Moving at the Speed of Creativity Podcasts

This is an interview with 7th grader "G," who serves as a volunteer "Livestream moderator" for the website and store "Cook Kicks," based in Los Angeles, California: https://shopcoolkicks.com/ In the interview, "G" shares the backstory of how he become a moderator for Cool Kicks, how livestreams work, his role as a moderator, and more. Additional show notes from our interview include: https://www.mynaswap.com https://www.twitch.tv/coolkicks https://kick.com/coolkicks This podcast interview is also shared on the "Moving at the Speed of Creativity" podcast: https://www.speedofcreativity.org/resources/socpodcast/ More links to connect and learn with me (Wes Fryer) are available on: https://www.wesfryer.com/after/

Welcome to the first of a new podcast interview series I'm titling, "Pedagogy Matters." This episode, recorded on May 30, 2022, features the pedagogy of my wife, Shelly Fryer, which I would summarize as "A Pedagogy of Computational Thinking: Constructionism, Coding, Robotics, Play, and Student Choice." Shelly started her journey as a classroom teacher in 1987 after she graduated from the College of Education at Texas Tech University. In addition to teaching in several Title 1 elementary schools in Lubbock ISD, Texas, Shelly taught for the U.S. Department of Defense in Germany for 3 years. After staying home with our children for several years, Shelly served as the Director of PreSchool Ministries at our church in Edmond, Oklahoma, and returned to the classroom in 2013 to teach 3rd, 4th and 5th grades at Positive Tomorrows in Oklahoma City for four years, which is Oklahoma's only school exclusively serving homeless children and their families. In 2017, Shelly moved to Casady School, where she taught for the past five years, starting in Language Arts for two years and then teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.) As Shelly shares in the interview, when she came back to the classroom in 2013, she moved into an iPad 1:1 student learning environment, and "jumped in with both feet" learning to teach with twenty-first century digital tools for student engagement, creativity, and assessment. We specifically key in on a culminating unit Shelly taught the past couple years on biomimicry using robotics and coding activities. Also, we explore how Shelly's understanding of computational thinking, maker education, the "constructionism" of Seymour Papert, and using technology tools to empower students to "show what they know with media" have become essential elements of her personal pedagogy as a classroom teacher and designer of durable learning experiences for students. Check out the show notes for this episode (480) on speedofcreativity.org for links to the resources and technology tools mentioned in this podcast interview, and for ways to reach out to Shelly with questions and feedback. Pedagogy matters! Many thanks to Shelly Fryer (www.shellyfryer.com) for sharing her passion for teaching, for students, for engaging lessons, and equipping both teachers and students with the skills and dispositions needed to succeed and thrive in our rapidly changing environment of the twenty-first century.

This podcast features a presentation by Wesley Fryer at the ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders of Independent Schools) 2022 Conference in Orlando, Florida, on May 3, 2022. The title of the session was, "Teaching About Conspiracy Theories and Media Literacy." The official description was: Conspiracy theories are popular on social media and influence our local as well as national conversations and politics. How we can constructively teach about conspiracy theories and help students develop their media literacy skills to better evaluate information and sources in our digital world? This session will highlight the "Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories" media literacy unit, taught to 6th graders since fall 2020 at Casady School in Oklahoma City. By focusing on the Apollo Moon landings, students learn how to use and apply the "SIFT" web literacy framework (S = Stop, I = Investigate the source, F = Find trusted coverage, T = Trace to the original) analyzing together several online videos. While this unit is designed for middle school students, it an be adapted for other grades / ages / developmental levels. Access the full unit on https://lessons.wesfryer.com/lessons/conspiracy-theories

In this podcast episode, Dr. Wesley Fryer shares a variety of updates about his current and changing teaching situation, geographic location, academic interests (media literacy!) and recent conferences / presentations. This podcast also includes audio from Wes’ recent video, “15 Things I Love About My Classroom (and teaching situation!)” Check out the podcast show notes for all referenced websites and links from the podcast recording, and find multiple ways to follow and connect with Wes on https://www.wesfryer.com/after.

Welcome to a special episode of "Moving at the Speed of Creativity," recorded from the Mt Moriah cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota on June 26, 2021. Members of our family went on the "Boot Hill Tours Historical Tour of Deadwood," and I audio recorded the culminating portion at the graveside of both Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. These real people from the "wild west days" of the late 19th century were mythologized by dimestore novelists and journalists, who used the outlines of their characters to weave wild (and sometimes sordid) tales of conflict, romance, adventure, and violence. Our tour guide, Joe Williams, is a local educator and school administrator who has done extensive historical research about the area of Deadwood and specifically the lives of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. In his narration, he dispels some of the myths surrounding these two characters and sheds light on their lives and deeds. Check out the podcast shownotes for related links to this tour and area.

