Storytelling with Purpose - by Michael Hernandez (Paperback)

About the Book

"Reimagine learning with this book's practical advice, case studies and strategies on using digital storytelling as a vehicle for student inquiry and assessment. Award-winning educator and speaker Michael Hernandez brings more than 20 years of classroom experience to addressing some of the most existential challenges in education today: artificial intelligence, steep declines in student engagement and the need for authentic learning experiences. The solution: digital storytelling as a framework for learning. Rather than viewing storytelling as a nice-to-have reward for students after their "real work" has been completed, this book shows educators how to use story projects - from data visualizations to social media posts, to podcasts and video documentaries - as the scaffold upon which to position curricular skills and knowledge. The process helps students make interdisciplinary connections, activates higher level thinking and critical analysis skills, and provides multimodal learning opportunities. This book offers practical ways to elevate teaching and learning in every grade level and subject area. Focusing on student-centered, project-based learning experiences, the book demonstrates how to use digital tools to: Leverage curiosity as the engine for learning. Provide purpose for the skills and knowledge central to curriculum. Create uncheatable, authentic assessments. Develop a mindset of collaboration, mental agility and resilience. Cultivate digital literacy skills and ethical mindsets. Bring purpose and joy back to learning. More than a practical edtech guide, this book explores the "why" behind digital storytelling as much as the "how." Educators will learn how to help students explore cultural and historical context, develop social-emotional resiliency, and develop the skills they need to become engaged global citizens. Audience: Elementary and secondary educators; instructional coaches; educational leaders"--

Book Synopsis

"Teaching is the most important profession in any democracy. Michael Hernandez has written a wonderful book that anchors storytelling in the classroom and provides a highly readable and hugely helpful guide for teachers, who each day are taking students on an intellectual journey that is critical to the well-being of our country." -- Ken Burns

"Just in time, this is a pedagogical and practical guide for any educator ready to take learning to a new level." -- Seth Godin

Learn how to embrace the power of digital storytelling with your students, and reframe the learning process as one based on curiosity, purpose and joy.

Storytelling enables us to make sense of the world and bring order to our thinking. Now more than ever, students are hungry for authentic learning experiences that offer opportunities to make an impact beyond the classroom. With practical advice and examples of how to plan, create, publish and assess student stories, this book offers a fresh approach to digital storytelling. And it includes evidence-based, classroom-tested guidance on how to provide students with the tools and structure they need to develop a mindset of curiosity, agency and purpose.

Establishing digital storytelling as a framework for learning rather than a separate add-on project or a way to record work being done in other subject areas, the book covers various types of digital storytelling -- from infographics and social media posts to podcasts and video documentaries -- and demonstrates how to choose the best ways to incorporate digital storytelling into curricula.

Student examples and teacher case studies provide inspiration on how to integrate the practice into classrooms of all grade levels and subject areas.

The book:

• Shows how to create uncheatable assessments through student-created story projects
• Helps educators create meaningful learning experiences by integrating edtech tools and storytelling into their curriculum.
• Shows how storytelling can help students activate higher-level thinking to conduct research, process ideas and information, and share the synthesis of these ideas with an audience.
• Illustrates how digital storytelling can help develop a mindset of collaboration, mental agility and resilience.
• Presents student examples, teacher case studies and sample lessons to demonstrate how to integrate student stories into curriculum in authentic ways.
• Offers flexibility, through sample projects that vary in degree of difficulty, so teachers can choose the best option based on their resources and unique situation.

More than a practical edtech guide, this book explores the why behind digital storytelling as much as the how. Educators will learn how to help students explore cultural and historical context, develop social emotional resiliency, and develop the skills they need to become engaged global citizens.

Review Quotes

"Michael Hernandez is a master storyteller and a master teacher, and this beautifully designed book is a perfect example of his craft. Through the range of practical ideas and the illustrative examples in Storytelling With Purpose, every teacher, storyteller, and creator who aspires to refine their approaches will benefit from engaging with Michael's latest work. This is one of those rare books where you can benefit from reading it linearly from front to back or jump around to the areas that interest you the most (at first-- you'll be compelled to read it all no matter what!). This is a wonderful contribution to the body of literature that focuses on purposeful, student-centered education." --Dr. Reshan Richards, Lecturer, Columbia University School of Professional Studies
Co-Founder, Explain Everything (acquired by Promethean, Inc.)

School Library Journal, Laura Fields Eason

VERDICT: Highly recommended.

This book connects the elements associated with conventional storytelling with the expansive elements of a digital story. Both use questions and story lines to captivate audiences, but it's the power of technology that transforms a written story into a multimedia experience that engages both creator and audience. Digital storytelling adds inquiry and design to traditional storytelling. As a bonus, students work -independently and then collaborate to develop real-life work skills that can be put to use in school and on the job. Digital storytelling also promotes design thinking in which students tackle problems and develop solutions. Since storytelling can also function as an assessment, teachers have an additional option for students to demonstrate their learning. Through countless examples, embedded case studies, and teacher profiles, -Hernandez demonstrates how digital storytelling can be employed across curricula. The last section of the book features an -in-depth exploration of project ideas including anthologies, documentaries, advocacy messages, and podcasts. This book is full of useful -information and concepts, but it is not overwhelming; the layout uses color, pull-outs, and tables to focus attention on shorter blocks of information. Hernandez gives teachers everything they need to get started and carry out a project. Back matter includes a bibliography and index as well as three useful appendices: A Toolbox for -Digital Storytelling, Ethical Storytelling, and Teaching and Learning Resources.

"Storytelling With Purpose is a much-needed resource for today's educator. Through stories and examples from his experience as a teacher, Michael brings us on a journey to understand ways to support storytelling in the classroom and to empower the voices of youth by design. Readers are able to explore different types, forms, and purposes of digital stories and then are guided through a creation process positioning students (and teachers) as thoughtful observers of the world, creators of stories, and messengers of perspective, experience, and action. Inspiring and inventive, this book will be one I can return to again and again!" -- Jennifer Williams, ISTE Author, Global Educator, Co-founder Take Action Global and TeachSDGs

"Michael Hernandez's new book on digital storytelling is a must-have for educators. It's a clear, practical guide for infusing storytelling in any subject. Hernandez outlines the essentials of digital storytelling with easy-to-follow steps and relevant examples. This book is perfect for teachers aiming to integrate more multimedia into their lessons and empower their students as creators. It's an invaluable resource for enhancing classroom engagement and creativity." -- Monica Burns, Ed.D., author of EdTech Essentials and founder of ClassTechTips.com

About the Author

Michael Hernandez (@cinehead) is an international speaker, author, curriculum designer and award-winning educator who helps individuals and organizations discover and share authentic stories that matter. He's been featured in Forbes, Edutopia, PBS, NPR and #SXSWEDU. As a consultant and community manager, he helps tech startups, nonprofits and corporations develop their brands and engage their stakeholders. His clients include Apple, Adobe, Google and National Geographic. His podcast and monthly newsletter," Change The Narrative," share resources and inspiration around innovation, tech, education and leadership. Hernandez is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Adobe Education Leader, PBS Digital Innovator and Lindblad/National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow.