Podcasting With a Purpose: Creating a Utah Educator Podcast Network
Session Outline
Educator podcasts are an effective and timely way to provide professional development and allow educators to share their stories. Through collaboration between three Utah educator podcasts, we have created an educator podcast network that helps provide opportunities and professional development to educators from Utah and beyond.
Podcast Materials
UCET Podcast
The UCET Podcast started in November 2020 to spotlight the amazing things that are happening in Utah classrooms. Matt Winters started the podcast during the 2020 - 2021 school year, then Kiera became the host of the UCET podcast. During the 2nd season, Kiera cross-collaborated with Matt on the UEN Homeroom podcast to spotlight the state edtech endorsement competencies. The UCET podcast is currently in its 3rd season, releasing monthly episodes throughout the school year. This year the UCET podcast will feature UCET coalition members anticipating the UCET yearly conference theme of “Together at UCET.” Each episode follows a similar format - Kiera arranges guests for an interview, records a brief intro, followed by the interview usually with 2-3 guests, then a short outro where we highlight something special happening in Utah. The parts are then edited together and scheduled for a release in the last week of the month.
If you would like to share your work with her on this podcast, please email her at kiera.beddes@jordandistrict.org.
Check out some sample episodes below:
UEN Homeroom
The UEN Homeroom Podcast is our chance to tell the stories of educators in Utah and talk about the issues impacting education in this state and beyond. We plan to feature educators and leaders from across the state of Utah in a fun and informative bi-monthly podcast. Our hosts, Dani and Matt have a wide range of interests from innovation and computer science to the latest gadgets and personalized learning.
Whether you’re an EdTech who wants to listen to the latest in digital coaching or a classroom teacher ready to expand the ideas that you are offering to your students, this podcast is your gateway to all things education related.
If you’d like to be on the podcast, know someone who should or would like to suggest a topic… hit Dani or Matt up: dani@uen.org or mwinters@uen.org
Check out some of our favorite episodes from this season!
Utah Teacher Fellows Podcast
The Utah Teacher Fellows are here to serve our audience in the education community by providing reliable information on ed policy and trusted voices to help them make sense of it all. Teachers want to be involved, but they don’t always know how.
Educators love learning from the best in our profession and enjoy hearing stories about how our top teachers got to where they are. Audiences will be inspired, informed, and will come away from each episode with knowledge and tools they can immediately use to grow their levels of engagement and professional practices.
This is our way of building capacity in all Utah educators, not just those in our cohorts of Teacher Fellows.
If you would like to be on the podcast, know someone who should or would like to suggest a topic...email John Arthur or Kayla Towner: johnarthur@hopestreetgroup.org and kayla@pd.uen.org.
Resources / Connect With Us
Kiera Beddes
Kiera Beddes has been a secondary ELA and History teacher for nine years, both in rural and suburban Utah, teaching in Nebo, Juab, and Jordan School Districts. She received her undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in History Teaching, with minors in English Teaching and Scandinavian Studies. In 2016, she returned to Brigham Young University to earn her Master of Arts in Teacher Education. She is passionate about social science, literature, professional learning, and technology in education. She believes in the power of technology to eradicate barriers between teachers and learners. Kiera serves on the Utah Coalition for Education Technology board and is currently the digital teaching and learning specialist with Jordan School District. Kiera was a Hope Street Group Utah Teacher Fellow from 2019-2021 before joining the team as a Network Leader.
Email - kiera.beddes@jordandistrict.org
Twitter - @KBeddes
Audryn Damron
Audryn began her teaching career at Centennial Middle School in Provo, UT where she became highly certified to teach mathematics and completed her Master’s Degree in Special Education with a thesis focus on teaching self-advocacy skills to students with disabilities. She moved to St. Louis, MO and taught inner city high school for 2.5 years where she says her passion for teaching was re-ignited. She moved back to Utah just in time to receive her National Board Certification and is enjoying teaching and mentoring new teachers at Cottonwood High School in Granite School District.
Email - adamron@graniteschools.org
Twitter - @audryn_d
Ryan Rarick
After graduating from Dixie State College in 2011, Ryan Rarick began his teaching career as a 7th-grade Language Arts teacher at Lava Ridge Intermediate School in Santa Clara, UT. After three years, he moved down the street to Snow Canyon High School and began teaching 10th & 11th grade Language Arts and eventually moved to AP Language & Composition, Concurrent Enrollment English 1010 & 2010, Journalism, Speech, and Virtual Language Arts 12. Ryan currently works as the Learning Coach and 11th Grade AP Language & Composition teacher. Within his 11 years at Washington County School District, Ryan completed his master’s degree from Southern Utah University in 2015 and currently attends the Utah State University Teacher Education and Leadership (TEAL) doctoral program focusing on Instructional Leadership. Along with his academic responsibilities, Ryan loved coaching Girl’s Basketball and Volleyball, and now serves as the advisor for the GSA club.
Email - ryan.rarick@washk12.org
Twitter - @Coach_Rarick
Kayla Towner
Kayla Towner is a Utah Education Network (UEN) senior technology trainer & a Utah Teacher Fellow. She is passionate about implementing learning that focuses on student agency, providing choices & ways to show competency (PCBL). Kayla encourages educators to be innovative creators by expanding their comfort zones. She is excited about sharing Utah's Online School Library, a free virtual library available to Utah K-12 teachers & students. Kayla enjoys working with Canvas, Google, Canva, & Microsoft to develop her students' media skills. Kayla has a Master's Degree in the Arts of Teaching & is committed to helping students develop 21st-century skills.
Email - kayla@uen.org
Twitter - @mrstowner9
Matthew Winters
Matthew Winters is a Utah Education Network trainer specializing in Google Workspaces for Edu. He is also Google Educator Group Utah co-leader and Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) President for 2022-2024, our Utah ISTE affiliate. He is a former English Language Arts teacher at the secondary and college level. He has been a podcaster for the last five years first with Edtrex Rewind and The UCET Podcast and now with UEN Homeroom. He loves stories, creativity, and technology, and the intersections where all three topics grow together. When his is not committing fully to his role as an educational whirlwind, he loves reading (graphic novels!), playing with his to Lassie dogs, and traveling.
Email - mwinters@uen.org / matt@teacherwinters.net
Twitter - @TeacherWinters
