Lesson Playlists

What are lesson playlists?

Playlists are very similar to hyperdocs in that they are digital assignments but in the form of a chart or table. They can be used to organise and sequence a weeks worth of digital lessons or even teach a much longer unit of remote learning. They contain activities, instructions, hyperlinks etc. and students can work through them at their own pace. They can even be individualised and personalised! You could perhaps even design a template that includes a space for students to add comments and keep a log of their own progress.

Examples

Summary Points

• Playlists pull together a mix of activities or lessons designed to build specific knowledge or skill

• They are a way to map out a series of lessons that you would usually ‘deliver’ over a set period, but now learners can work through them at their own pace.

• Playlists are created from a pre-designed template (usually a table within a Google Doc) and they can be as creative and visually appealing as you’d like

• The template usually includes columns for (1) the title of the activity, (2) the task instructions with hyperlinks, (3) quick student questions or reminders, and (4) the date completed - this can obviously be adapted.

• Key behaviours are required and nurtured (independence, time management, resilience etc.) with built in accountability.

• The hyperlinks are used to ‘plug-in’ complete interactive lessons, links to videos, articles, formative assessment quizzes - lots of opportunities for variety, tech-based tools and creativity

• The activities can range from quick ‘to do’ tasks, for a sense of accomplishment (e.g click and sign up for this web tool) to a final assessment, if appropriate

• Assigned as ‘each student will get a copy’ on Google Classroom, all students can initially be set the same playlist but each one can be customised to provide further scaffolding, extra challenges etc.

• Lots of ‘choice’ can be built into the activities to allow for personalisation and engagement - choice of texts, articles, videos, creative tasks, the format it should take, the tools used to create the work etc. Remember, you know your students the best.

• Regular checks for understanding can still be deliberately ‘planned in’ to assess whether all students are ‘getting it’. This could be formative questions or quizzes (using Google Forms, Socrative, Quizlet etc.) or any activities that provide opportunities for students to ‘tell you’ what they know or show you what they ‘can do’.

• You could always leave blank boxes to provide individualised tasks for learners based on how they are performing e.g. revision focus areas.

• Playlists can still be used to ‘teach to the top’ and set high expectations. A playlist can be designed to stretch even the most able learners in the class.

• Playlists can include some of the same types of activities that you might plan face to face. (After all, isn’t that we are looking to achieve?) For example:

• Screencasts

• Offline activities

• Video explanations and instruction

• Online quizzes

• Personalized skill practice with online resources

• Pair practice

• Peer-evaluation

• Self-evaluation

• Side-by-side assessments

• Conferencing

List of 'activities' above from www.catlintucker.com

In the context of WVR and possibilities

Playlists could be:

• be very powerful and engaging if designed and crafted in the right way

• designed and set for each week of remote learning

• created to craft, practice and perfect a specific skill(s)

• very cleverly and powerfully sequenced

• designed in advanced

• created and shared between teachers - keeping the template the same

• Simple to start with so that students get used to using them

• be designed in the form of a timetable to add further structure (example below)

Templates

Please find below a selection of Google Doc Template Playlists. You can also create your own from scratch or search for other templates online.

To download, please click on the 'open' icon in the top right hand corner of the template preview and it will open in Google Docs. In the menu, you can then, either a) go to File > Make A Copy and save your own version to the appropriate folder in your Google Drive, or b) you can File > Download if you would like to download a Word version.

Wider Reading

Using Playlists to Differentiate Instruction

Playlists: A Path to Personalizing Learning