Note: As of 1 Oct 2026, this is a FULL STATIC COPY of all 6,390 posts shared on this blog since 2003. Updated content and ideas from Wes Fryer are still available!

Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wes Fryer

Category: stem

  • Minecraft and MinecraftEDU in the Classroom

    I submitted a new professional development program to the CILC this evening for “Minecraft and MinecraftEDU in the Classroom.” The CILC’s website (The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration)  is the primary videoconference-based professional development resource I use to advertise after-school videoconferences I teach for other teachers on a variety of technology integration topics. Since…

  • Starting Off Makers Club with Water Bottle Rocket Launches

    Today was the first day of our after-school “Maker’s Club.” Over the weekend I had to make selections from 55 applications, and it was REALLY hard. I decided to have 2 different six week sessions this semester, and originally planned to accept 15 students per session. Last year I accepted 30 students, and that was…

  • Join Free @STEMseeds Webinar Saturday Sept 13th at 10:30 am Central

    (cross-posted from STEMseeds.org) Please plan to join elementary STEM teachers Amy Loeffelholz and Wesley Fryer on Saturday, September 13th at 11:30 am Eastern / 10:30 am Central / 9:30 am Mountain / 8:30 am Pacific online (via a Google Hangout) to talk about STEM lesson ideas, Maker Studio lessons, and lots more “back to school” updates as…

  • Sample Popsicle Catapult for STEM Class

    Half of my 4th and 5th grade STEM students (those not working in a center in our “Maker Studio”) are 2 days into a 4 day unit on creating popsicle catapults, which my district STEM mentor and peer teacher (Amy Loeffelholz – @AmyLoeffelholz) taught during our 2 day STEM Seeds PD Camp in June 2014. Students…

  • 1st Day of STEM Makers Studio: Success!

    Today was a big day in my grade 4-5 STEM class: It was our first time to start the “Maker Studio” rotation. Maker Studio is a concept I developed this past summer attending Maker Faire Kansas City and the awesome “Create, Make and Learn” week-long #MakerEd #STEM summer institute in Vermont coordinated by Lucie deLaBruere (@techsavvygirl). Last…

  • Mini-Maker Faire Coming to Manhattan, Kansas September 20, 2014

       by  Wesley Fryer  Do you, your students, and members of your family know about the MAKER movement? According to the English WikiPedia: The maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and…

  • 70 iPad Apps for Elementary STEM

    Update 8/30/2014: Somehow duplicate entries found their way into my app list. Thanks to a tweet from @kiboser I removed them, so the list now includes 70 apps. I also added 3 paid apps I’m going to purchase via VPP this fall: Green Screen by Do Ink, Do Ink Animation & Drawing, and Stick Around.…

  • Start of School Reflections (Fall 2014)

    Yesterday I recorded a 25 minute reflection about my initial 5 STEM lessons for my students as we’ve gotten back to school this fall. I recorded this on my morning commute using the free iOS app AudioCopy, and then uploaded it to SoundCloud. Access referenced resources on stem.wesfryer.com, including the referenced “Maker Studio” resources.  …

  • Michael Wesch on Seymour Papert and Constructionism

    If you’re not familiar with the learning theory of “constructionism” advanced principally by Seymour Papert and now at the heart of the modern-day “maker movement,” the following video clip from Michael Wesch can help. In this May 2014 lecture at Pasadena City College, starting at 38:45, Wesch quotes Papert saying: “Nothing could be more absurd than an experiment…

  • Podcast416: Reflections on Create, Make & Learn 2014

    This podcast from the road is an audio reflection by Shelly and Wesley Fryer about their experiences at the 2014 Create, Make & Learn Professional Development Institute in Burlington, Vermont. Shelly and Wes discuss how CML14 was setup differently from typical conferences and PD events, letting participants self-select workshops and sessions which best matched their…