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

  • Preparing for STEM Lessons on Coding with Hopscotch for iPad

    This evening I’ve been playing with the free iPad app “Hopscotch,” which I’m planning to use for a four part / two week introductory unit on coding on the iPad with my 4th and 5th grade STEM students. (@iesSTEM) I’ve worked quite a bit with Scratch software from MIT, but this is my first time…

  • 15 Reasons I’m Thrilled to be a Grade 4-5 STEM Teacher in Yukon, Oklahoma

    A week ago on Friday, November 1, I started a new job as the grade 4-5 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teacher at Independence Elementary in Yukon, Oklahoma. (@iesSTEM) I was hired to replace a long term sub who started the school year when the previous STEM teacher (a friend of mine I worked…

  • Learning Cool Things at the 2013 Tulsa Mini Maker Faire

    Today, thanks to a Twitter-inspired digital rabbit hole, two of my kids and a friend attended the first-ever Tulsa Mini Maker Faire.* It was an hour and a half drive for us from Oklahoma City, but despite the rain it was worth the trip! Here are a few of the things we learned and did.…

  • Podcast408: Redefining the Science Classroom by Autumn Laidler

    This podcast is an audio recording of Autumn Laidler’s fantastic presentation, “Redefining the Science Classroom,” on August 16, 2013, at the iPad Academy of Chicago Public Schools. As an elementary teacher in a 1 to 1 iPad classrom, Autumn is a practical advocate for the SAMR model of technology integration and strives to help her students…

  • More Than One Way to Orbit in Scratch

    Today I shared a three hour workshop at TechKnowledgey 2013 in Missoula on using Scratch software with K-12 students in the classroom, in after-school clubs (like Chris Simon did at Independence Elementary in Yukon, Oklahoma last year) as well as “Scratch Camps.” My favorite things that happened during the workshop, when teachers were exploring and…

  • Podcast405: Game Changing Apps with Brad Waid and Drew Minock

    This podcast is an audio recording of Brad Waid and Drew Minock’s presentation, “Game Changing Apps” at the Podstock Conference in Wichita, Kansas, on July 19, 2013. The official conference session description was: Game Changing Apps with Brad Waid, Drew Minock. We will be presenting game changing apps for student engagement, teacher productivity, and augmented reality.…

  • Wind Energy in the Classroom at Podstock 2013

    Today at the 2013 Podstock conference in Wichita, Kansas, Dan Whisler shared a great presentation titled, “Energy 101 – KidWind & the SHS Chevy Volt Project.” Dan discussed a TON of great ways to teach multi-disciplinary concepts through hands-on wind energy science projects! Dan’s Podstock 2013 bio is: Dan Whisler has taught Biology, Anatomy &…

  • Hackers & Tinkerers Invent The Future

    I love this quotation. The full article is thought provoking and worth reading. Woz was able to invent the future because he had a hacker mentality, that combination of burning curiosity, patience and creativity that enables people to figure things out though epic trial-and-error. He was a tweaker, solderer, tester, reverse-engineer, dumpster diver and code…

  • Elementary STEM Idea Sharing (May 2013)

    Today Chris Simon, Adam Zodrow and I met with Felicia Adams and Stephanie Cerda over a Google Hangout to share ideas and experiences with elementary STEM classes. Felicia is the PreK-5 STEM teacher at the University of Texas Elementary School in Austin, and Stephanie is a 2nd grade math teacher there. Felicia currently teaches 304…

  • STEM and Scratch Resources (May 2013)

    I shared the following websites and resources with an Oklahoma City suburban school administrator recently who is helping start a STEM program at one of their elementary schools next fall. If you’re a STEM educator or involved with a K-12 STEM program these might be helpful. Both Chris Simon and Amy Luffelhotz are grade 4-5…