Welcome to a special Spring Break episode of Moving at the Speed of Creativity, for March 16, 2021! This podcast episode features an interview with Claude Larson, the author of "The Power of Choice: A Teen's Guide to Finding Personal Success." The audience for this book is not only teenagers, but also the teachers of teenagers looking for powerful ways to build classroom community and relationships with students to foster learning about character development and life skills which extend beyond the formal academic curriculum. In the description of the book on Amazon, Claude writes to prospective teen readers, "This book was created to help you slow down, sort through the madness and figure out what you actually want in your life. It’s a guidebook and simultaneously, a gold mine of your thoughts, dreams, goals and life direction. The stories and exercises within these pages were designed to help you build habits that support you in reaching your goals. Some of the topics you will examine include what motivates you and why, how to build excellence into your daily routine and how to improve your relationships with those around you. You will also explore problem solving strategies and understanding decision-making options for creating your best outcome. Other subjects include how to deal with criticism, the importance of gratitude and how to change difficult situations into beneficial ones. Everything in these pages allow you to not only see things from your own viewpoint but, to broaden your perspective and see so many more possibilities." I had a chance to interview Claude about her book, the backstory of why she decided to write it, and how it can be used by teachers as well as teens to "find personal success." Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to the book, it's companion journal, and other ways you can connect with Claude Larson and continue learning with her. Find more ways to learn with Dr. Wesley Fryer on www.wesfryer.com/after.

Welcome to the first episode of Moving at the Speed of Creativity for 2021, now starting its 16th year as an educational podcast! This podcast episode features a conversation with Shelly and Wesley Fryer on January 3, 2021, reflecting on some of their lessons learned teaching elementary and middle school students during 2020, the first year of our COVID-19 global pandemic. Shelly is a 3rd grade classroom teacher at Casady School in Oklahoma City. During the fall semester of 2020, Wes has been teaching two sections of Introductory 5th Grade Spanish as well as his "normal" four sections of 5th and 6th Grade Media Literacy classes. At the start of our global pandemic lockdowns and time of "emergency remote learning" in March 2020, Wes was also serving as an instructional coach at our school, which is a role he's resuming in January 2021. Link to referenced resources from this recorded conversation, as well as links you can use to connect with Shelly and Wes, in the podcast shownotes. In 2021, Wes is rebooting his newsletter as "Media Literacy with Wes" on Substack (wfryer.substack.com). Please check it out and sign up! Also please reach out to us on Twitter (@wfryer and @sfryer) to let us know if you listen to the show and anything in particular you found interesting or resonated with you. Let us know if you have questions! You can also kick it old school and leave a comment below!

Our conversations about media literacy, conspiracies, culture wars, and the Apollo Moon landings continue! The current generation of youth has been exposed to more conspiracy theories about the Apollo Moon landings and many other topics than any previous generation. What are we going to do about this as educators and parents? This is a serious media literacy challenge, and the project connected to this audio recording provides some answers to this question. This podcast is a recording of a livestreamed conversation between Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) on July 6, 2020, discussing a proposed workshop at the virtual version of the Summer Institute on Digital Literacy (digiuri.com) coming to a screen near you July 19-24, 2020. This is the part two of these shared conversations. Please refer to the shownotes of our podcast on speedofcreativity.org for links to part 1 of this conversation, our Google Doc with our developing resources, and more. The proposed title of this workshop and lesson is now something like, "Fact or Fiction? Apollo Moon Landings," although this final title is still up for grabs. Wes has been invited to share a keynote based on these ideas at the upcoming virtual "Mountain Moot" July 16, 2020. (Register FREE to attend on mountainmoot.com) This project continues to be a "work in progress" and is being refined / expanded. We welcome your feedback. All project resources are available on medialiteracy.wesfryer.com/concw. Please use the hashtag #ConCW to share related resources! Thanks to our livestream viewers who shared great ideas and asked good questions in our StreamYard.com powered chat room during this broadcast.

This podcast is a recording of a conversation between Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussing a proposed workshop at the virtual version of the Summer Institute on Digital Literacy, coming to a screen near you July 19-24, 2020. The proposed title is, "Conspiracies and Culture Wars," and the Google Doc of resources we have been building together is linked in the shownotes for this podcast and from medialiteracy.wesfryer.com. This conversation took place on June 5, 2020, and was livestreamed to both YouTube Live and Facebook Live. Wes has also submitted this session as a proposal for the upcoming virtual "Mountain Moot" July 15-18, 2020. Check out the podcast shownotes for links to referenced resources. This project is very much a "work in progress" and will be refined and expanded in the days and weeks to come! We welcome your feedback.

