Re-Situating Hapara

Best Practices for Supporting Students Working in the Digital Realm

     When you hear people talking about “Hapara,” what comes to mind? Is it “that website that works with G Suite?” Perhaps it’s “that tool that lets you close student browser tabs.” If you are not familiar with all of what Hapara can do, it can be easy to get caught up in Hapara's administrative features and use it just to police student chromebook activity. In this post, we’ll “re-situate” Hapara so that you will be better equipped to support learners working with tools in G Suite and beyond.
Why Hapara?
     You may have read or heard about the research of John Hattie, a Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Hattie synthesized a wealth of existing studies to determine the most impactful ways to raise student achievement.  The top five strategies include: student visible learning, formative assessment, acceleration, feedback, and other metacognitive strategies. Hapara was created with these ideas in mind. The three main components of Hapara (Highlights, Dashboard, and Workspace) work together to make student learning visible, even in the digital realm. Teachers can use these tools to support learners in differentiated activities, major projects, research, or other assignments. Let’s look at each one in turn.

Beyond Big Brother
     Hapara Highlights is so much more than just a way to monitor student browsing activity. Did one of your students find a fantastic source for a research project? Open the same resource for the whole class by clicking the “Open Tabs” button in the upper right-hand corner of the Highlights screen and typing in the URL. Take Snaps of student screens to remind you of the sites they were using and use them as a conversation starter during a conference/pulse check later on. The beauty of Highlights is that it lets you, the teacher, engage with your learners in real time as they collaborate with one another, complete research, or review for an exam.
     None of this is to say that you should not ever use Hapara’s browser management functionalities. These features are there for a reason and, if needed, can help you redirect students working on their devices. If you do observe off-task behavior in Highlights, send the student a quick message first and encourage them to move back to their assigned task(s). This best practice lets the student take the initiative to correct behavior and become a more responsible digital classroom citizen.
A Continuous Feedback Loop

     Teacher feedback on student work also figures prominently in Hattie’s research. Hapara Dashboard allows you to view, at a glance, all of your students’ Google Drive files for your class. Without having to click through a lot of Google Classroom windows, you can offer constructive feedback on papers, slide decks, drawings, and other projects in progress. You can leave a comment on a Google Doc or even use Vocaroo to record personalized audio feedback for students! Later on, you check in to see how students are utilizing your feedback. Doing this from the conception of a project all the way through its completion will better support your students and hold them accountable for making steady progress and not procrastinating until the last minute!

Differentiation, Student Voice, and Cooperative Learning- All Together!
     Hapara Workspace is a flexible learning environment that provides for differentiation, collaboration, and student voice all in one place! Workspace divides student resources and learning artifacts into four columns that are typically utilized respectively as: goals, objectives, and standards; resources; evidence and learning artifacts; and reflections and rubrics. Each item in a column has its own “card” that may include a link, an image, a description, or any combination of the preceding. Cards (and students!) can be grouped to facilitate differentiated projects and resources, scaffolded instruction, and cooperative learning. You can even give your students voice and choice by allowing them to create their own resource cards to share with classmates and their own evidence cards to demonstrate learning. Take advantage of the flexibility offered by Workspace and watch your students’ creativity soar!
     Your building technology integrator is a fantastic resource for additional information. Your integrator would love to sit down with you, show you more about Hapara, and talk about how you can best use it in your classroom. In addition, be on the lookout for two brand new Hapara Learn and Earn modules coming to the EdTech Hub this Fall. If you really want to dig deep, you are encouraged to explore the Hapara Champion Educator course. In this course, you will further explore the ideas presented in this post while earning a Hapara certification. Any of these resources will help you to more effectively use Hapara in your classroom. Have fun making learning visible!

About the Author:
Wes Dunnavant joined the Technology Integrator team in January of 2017. He grew up attending Chesterfield County Public Schools: Jacobs Road Elementary, Manchester Middle, and the Specialty Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale High School. After receiving his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, he taught math and music at Clover Hill High School before becoming an integrator. In his free time, Wes loves to play the piano for middle and high school choirs around the county. He also serves as Music Director of Bethany Place Baptist Church in Chesterfield.