Moving at the Speed of Creativity Podcasts

This audio podcast is a recording of two "Ignite" presentations by Wesley Fryer in July 2014. Ignite presentations are five minutes long, with presenters using 15 slides shown for 15 seconds each. The first Ignite in this podcast is Wes' opening Ignite presentation on July 15, 2014, at the Create, Make and Learn (CML) Institute in Burlington, Vermont. Create, Make and Learn is a five day professional development institute for educators organized by Lucie deLaBruere. The second Ignite was shared on July 9, 2014, at iPad Media Camp in Manhattan, Kansas. This was originally planned as a practice run for the CML Institute, but Wes ended up not using this new Ignite in Vermont and using slides from his ISTE 2013 Ignite presentation ("Open the Door") instead. Check the podcast shownotes for referenced links and resources.

Wes shares some updates about podcasting software, apps and resources, as well as several recent educational technology conferences. These include the first Texas Google Summit, iPad Media Camp, iPadPalooza, and the Iowa Project Based Learning (PBL) Academy.

This audio podcast is a "recording from the road" by Wesley Fryer on June 22, 2014. Wes shares some updates about podcasting software, apps and resources, as well as several recent educational technology conferences. These include the first Texas Google Summit, iPad Media Camp, iPadPalooza, and the Iowa Project Based Learning (PBL) Academy.

This audio podcast is a reflection by Wesley and Shelly Fryer following a series of workshops on "Improving Student Writing with iPads" shared in Lewisville, Texas, January 23 and 24, 2014. We reflected on the tools and apps shared during the workshop, including TodaysMeet, KidBlog, and AudioBoo, and also discussed how different teachers (with different levels of experience using iPads and teaching students) can start implementing these ideas with students. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to referenced resources mentioned in the podcast.

We reflected on the tools and apps shared during the workshop, including TodaysMeet, KidBlog, and AudioBoo, and also discussed how different teachers (with different levels of experience using iPads and teaching students) can start implementing these ideas with students. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to referenced resources mentioned in the podcast.

This Christmas Eve 2013 audio podcast is a recorded conversation with Shelly and Wesley Fryer, reflecting on their recent experiences on December 9th with the "Redeeming the Family" outreach ministry at Mable Bassett Women's Prison in McCloud, Oklahoma. Redeeming the Family is an organization serving the innocent children of incarcerated parents in Oklahoma through the Oklahoma Messages Project. The Oklahoma Messages Project provides opportunities for mothers and fathers in prison to choose a free book for their child/children and read the book (or an excerpt) for them as part of a DVD message. These DVDs are delivered to the child/children's caregivers before holidays like Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day. Research shows that increased communication between incarcerated parents and their children can reduce the chances those children will become incarcerated themselves. Redeeming the Family (redeemingthefamily.org) provides opportunities for volunteers to serve in the Oklahoma Messages Project multiple times each year at different Oklahoma prisons around the state.

Redeeming the Family is an organization serving the innocent children of incarcerated parents in Oklahoma through the Oklahoma Messages Project. The Oklahoma Messages Project provides opportunities for mothers and fathers in prison to choose a free book for their child/children and read the book (or an excerpt) for them as part of a DVD message. These DVDs are delivered to the child/children's caregivers before holidays like Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day. Research shows that increased communication between incarcerated parents and their children can reduce the chances those children will become incarcerated themselves. Redeeming the Family (redeemingthefamily.org) provides opportunities for volunteers to serve in the Oklahoma Messages Project multiple times each year at different Oklahoma prisons around the state.

This audio podcast is a recording of Jake Heister's presentation on December 4, 2013, at the Interactive Learning Institute in Norman, Oklahoma, titled, "Going 1:1 - Planning for Success." The ILI Conference is sponsored each year by the K-20 Center at the University of Oklahoma. The official session description was "Many well-intended 1:1 initiatives fall short of their potential due to lack of planning in a few key areas. This session will detail the planning process for our current implementation of a 1:1 Chromebook environment, tips for success, and lessons learned." Although this description mentions Chromebooks specifically, Jake addresses planning issues for 1:1 projects applicable to all platforms and devices. This was an outstanding presentation, and one of the best the publisher (Wesley Fryer) has heard in the past five years about 1:1 computing initiatives. Please refer to the podcast shownotes for links to Jake's slides as well as selective, republished tweets shared by @wfryer during Jake's presentation. Follow Jake on Twitter: @jakeheister.

The ILI Conference is sponsored each year by the K-20 Center at the University of Oklahoma. The official session description was “Many well-intended 1:1 initiatives fall short of their potential due to lack of planning in a few key areas. This session will detail the planning process for our current implementation of a 1:1 Chromebook environment, tips for success, and lessons learned.” Although this description mentions Chromebooks specifically, Jake addresses planning issues for 1:1 projects applicable to all platforms and devices. This was an outstanding presentation, and one of the best the publisher (Wesley Fryer) has heard in the past five years about 1:1 computing initiatives. Please refer to the podcast shownotes for links to Jake’s slides as well as selective, republished tweets shared by @wfryer during Jake’s presentation. Follow Jake on Twitter: @jakeheister.