This podcast is a recording of a webinar panel discussion by Oklahoma educators Telannia Norfar, Delilah Rodriguez, Rhonda Schroeder and Wesley Fryer on Saturday, April 25, 2020. Our topic of conversation was "Remote Learning in Oklahoma," as we are now about a month into "learning at home" because of the neo-coronavirus / COVID-19 global pandemic. The questions we discussed included, What is your current role and situation with 'remote learning' in Oklahoma? What is your technology situation like in terms of student devices, teacher devices, and utilized platforms? What are discovering that should be changed about school as a result of this situation? What are some success stories about remote learning at your school / for you? How do you think we can help teachers and schools prepare for ongoing remote learning in the event we don't return face-to-face to school in August, or we do but have to go back to remote learning in the fall? Check out the shownotes for links to Twitter IDs for each of our panelists, as well as other referenced resources and links from the conversation.

This podcast is a recording of a digital citizenship presentation for high school students shared by Dr. Wesley Fryer at Casady School in Oklahoma City on February 27, 2020. The goal of this talk was to encourage students to think more deeply and critically about their own identities, how those identities are shaped, and specifically how much power and influence we give other people and social media specifically when it comes to our perceptions of who we are and who we want to be. The Common Sense Media video, "Teen Voices: Who Are You on Social Media?" was shared during this presentation, and the audio from that video is included in this podcast. Please check the podcast shownotes for the link to the original video, as well as other wonderful resources from Common Sense on Digital Citizenship including a robust (and free) curriculum on digital citizenship for teachers and students differentiated by grade level. Also check out more resources we've shared on our school's digital citizenship website, DigCit.us.

Welcome to Episode 470 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast from February 18, 2020, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features a special interview with the U.S. Census "Statistics in Schools" Manager Victoria Glazer and Teacher Ambassador Emily McMillen, discussing the 2020 Census in the United States and the variety of FREE resources provided for PK-12 teachers to use with students. Disbursement of millions of dollars for our communities from the U.S. Federal Government depends on the Census! All of us as teachers and members of our communities can help both educate students and families about the importance of participating in the census, but also provide real-world, multi-disciplinary learning opportunities using existing census data via the resources shared on the "Statistics in Schools" website. Visit census.gov/schools for more information, and also refer to the podcast shownotes for more direct links.

Welcome to Episode 469 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast from January 18, 2020, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features a conversation with 3rd grade teacher Shelly Fryer (@sfryer) about the second "Immersion Day" at Casady School in Oklahoma City. Immersion Days are half-days for students which focus on a special theme or topic. On January 17, 2020, the theme for the Casady Lower School students (in grades 1 - 4) focused on Inventions, coinciding with Kid Invention Day (KID). A wealth of fantastic resources about the design process and STEM / engineering for young students are available on nationalinventioncurriculum.org as well as other websites. Check out the podcast shownotes for links. Casady 3rd and 4th graders were able to videoconference LIVE to start the day with Payton Robertson in Florida. Peyton is now a senior in high school, and has been an inventor since elementary school with over six patents to his name. He met President Obama in the Oval Office to share one of his inventions after winning a national contest, was a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and will be continuing his career and learning journey as an inventor next year as he starts college at Stanford University. In the afternoon, 3rd graders talked with Dr. James W. Long, a local guest speaker physician and engineer who co-created a magnetic heart pump, featured in the new Amplify Science curriculum the students are using this year. One of the parents of Shelly's students is a heart surgeon, and invited him to join in the third grade Kids Invention Day learning! In the podcast, Wes also shares some reflections on the "Animate Your Curiosity" lessons which he co-led for middle school students yesterday, using Scratch to create basic animations. Students watched and discussed several animation focused videos (including "Animator vs. Animation" from 2009 which has over 42 million views on YouTube) to find inspiration for their own animation and coding projects. If you haven't checked out "The Science Behind Pixar" (sciencebehindpixar.org) in person or online yet definitely do! Also check out other resources on the "Animation Inspiration" website Wes created for this week's Middle Division Immersion Day. Follow Shelly Fryer on Twitter @sfryer and Wesley Fryer on @wfryer. Wes' Digital Literacy and Media Literacy Curriculum for Middle School Computer Classes is available free on mdtech.casady.org.

Welcome to Episode 468 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode includes a reflection by Wes about some of the techniques he is using in fall 2019 teaching Digital and Media Literacy for 5th and 6th graders at Casady School in Oklahoma City, as well as the adult Sunday School class, "Curiosity and Questions: Jesus and Science" at First Presbyterian Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. These techniques include using Google Sites to share lesson slides, videos, resources and links publicly (mdtech.casady.org and followjesus.wesfryer.com) each week. Refer to the podcast shownotes for referenced links. Feedback on this podcast episode is welcome!

