UEN Homeroom

Jared travels down South to attend Edcamp St. George.  During the camp, he sat down with Derek Larson, Library Media Specialist at Tonaquint Intermediate School,  to discuss the nature of edcamps, why edcamps are so popular in education, and the importance of professional development for teachers.

In this episode of the Homeroom, Camille Cole and Michelle Shimmin from Canyons School District drop by to discuss the impact of having structured classroom discussions with students, peers, and leadership.  We look at the role of using sentence starts, how to get started and help students follow guidelines, and the importance of being honest and open when sharing.

This week UEN's Rob Bentley joins Jared and Dani in the Homeroom to discuss how students can learn from games.  We discuss the difference between game-based learning and gamification, how games help students engage with content, and how to get started building your own educational games.

This week Fernando break free from behind the mixing board, as he joins Jared to host our conversation on creativity. We welcome our special guest, Tacy Trowbridge, Leader of Adobe's Global Education Programs. In our discussion we cover topics like: what does creativity look like in the classroom, how to help solve challenges using their personal creativity, and how Adobe tools can promote creativ...

Quin Henderson, Partnerships Manager of Future Design School, dropped into the Homeroom recently to share his thoughts on the importance of design thinking in our classrooms.  Included in our conversation is the need for teachers and students to innovate, how problem solving is an essential art in learning, and the need to build creativity into our schools.

Jared and Dani are joined by Liz Arias, a Senior Customer Success Manager for Adobe Education.  During the episode we discuss Adobe's statewide partnership with Utah schools to bring Creative Cloud to teachers and students.  

In our latest Homeroom we are pleased to welcome Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent of Jordan School District.  In this episode, we discuss the Supercast - a podcast hosted by Dr. Godfrey and featuring the amazing educators, students, and employees of the Jordan School District.  We find out how Supercast began and Dr. Godfrey shares the impact of telling the stories of his district.

In this episode of Homeroom, Jared and Dani talk with Dr. Janice Bradley, Assistant Director with the Utah Education Policy Center. During the conversation we cover topics like: how to deal with a teacher who's a "downer", what role does a school leader play in changing a toxic culture, and how can a teacher make a difference in a negative school culture.

We're excited to bring Kerri Hopkins and Anne Dibble from the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program to discuss how all teachers can bring more art into their classrooms.  We learn how arts can improve academic performance across all subjects, the need to overcome our fears when expanding into the arts, and the different programs available to Utah schools through BTSALP.

As UEN Homeroom celebrates our one year anniversary Dani and Jared take a look back at some great moments from the podcast. You'll meet our producer, Fernando Lara, as he answers some tough questions from Utah students. We also reflect upon some moments that made us laugh, think, and celebrate the wonderful world of education in Utah.

This week we took UEN Homeroom on the road, literally, as we met with Cory Henwood, Digital Teaching and Learning Coordinator for Iron School District,  from the front seat of a car.  During this discussion we covered topics such as providing students with choice, using technology to empower students, and Launch High School, Iron's soon-to-open competency based high school.

Tami Pyfer, the Education Advisor to the Governor, recently dropped by UEN Homeroom as we kick off the 2019-2020 school year. As part of our conversation we discussed the state of education in Utah, the role of the Education Advisor and how she works on behalf of Utah teachers, and the need for teachers to share the good things they are doing in their classrooms.

Kiera Beddes, Language Arts teacher extraordinaire from Jordan School District, joins us in the Homeroom this week to talk about networking. Specifically, we explore how building your Professional Learning Network (PLN) can help you grow as a teacher. We talk about maintaining an online presence, reaching out and learning from others, and how a PLN can help with transitions in your teacher life.

Even during summer break, UEN Homeroom is working hard to bring another interview to our listeners. This week Tod Cracroft, the principal of Oakwood Elementary in Granite School District, discusses how school culture is built. We talk about the importance of building relationships, how music can help students connect to school, and how culture is at the heart of a successful school.

Jared Fawson moves from UEN Homeroom SuperSub into our featured expert this episode as we discuss professional learning. In this discussion we look at how learning has changed for educators, the need to have more diverse opportunities for professional growth, how tech plays a role in the changes, and golf.

Kaite Blunt, Educational Technology Specialist from Canyon School District, drops by the Homeroom to share her insights from a recent educational tour of China. During this episode we discuss the impact of learning about culture through travel, the difference between classrooms in the US and China, and the need to expand your PLN globally.

This week Holly Todd, the Project Aware Coordinator for Jordan School District, comes by the Homeroom to share ideas on social and emotional learning in schools. We discuss the need to help students understand their emotions, how to provide self-care for teachers, and the need to teach kids "soft skills" that can prepare them for real life.

This week we talk with Dr. Pablo Riboldi, Assistant Director of Instructional Design at Brigham Young University, about how and why technologies fail to get adopted. During our discussion we explore the four elements of diffusion in technology, the role that politics play in educational technology, and how social capital is just as important as technical skills with successful technology rollouts.

UEN Homeroom is excited to talk with Rick Gaisford, Educational Technology Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education. Rick discusses the changes he's seen in classroom technology over his 30+ years in education and the crew shares their thoughts about the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant, the impact technology has made for schools, and more.

Dani and Jared Fawson (Homeroom Super Sub) sit down with Kelly Dumont from the Canyons School District to chat about personal growth as an educator. They share insights into how to stay relevant as a teacher, the importance of constantly learning, and how to pay it forward.

This week we attended the annual UCET conference. This conference allows educators from across Utah to learn and share their examples of technology integration in the classroom. Jared was the "man on the street" as he was able to talk with conference goers, both new and experienced, to find out what they learned at this year's UCET.

This week UEN Homeroom welcomes Chris Jones and Nadia Pflaum, from KUTV's Beyond the Books series. We discuss the role of media in education, how citizens can get involved in education oversight, and where all the great stories about education originate. We're lucky to Jared Fawson sub for Dani for this conversation.

Kathleen Riebe, School Technology Specialist in Granite School District and State Senator from Cottonwood Heights, joins the Homeroom on location from the State Senate floor to discuss her journey from the classroom to the Senate. We also talk about the current legislation that involves education and share ideas for getting teachers involved in the political process.

UEN Homeroom hits the road for this episode as Dani visits with Kelly Witkowski's students at Newbridge Elementary in Ogden School District. These students are the producers and hosts of a brand new podcast, Bookcast, in which they provide summaries and reviews of the books they are reading.

In this week's UEN Homeroom, we talk with Brandon Jacobsen, the CTE - IT Specialist for the Utah Board of Education, about the changing face of computer science in our schools. We discuss topics like: how is computer science being presented to Utah students, the role of computer science in all curriculums - not just STEM, what the job market looks like for students with a CS background, and more.