In the twenty-first century classroom, learning is no longer teacher-directed. Students are beginning to feel more ownership for their learning, allowing them to interact with course material instead of simply trudging through direct instruction and handfuls of physical material.

Google HyperDocs are digital documents that contain all elements of a learning cycle in a central location. Within a single document, students have access to hyperlinks to all resources necessary to complete the activities within that unit of instruction.  The following are ways in which HyperDocs can help enhance your teaching at any educational level.

1. Fewer lectures and more interaction

Students absorb very little of the material that is recited to them. Therefore, they need to be in charge of the learning. HyperDocs remove direct instruction and allow students to move at their own pace through the material. As a result, teachers are freed up to provide individual assistance to students as they need it. Gifted students who tend to move more quickly through course material aren’t bored by waiting for the rest of the class to catch up, and students who need more time to process material can move more slowly, and with teacher assistance if necessary.

2. Flexibility

As the teacher, if you find that elements of your lesson are lackluster or not engaging the students, you don’t have to throw out your old materials. This environmentally friendly alternative allows you to change an entire lesson with a simple click of a button, saving time, money, energy, and resources.

3. Accommodation to diverse learning styles

HyperDocs can include all kinds of multimedia. Visual learners might watch a video, while auditory learners might listen to an mp3 file of the same material.

4. Individually tailored lessons

Teachers can create multiple HyperDocs for students at different levels, or for students with diverse needs. This means that documents can contain the same text but at a different reading level, or they can listen to the same text as an alternative. Nobody but you and the individual student needs to know that they are completing a different activity, making this a privacy-friendly option for students embarrassed about particular classroom struggles.

5. Easy substitute teacher plans

No more wasted days. HyperDocs lets you easily transfer your course material to a substitute teacher so that you don’t have to worry about even the most inexperienced substitute teaching your lessons for you.

6. Varied activities

With HyperDocs, you can change each day so that every activity is a new adventure. You can incorporate video or podcast playlists, or even set up the HyperDocs so that students rotate through learning stations. Once students are savvy with how this works, you can even have them create their own HyperDocs.

The many versatile uses of HyperDocs aren’t exclusive to this list. HyperDocs is a great tool to allow you to collaborate with students, parents, other educators, and professionals across the discipline. Consider implementing this free program in your classroom to help maximize your students’ potential learning.