Listening is a vital skill we all need to intentionally practice for both personal and professional success in life, but many of us don't. This podcast is a recorded interview with Tim Hast, a friend and the author of the book "Powerful Listening. Powerful Influence. Work Better. Live Better. Love Better: by Mastering the Art of Skillful Listening." In our 25 minute audio interview together Tim discusses four key elements of "active listening" which can make a tremendous difference in the relationships we have at work and at home. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to Tim's book (available in paperback or for $4.99 on Amazon Kindle) as well as Tim's website. The description of Tim's book is: Want to win friends and really influence people? This book was written for you. Listening is the most powerful tool for success in business and in life. So if it’s that important, why don’t we listen better? Because life moves way too fast, we’re busy, and we don’t know how. Discover what active listening is and what it is not. Learn four simple actions that will train your brain to listen, and see for yourself the difference these steps make in your life. People need to be heard. If you understand this simple principle you’re well on your way along the road to success. Nothing you can say will be nearly as important as what you need to hear the other person say. Practice skillful listening and discover the principle key to effective communication and having a powerful influence with others. Tim was trained as a psychotherapist. His specialty, working with couples. He discovered people got better when he quit trying to tell them what to do and simply focused on hearing their story and helped them listen to each other. He observed if he taught a couple to really listen to each other, their relationship improved. One couple saw how it improved their relationship and used those same skills with their teenagers. It worked. The husband, a CEO, used the same listening techniques in his office and found it really worked there as well! Skillful active listening works for everybody. If you read this book and begin to practice the four simple steps you will increase your odds of success in your career, have deeper richer relationships, and enjoy a more satisfying life.

This podcast is a recorded interview with Tim Hast, a friend and the author of the book "Powerful Listening. Powerful Influence. Work Better. Live Better. Love Better: by Mastering the Art of Skillful Listening." In our 25 minute audio interview together Tim discusses four key elements of "active listening" which can make a tremendous difference in the relationships we have at work and at home. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to Tim's book (available in paperback or for $4.99 on Amazon Kindle) as well as Tim's website. The description of Tim's book is: Want to win friends and really influence people? This book was written for you. Listening is the most powerful tool for success in business and in life. So if it’s that important, why don’t we listen better? Because life moves way too fast, we’re busy, and we don’t know how. Discover what active listening is and what it is not. Learn four simple actions that will train your brain to listen, and see for yourself the difference these steps make in your life. People need to be heard. If you understand this simple principle you’re well on your way along the road to success. Nothing you can say will be nearly as important as what you need to hear the other person say. Practice skillful listening and discover the principle key to effective communication and having a powerful influence with others. Tim was trained as a psychotherapist. His specialty, working with couples. He discovered people got better when he quit trying to tell them what to do and simply focused on hearing their story and helped them listen to each other. He observed if he taught a couple to really listen to each other, their relationship improved. One couple saw how it improved their relationship and used those same skills with their teenagers. It worked. The husband, a CEO, used the same listening techniques in his office and found it really worked there as well! Skillful active listening works for everybody. If you read this book and begin to practice the four simple steps you will increase your odds of success in your career, have deeper richer relationships, and enjoy a more satisfying life.

This podcast is a 17 minute interview with Shelly Fryer, who is teaching third, fourth, and fifth grade students in a self-contained classroom this year in Oklahoma City. Shelly has been out of the classroom for over a decade, and in returning has committed to teaching as a twenty-first century educator. One of her top priorities was to find a way to digitally create and share her lesson plans. In this interview she explains how she's using Google Docs for lesson planning, how she's directly linking to YouTube videos she's using in lessons, how she's utilized some paid YouTube videos for "brain breaks" with students as well as commercially sold lesson plan resources on "Teachers Pay Teachers." She also shares some of her other newly developed technology skills including creating shorter PDF file "excerpts" of longer files, using her Smartboard for digital writing, dabbling a bit with Twitter, and using the Augmented Reality app CoLAR with students. Technology skills Shelly wants to develop in upcoming weeks include using her YouTube channel to create playlists of videos, using a classroom KidBlog site with her students for interactive writing, using a classroom Twitter account to connect her students to a wider audience for their writing, learning how to differentiate math lessons for her students using the Khan Academy "coaching" option, finding free lessons plan resources on Curriki, and introducing her students to programming and problem solving on the iPad using the free CargoBot app. Check out the podcast shownotes for links to these referenced resources and tools. Please contact Shelly on Twitter @sfryer to share words of encouragement as well as feedback and ideas.

Shelly has been out of the classroom for over a decade, and in returning has committed to teaching as a twenty-first century educator. One of her top priorities was to find a way to digitally create and share her lesson plans. In this interview she explains how she’s using Google Docs for lesson planning, how she’s directly linking to YouTube videos she’s using in lessons, how she’s utilized some paid YouTube videos for “brain breaks” with students as well as commercially sold lesson plan resources on “Teachers Pay Teachers.” She also shares some of her other newly developed technology skills including creating shorter PDF file “excerpts” of longer files, using her Smartboard for digital writing, dabbling a bit with Twitter, and using the Augmented Reality app CoLAR with students. Technology skills Shelly wants to develop in upcoming weeks include using her YouTube channel to create playlists of videos, using a classroom KidBlog site with her students for interactive writing, using a classroom Twitter account to connect her students to a wider audience for their writing, learning how to differentiate math lessons for her students using the Khan Academy “coaching” option, finding free lessons plan resources on Curriki, and introducing her students to programming and problem solving on the iPad using the free CargoBot app. Check out the podcast shownotes for links to these referenced resources and tools. Please contact Shelly on Twitter @sfryer to share words of encouragement as well as feedback and ideas.

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 reach the transformative level of technology integration. The official session description was: In this session, participants will explore the use of multimedia science journals, blogs in the content area, and creation applications like iMovie. Learn how to create collaborative partnerships and projects with other classrooms and how to engage students in video creation and multimedia journaling in all subject areas, with specific examples for transforming science workshop.

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 reach the transformative level of technology integration. The official session description was: In this session, participants will explore the use of multimedia science journals, blogs in the content area, and creation applications like iMovie. Learn how to create collaborative partnerships and projects with other classrooms and how to engage students in video creation and multimedia journaling in all subject areas, with specific examples for transforming science workshop.