Hyperdoc PD – have you heard of it?

It’s summertime, with days free from bells and lesson delivery and grading, maybe you have a little more time to catch up on PD? Personally, I love ‘pajama PD’ – PD I can do from my backyard garden table, while waiting to catch a plane, or at night in my jammies before I go to bed. Honestly, there are so many options for teacher PD that don’t involve going anywhere (although that’s super fun too); during the open days of summer I love utilizing Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to learn and create new ways of engaging my students – especially around hyperdoc PD.

Next year, I’m moving from 8th grade English (16 years…) to 7th grade (haven’t taught 7th graders since 2001)…and this is a perfect opportunity to up my lesson planning game. I’m excited to look at new strategies to go with my new content, and figure out ways to best create English classes that are hands-on, exciting, noisy and FUN!

Hyperdocs?

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, Twitter channel or Facebook page, you’ve heard me mention hyperdocs and what a game changer they’ve been in my teaching. I’m a self-taught hyperdoc creator – meaning I’ve worked and collaborated and read and modeled my hyperdocs after the pedagogy created by the Hyperdoc girls: Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis.

Do you need some hyperdoc PD? Hyperdocs are NOT just docs or slides with links – they are a way of utilizing current educational pedagogy to help kids engage, explore, explain, apply, share and reflect on their learning….and they’re AWESOME and HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! They are a way of packaging learning and teaching through sound educational principles – thinking through lessons and units from beginning to end, considering any curriculum standards and assessments through creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication strategies. Hyperdocs can be created for ANY content, ANY grade level, and best of all, ANY type of learner.

Curious?

Another cool resource for hyperdoc PD are the HyperDoc Hangout ON AIR; check out mine that was filmed in February 2018 with Kelly and Lisa. We invited a special guest student to testify about the power of hyperdocs, building relationships and engaged learning, too!

Want some FREE ideas?

So, are you ready for hyperdoc PD? Want to see some hyperdocs to use in your classroom? Check out my teaching/parenting resources page for some samples. I’ve also written a few posts about hyperdocs:

• Want To Learn More About Teaching With Hyperdocs?

• Podcasting: Why You Really Need To Try It

• Boundaries For Strong Self-Care: Creating and Keeping Yourself Happy and Healthy

• Write Happy Poetry This Month! Simple Ideas For Any Writer, Any Age

• Back To School, Digital-Style

• It’s Poetry Month! Writing, Reading, Teaching and Sharing Poetry

Also, for templates, tons of SHARED FREE hyperdocs, and lots of ideas to get you thinking, you need to visit Teachers Give Teachers, a website created by the Hyperdoc founders to create a community of sharing where teachers aren’t paying each other, but creating, collaborating, thinking and communicating together for no motive other than improving education for our students. If you haven’t checked out their website, hyperdocs.co –  go there NOW!

I’m excited to share with you – drop me an email if you have something you’re looking for. If I don’t have a hyperdoc for it, maybe we make our own hyperdoc PD session together!

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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We’re studying the Holocaust in my classroom right now. I knew it was coming….middle school kids are in that developmental phase where they mimic what they see in the media. They parrot their parents or family members, not always realizing what is coming out of their mouth.

Very often, that can be problematic at best.

At worst, it can show the hate that is simmering in our country. It can spew the language of division, and mimic the actions of those adults who should know better, but don’t.

I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.

In the last three weeks, it’s happened at my peaceful little school. Anti-LGBTQ language. Symbols of hate carved into bathroom stalls. Girls coming to me sharing stories of sexual harassment from male classmates…all this simmering beneath the surface of our children.

They look to us for guidance, but we don’t always know the right or appropriate thing to say. They look at the news, the media, and see people in their country showing hate, bringing guns to schools, using words to demean and disregard and dismiss behaviors. They want us to find the villain, to get back to ‘normal’. 

And so somehow, inside my tiny classroom, I need to shift course. I need to model more love and acceptance without showing my own anger or fear or disgust at the actions of people around me and in our government.

So I teach and weave in lessons of history, of courage, of love, and yes, of the power of hate. The power of hope, and helpers, and believing that deep down, people really are good at heart.

Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank at the end of the year always makes me a bit uneasy. It’s not a ‘light’ story by any means, and as we are heading towards celebrating a year of learning together, it often seems out of place in the May curriculum.

Until this year. I need my students to understand the power of hate.

I want them to know why the Nazi symbol holds such venom and what the Star of David, identifying Jews and ultimately bringing millions to a horrific death, teaches us about faith.

I want them to know when they see these images that there is a backstory – and to understand why we must lock bathrooms and be vigilant and intolerant of hate and violence against each other.

Some of you might think that they’re just kids – they don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just mimicking what they see on social media, or repeating what they hear without processing.

And I’d say you’re right – and that’s precisely the problem. Why are they seeing these images and hearing language of hate and intolerance in 2018, decades after we should have learned this lesson? Why are they watching leaders and decision makers act with disregard for those that aren’t in the 1%? Why are they seeing images of citizens of the world herded into temporary shelters, or no shelter at all, simply because they seek a life without persecution for living their authentic selves?

I want them to ponder the big questions the Holocaust brings to mind – questions like “What do you gain when you stand up under adversity?” and “Who is worse – the attacker or the bystander?”

I want them to learn about the unknown heroes of the Holocaust – those folks who aren’t famous for their actions, except to those they helped.

I want my students to talk about why we sometimes feel superior to others. I want them to think about their legacy – even though they’re only 13.

This is our time to rise up, teachers. Don’t dismiss the last few weeks of the school year – leverage them. You’ve spent months developing relationships with your students. Take advantage of that. Use these days, weeks, or hours with your young people to explore what’s happening in their world – our world. Talk to them about what they see and hear. Ask them to think critically about local, national, and global issues. Guide them to meaningful media to learn about the world and then communicate their beliefs to an audience. Do a podcast. Write a blog. Shoot a video clip. Give them a voice.

We already know we’re not solving the problems. We already know that the hatred and gun violence and #metoo movements were formed on the backs of our inability to make change happen.

And we already know that we still have a chance, still have an obligation to our children.

So parents, teachers….do something. Teach someone. Talk to the young people in your life. And most importantly, LISTEN.

If you’d like a copy of my Diary of Anne Frank hyperdoc, including text sets about the Holocaust and Judaism, click here. Share it. You don’t have to be a teacher (or a student) to learn from it. You just need to have a desire to make change happen.

We are really better together. We really should be better.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Greetings from St. Louis! I’m presenting about recapturing the love of teaching at NCTE17 today!

Since starting my blog in 2011, my life is so different!

I’ve been on adventures around the country and the world. I’ve met amazing writers and educators. I’ve been published on websites, in books, and in magazines. I’ve even been on TV!

Today I’m presenting at #NCTE17 with two women I met through blogging – Riina Hirsch and Katie Sluiter. We’ll be presenting on how social media and blogging helped us recapture our love of teaching at 11:00 in St. Louis – if you’re at NCTE, please message me, stop by the presentation, or comment back and connect!

Click HERE to view our Recapturing The Love Of Teaching presentation.

If you’re at home, please take a look at our presentation – we’ll share our blogging stories, some teaching anecdotes, and a bonus presentation on setting up a blog for your classroom and your students – links are included so you can do it from home!

Sending you all my gratitude and thankfulness to my awesome mamawolfe community – you mean the world to me.

~Jennifer

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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