Welcome to Episode 467 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features interviews with both Shelly Fryer and Sarah Fryer, about Sarah's "gap year" in 2018-19 following high school graduation. Sarah graduated in 2018 from Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City Public Schools, and majored in drama at ClassenSAS. Rather than head directly to college, Sarah took a gap year to work, take dance classes, get more involved in the music ministry of our church, and get a better idea of what she wants to study and do after high school. In the first part of this podcast, Wesley and Shelly reflect on the gap year experience for Sarah, how it came about, what happened, and what lessons were learned. In the second part, recorded earlier, Sarah reflects on her gap year. In both segments, Shelly and Sarah offer advice to other students as well as parents who might be considering a gap year, and encouragement to consider whether or not a gap year is the right choice and "the best fit" for you or your child. Check out the podcast shownotes to referenced resources, including some other blog posts relating to parenting, high school, and helping kids make decisions about college and life. Contact links for Shelly and Wesley Fryer are also included in the shownotes. Feedback on this podcast episode is welcome!

Welcome to Episode 466 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features an interview with Michaela Freeland (@_mfreeland) and Shelly Fryer (@sfryer) about the two summer robotics camps they co-led using Thymio robots and outstanding curriculum provided by TechyKids. TechyKids (www.techykids.com) was founded by Sharon Marzouk (@sharonmarzouk) and focuses on inspiring students through a "blend of robotics, creativity, technology, and invention." In this 35 minute interview, Michaela and Shelly share their experiences and learning from leading two robotics camps with 32 and 28 student participants, respectively, and discuss many of the camp highlights as well as lessons learned by students, older student mentors, teachers and parents. Students engaged in daily reflections during these summer camps, and both recorded and shared with their parents their learning using the platform Seesaw (@Seesaw). Casady School in Oklahoma City hosted both of these camps, which were part of the summer "Casady by the Lake" enrichment program open to all students in and around Oklahoma City. Check out the podcast shownotes for links to TechyKids as well as other resources mentioned by Michaela and Shelly in this interview. If you are inspired to offer a robotics and invention camp in your local area after listening to this podcast, or have questions, please reach out to Michaela or Shelly and let them know!

Welcome to Episode 465 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features a reflection by Wes following the 2019 Summer Institute on Digital Literacy. Wes reflects on ten different "ingredients" which made this a powerful and transformative professional development experience, as well as five different lessons and ideas he's taking into his 5th and 6th grade Digital Literacy classes this upcoming school year. Check the podcast shownotes for a full list of referenced websites and resources mentioned in this episode. This podcast also includes an interview from the conference with Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) discussing the weaponization of social media and recommended resources for learning more about the ways Russia continues to work to subvert the electoral process in the United States. Remember to also subscribe to "The EdTech Situation Room" (@edtechSR), the weekly webshow and podcast Wes co-hosts with Jason Neiffer each week on Wednesday evenings. Also remember to subscribe to Wes' (almost) weekly newsletter in which he shares a helpful technology tip, tool, text, and tutorial. Sign up on www.speedofcreativity.org/email-updates.

Welcome to Episode 464 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features a reflection by Wes from the ATLIS 2019 Conference in Dallas, Texas, primarily on Media Literacy and his 3 hour workshop, "Filtering the Exoflood: Strategies for Media and Information Literacy." All resources from the workshop are available on wfryer.me/exoflood. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to the other websites and links referenced in this podcast. Remember to also subscribe to "The EdTech Situation Room" (@edtechSR), the weekly webshow and podcast Wes co-hosts with Jason Neiffer each week on Wednesday evenings. Also remember to subscribe to Wes' (almost) weekly newsletter in which he shares a helpful technology tip, tool, text, and tutorial. Sign up on www.speedofcreativity.org/email-updates.

Welcome to Episode 463 of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity podcast, a show by Dr. Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) focusing on digital creativity, media literacy, digital literacy, digital citizenship, instructional technology integration and engaged learning both inside and outside the classroom. This episode features an interview with Shelly Fryer (@sfryer) about the 2017 movie, "The Florida Project" (@floridaproject). The IMDB description of the movie is, "Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World." The Florida Project raises a host of important issues facing every community, including poverty, homelessness, social services, education and schools, non-profit and church outreach programs, and more. As a lifelong educator with extensive experiences working with families in poverty through church ministry, as well as educational and social services for homeless children and families in Oklahoma City, Shelly Fryer has unique and important perspectives on the issues and needs highlighted in "The Florida Project." Check out the podcast shownotes for links to referenced books, resources, organizations and websites mentioned in the show. Please reach out to Shelly or Wes with feedback and additional resources or ideas this movie or this podcast interview encourages you to share.