Kyle Wood

My name is Kyle Wood. I have been teaching K-5 Art in the suburbs of Chicago since 2007. I earned my BFA with Emphasis in Art Education from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After I got my first teaching job, I started work on my master’s degree through Kaplan University. My concentration was in teaching with technology. While a lot of the specifics have changed since I earned that degree in 2010, I still love experimenting with new tools and using technology to help students learn and grow. My main goal is to help students find the joy in learning so I run a choice-based classroom with some gaming elements. I love creating over-the-top classroom games for students to enjoy.

While bringing joy to the learning environment is one of my main goals, I can be serious when needed. I am a National Board Certified Teacher. I have presented at multiple conferences including the NOW Conference. I have served on my district curriculum committee, led professional development, and served on the school board in the community where I lived.

Throughout my career, I have frequently turned to The Art of Education University for lessons and strategies for my classroom. AOE Live was one of the first podcasts I subscribed to as Tim and Andrew often sparked new ideas for me or just helped me get into the right mindset during my commute. In 2019, I started my own podcast called Who ARTed: Weekly Art History for All Ages. The goal was to experiment with podcasting as a medium so I could teach students a new way of sharing their ideas. I started interviewing teachers and staff at my school in the hopes of building a digital media library students could explore to learn a little bit of art history. When the pandemic hit and learning went remote, it became a much more valuable resource. I decided to maintain the podcast and apparently, some people beyond my local community enjoyed it. The Art Explora Foundation, a French nonprofit, included my podcast in the media library when they launched their online academy. It was surreal to get an invitation to their private party at The Louvre as the academy was developed in partnership with some of the world’s greatest cultural institutions. It killed me to have to turn down the invite but it was a school night, so international travel just wasn’t practical. As art, podcasting, and a willingness to explore new methods have opened a lot of doors for me, I try to share my love of learning with my students and my kids. I help run a podcast club for students and helped my son launch his own podcast called Rainbow Puppy Science Lab dedicated to exploring all things awesome.

Outside of work, I love spending time with my family playing and sometimes inventing games. I enjoy playing guitar, taking the dog on long walks through the forest preserve near my house, attempting to cook, and thinking about one day intending to try to get back in the habit of running.