive google map.
• A link to a google doc sheet to input feedback or collaborate on an assignment that relates to the hyperdoc material.
• A link to a Flipgrid page to have students explore what other classrooms and people have to say regarding a certain topic. Here students can also submit their own thoughts and reflections as well.
• A link to a Skype meeting to connect and discuss with classrooms from around the globe.

Hyperdocs benefit the teacher and the learner in immense ways. Further, hyperdocs allow learners to move at their own pace and have a solid place to refer back to the material to gain a better understanding, ask questions, and see what their peers are saying. Learners who struggle to grasp a steady base of knowledge from the traditional lecture or reading methods can now tap into greater streams of information from differentiated instruction. From the teacher’s perspective, hyperdocs engage learners with its various forms of media from pictures to videos to interactive web tools. Likewise, student collaboration in hyperdocs is a harmonious and streamlined process as opportunities to collaborate are built into its structure with ease. More so, hyperdocs introduce students to a wide array of web tools which bolsters their skills in using technology effectively. Likewise, these features set individuals up for better success in the 21st-century world of technology by becoming familiar with the use of various web tools. Overall, hyperdocs are a treasure chest when it comes to education from all across the board!