Biography

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Short Version

Wes Fryer loves teaching middle school STEM courses (including media literacy) at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has been an educator since 1996. His favorite question as a teacher is, “What do you want to CREATE today?” His favorite provocative educational observation is, “Video is the pencil of the 21st century!” Most weekends, Wes enjoys hiking and exploring the great outdoors with his family. As an avid backyard barbecue enthusiast, Wes’ smoker specialty is “Texas style brisket.” He shares food photos, videos and recipes on YouTube, his cooking blog, Instagram and TikTok. Wes is a 1992 graduate of the US Air Force Academy, a Fulbright Scholar, and earned his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in 2011 in Curriculum and Instruction. Wes’ cooking (and other) social media channels are linked on wesfryer.com/after.

Wes Fryer and Family (August 2021)
Introducing Dr. Wesley Fryer
(16 min)

Space Education Version

Wes Fryer is a middle school STEM and media literacy teacher at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has been an educator for 28 years. In his Introduction to Computer Programming class, Wes’ students have learned to code with both Scratch (from MIT) and Minecraft MakeCode (from Microsoft). Students use coding and computational thinking to simulate the construction of a NASA outpost on Mars in Minecraft Education software. They also use Scratch software to create animations depicting the different phases of the Artemis lunar and Mars missions. More details about this “Minecraft Mars” project are available on lessons.wesfryer.com/lessons/minecraft-mars. Wes is a 1992 graduate of the US Air Force Academy, and obtained his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University in 2012. Links to continue learning and connecting with Wes are available on wesfryer.com/after. Wes serves as the co-sponsor of the middle school “Gaming Club” at Providence Day, and is starting an after-school “Space Club” for upper elementary and middle school students in fall 2024 with his spouse, Shelly. Wes shares additional Space Education related resources on space.wesfryer.com.

Dreaming of the STARS at SEEC 2022 Houston” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Long Version

Dr. Wesley Fryer is a media literacy and computer science teacher, author, digital storyteller, and speaker. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a “catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning.” Wes teaches media literacy and STEM at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

From 2019 to 2022 Wes served as the Technology Integration and Innovation Specialist and media literacy teacher at Casady School in Oklahoma City. From 2015-2019 he served as the Director of Technology for Casady School. In 2013-2015 he taught 4th and 5th grade STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at Independence Elementary in Yukon Public Schools in Oklahoma. Wesley completed his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University in 2011. He is the author of several books on effectively using digital technologies to communicate and assess learning. His “Mapping Media to the Curriculum” book series and digital literacy framework focuses on helping students “show what they know” with media and create digital portfolios.  He has served as an organizer for Oklahoma EdCamp and the PLAYDATE OKC professional development conferences. He has taught technology integration courses for in-service and pre-service teachers as an adjunct instructor for the University of Montana, the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of North Texas, and Wayland Baptist University. Wesley served as an organizer for the annual K-12 Online Conference since it began in 2006 to its end in 2017. His blog, “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” (www.speedofcreativity.org) was selected as the 2006 “Best Learning Theory Blog” by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He has led multi-day iPad Media Camps, STEM camps for teachers and students, and workshops on digital oral history and other topics. Wesley is a passionate advocate for digital oral history and works to empower people to archive the stories of their families and community.

Google Certified Teacher
Apple Distinguished Educator

Wesley completed his Google Certified Educator Level 2 Certification in May 2021, and Level 1 in September 2020. He was selected as a PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator in April 2014. He become a Google Certified Teacher in 2009, was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2005, is a 1992 graduate of the US Air Force Academy, and a Fulbright Scholar. He served on the education committee of the Oklahoma Creativity Project. His educational background includes service as a middle school media literacy teacher, an elementary STEM teacher, 4th grade classroom teacher, campus technology integration specialist, college director of distance learning, state director for education advocacy for AT&T, director of technology for a state historical association, and director of technology for an independent school.

More information (including a booking inquiry form) for Wesley’s keynote, breakout sessionworkshop offerings, and videoconferences are available on his “Speaking” page. Recent and upcoming presentation handouts / resources are available on wiki.wesfryer.com.

Additional details are available on Wesley’s resume, curriculum vitae and teaching portfolio. More links to Wesley’s digital footprint are available in his online press kit and on about.me/wfryer.

Stay up to date with Wes by subscribing to his periodic email newsletter, following him on Twitter (@wfryer), or other social media channels listed on wesfryer.com/after.

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