The Virtual Staffroom Podcast
Episode 1 – Class is in Session
Joachim:
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the first ever episode of The Virtual Staffroom. I'm in here in the recording studio with Linda, Yvette and our amazing producers, Jacob and Heather. And we're about to get started and record this episode. It's going to be so exciting. We want you to stay tuned. Be kind to us. It is our first ever one. But don't forget, we're going to be releasing one of these every fortnight, so make sure you hit subscribe on the platform of your choosing, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.
Joachim:
Welcome to The Virtual Staffroom, a podcast made for teachers by teachers, and all with a dash of educational technology thrown in. My name is Joachim Cohen and I'm a former teacher librarian, former HSIE teacher and former VET teacher, and now I'm part of the Technology for Learning team. And I'm lucky enough today to be joined by two other members of the T4L team, Yvette and Linda. Yvette is a high school English teacher and the author of over 40 books for children and young people.
Yvette:
I've been busy. That's amazing. Thank you. I'm very excited to be here. Bringing the English teacher vibe to this podcast, by the way.
Joachim:
And we're also joined by Linda. Now, Linda is the principal education officer of the stem.T4L program. That means she's in charge of making STEM magic across the state of New South Wales and a lot of you may have seen those kits. Linda is a former school leader and is passionate, not just about all things STEM, but empowering every teacher to explore the power of technology.
Linda:
Hi everyone.
Joachim:
So what's in store? Loads, guests, tools, your questions, and so much more, but let's get straight into it. Now listeners, we have to drive to divide. We've tried to divide this podcast up like your school day. We start the day with assembly, where we tune into some stories from around the grounds that spell "awesome" with a capital A. We make our way to roll call to connect you with something we've been learning and how you can continue to build your practice, catch up with a special guest at lunchtime, and then answer your questions in playground duty. And finally, we talk all things awesome in car park chat. So without further ado, let's head to assembly. So here we are. We're at assembly where we hear stories from around the traps that warm the heart as we see digital innovation in classrooms, not just from New South Wales, but across the globe. Now, Yvette, we're going to start with you, what's caught your eye this week?
Yvette:
Well, the power of podcasts, we're recording one here, but students were already way ahead of us. So I want to give a shout out to Woollahra Public School. Their students have devised and created their own podcast, but it's about well-being. So I think it's fantastic that the students are actually creating one that's it's so pertinent, so prescient, it's exactly what we all need right now. So yeah, I'm really proud of them and I think they've been using the same equipment that we're using. So it's teaching them lots of different skills. So I know they're not the only school out there that's doing it.
Linda:
And I think there's a lot of schools using podcasting for students to articulate kind of what they've learned or what they're passionate about without having to write it or present it in a public speaking format and podcasting is safe, right? We're in this room, the door is closed. There's only a few people in here judging us. So I think for students, it's a great platform.
Yvette:
It is, and it's teaching them all those great broadcasting skills, the writing, the developing of ideas, the collaboration, and it probably doesn't feel like a lesson to them but it's actually teaching them those great tools, which they're going to take into their high school years and their careers so.
Joachim:
This is the most awesome segue because it is such a future focus skill podcasting, and something that no matter what industry our students get into, they need. And what I found is I managed to find this amazing case study over in the US, of a school that's used a program called LinkedIn Learning. And every school in the New South Wales department actually has access to it, all the teachers and year 11 and 12 students. But this college, it's called Fox Valley Technical College. They're actually using LinkedIn Learning to supplement the work that's going on in the classrooms. So, teachers are sometimes a bit reluctant to create flip videos. Well, they've actually used LinkedIn Learning instead. And then also, it's provided a great opportunity to extend their students without them even needing to go and create any extra content. So they're starting to create these amazing lifelong learners who know how to learn after they've left the classroom and left the school and are fully equipped to do so. I just think it is so inspirational and future focused.
