#FETC2023

I am always excited to talk and share about hyperdocs, playlists, and choice boards. These differentiated and personalized learning opportunities for students are utilized with each unit I teach in 8th grade English. I am sharing my slide deck for #FETC23 in New Orleans for my Mega Share presentation on Monday, January 23rd. Participants will learn about hyperdocs, playlists, and choice boards and the capabilities these blended learning teaching strategies have to offer.

Hyperdocs and playlists are Google docs/slides/drawings filled with hyperlinks to a variety of structured learning opportunities. HyperDocs and playlists can be a useful tool for in personal learning, distance learning, and even blended learning opportunities for unit of study and multi-day lessons. Hyperdocs and playlists promote a self-paced structure that enable students to take charge and choose different activities that align with the learning objective of the Hyperdoc or playlist.

Teachers can enhance their teaching toolbox to support the diverse learners in the classroom with hyperdocs, playlists, and choice boards. I will also share digital platforms and apps to support the diverse learners to create meaningful classroom experiences that promote reading, critical thinking and digital literacy. So, it is up to educators to provide students with a plethora of tools and strategies so they have the opportunity to choose which will best help them reach their learning goals.

Below is a list of different playlists, choice boards, and hyperdocs I have created for my middle school student and share in the slide deck above. Feel free to make a copy of these and adapt for your own classroom use. Please be sure to credit those whose materials you are using, adapting, and borrowing. 

Humanities:

Anti Asian Hate Now & Then: Parallels W/Japanese Internment & WW2 

WW2 & The Holocaust

World War II Military

The History & Fiction of Hunters on Amazon Prime

19th Amendment Centennial

Literature & ELA:

Animal Farm Week One & Week Two 

Raymond’s Run Hyperdoc

Ransom of the Red Chief Hyperdoc

Poetry Choice Boards

Mystery Writing

Movie Viewing & Media Literacy:

Black Panther Origins (Pre-Viewing Guide) & Viewing 

Black Panther Movie Analysis Choice Board

Twilight Zone

Getting to Know Your Students:

Get to Know You Think Tac Toe (Choice Board)

do ed tech 2021

DO Ed Tech – Calm, Connected, Compassionate is an annual conference sponsored by NYSCATE. This year’s virtual conference hosted over 50 sessions on topics including District Leadership, Next Gen Learning Standards, SEL, STEM, Digital Fluency, Family Engagement, Career Development, IT Services, Community Resources, and many others. The keynote speaker was Dr. Monica Burns, ClassTechTips creator. I was honored to present a session on Building Epic Hyperdocs, Playlists and Choice Boards Peloton Style. Call it a Playlist, Hyperdoc or Choice Board – they are similar in their objective: to allow teachers to organize a unit or lesson in a clear fashion, front load student work so students can work at their own pace and even choose their own learning adventure. Participants learned how to build awesome playlists that support diverse student learners for in-person and remote learning.

Here is a link to my presentation slides and below I link all the hyperdocs I shared throughout the session.

19th Amendment Centennial Hyperdoc

Poetry Choice Board

Social Justice Differentiated Choice Board

World War II Playlist

Black Panther Playlist

Hyperdoc Template Created by Web2.0Classroom

Highlights of 2020

2020 has been a challenging year for many of us. From health, schooling, financial, and social emotional highs and lows; we have all faced hurdles. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and are struggling right now.

Schooling made tremendous shifts with technology and teaching. The learning curve was huge for families, students, and educators. For me, we went 100% remote in the spring in the matter of a weekend only to go back in a hybrid setting this fall. I saw my students take the lead and others completely shut down. I have learned that there is no perfect model and every student is unique. The debates continue to address whether standardized testing is necessary during a pandemic (NO!), should we compassionately grade our students (Still, undecided), and what will the future of school look like post COVID-19.

At the same time I was teaching, I did not stop writing and sharing insight from my own classroom learning. I published a Jump Start Guide with ISTE on Podcasting with students this fall highlighting tools and tips for helping students become creative communicators. I love offering my students alternatives to the traditional English assignments.

I am grateful to be a guest on a number of educational podcasts. These were all personal highlights:

Writing Matters is the perfect podcast for professional development and personal learning from Writable. I was interviewed by Troy Hicks in September 2020. You can listen to the full podcast HERE.

In early December I spoke with Dr. Monica Burns of Class Tech Tips about creating podcasts with students. Her podcast show and weekly newsletters offer so many great tips for teachers.

This fall I was also featured on BAM! Radio Network with Carl Hooker sharing ways to inspire students to love writing. I highlighted tools and strategies that have the ability to turn reluctant writers into writing enthusiasts.

There were virtual conferences galore to support educators and best practices for blended learning. I was honored to present at edtechteam’s virtual summits, ISTE20, and NYSCATE. You can visit my resources page on this blog to access the slide deck for each of these presentations.

What I am looking forward to the most in 2021 is the possibility of getting a COVID vaccine and being able to see my family and friends again. I hope that we will be able to attend conferences in person and I can see a Broadway show in the new year. There are more books to read and great movies to watch. As every year, I wish for peace on earth and everyone healthy and safe. I think of the mentors and models around me who inspire me everyday and think about what James Clear, author of  Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones said,

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”