Yvette:
Well, I think kids are so proactive now. I mean, obviously, their teachers are showing them the way, but even in this time when we have been working together, I've done lots of LinkedIn Learning courses, not to mention the odd Google search on how to do very basic things, because I just simply don't have the team around me to ask those simple questions. So I think it's fantastic. And I think same with the podcasting, they're doing something tangible. They might create podcasts in the future so...I mean, they're already publishing them now.
Joachim:
Amazing point you made there. We are actually learning in the same ways and we're co-learners even in the classroom. So over to you, Linda, what have you found?
Linda:
Well, I've found something a bit more simplistic, but really important. So I've been watching schools who are navigating using technology while they kind of parents in schools in particular. I saw Orange Grove Public School are hosting all their kindy information evenings via some YouTube videos they've created. Lots of secondary schools are doing their subject selection nights with students and teachers sharing about that subject so parents and their students can watch it at home when it suits them. And I think there'll be a lot more over the coming months when we start to come into things like presentation days, and those bigger end of year 12, end of year six kinds of things. So I like just watching how schools are kind of learning and adjusting to the current situation.
Joachim:
It's really interesting, isn't it? Because what we're finding is that we think it's going to be a bad situation, but actually you find all these awesome power ups that come out of it, that can actually make things better and reach more people. And that is so exciting. I remember hearing a student that we were chatting to, Linda, from Gorokan Public School, who said, she was so excited that everyone in the school community could see their assembly now. And I think that's a really cool thing.
Linda:
Absolutely.
Joachim:
All right. I think it might be time...to head off to roll call. So it's time for us to tick off some professional learning resources that we might have found and also some resources which might help within the classroom. So, Linda, what have you been learning this week?
Linda:
Well, we did promise not to make everything about things that our team have created, but I've broken the rule just for this once. T4L kids is a little TV show platform we've launched, which is professional learning, but targeted at students. So kind of under a minute, really sharp for kids to, kind of understand a concept or how to use something with tech that teachers can put on to watch with the kids. That kids can just have it sent to them to learn a really simple skill, but it's just a unique way to up-skill kind of also whilst teaching at the same time.
Joachim:
These are kind of really picking up a lot of momentum at the moment. I've seen companies like Adobe doing one minute videos for their tools as well, but these are, they're really designed specifically for kids and for implementation in the classroom.
Linda:
Yep.
Joachim:
Wow.
Yvette:
I'm not going to lie, I used my students to help me with my tech when I was in the classroom so I think it's the circle of life really.
Linda:
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Joachim:
Absolutely. And Yvette, let's throw to you. What have you been learning this week?
Yvette:
Look, I think it's one of these age old things. I want to be somewhere that I can't be right now. And I think that's how we're all feeling. So I've had a long association with the Sydney Harbour Trust, which is obviously based in Sydney Harbour and they're starting to do great virtual tours, Google tours, and they've kicked off with Cockatoo Island. So for those of you that don't know, it's a Harbour Island, got a very interesting history, lots of layers of history and if you can't get to the island, you know, why don't you take a virtual tour? So I think if you're looking for those kinds of tours, Google have a lot of them. We've already touched on those, but where can you go that you can travel virtually through? Often, you might even be inspired to create one for your class and go and create a virtual tour of your school. Maybe you've got a sister school somewhere else in the world, have a look at what you can create and create a pathway and a narrative to take kids on a tour.
Linda:
And we know that for lots of schools that aren't going on excursions right now, that's kind of how they're able to take students out to broaden their understanding so they can articulate that work in writing or any KLA really. But, I think using those kinds of virtual tours works for your own mental health when you want to get away somewhere, but also enriches the classroom.
Yvette:
Yeah. There's actually another great app, which is called Window on the World, which we've been looking at. And if you're just at your desk, you need a break. We'll chuck it in the show notes. You can just click on a room somewhere else in the world and you can actually look out their window, their Vista. There's just so many fascinating places you can look out so I love that one too. It's a nice one.
Joachim:
It's actually really freaky, because I did it once and I thought it was just going to be a static window and then I started hearing sounds. There's actual video that it is very cool and it's addictive!
Yvette:
I saw the Swiss cows. They were having a great time. There was Oahu Waves, look if you need a bit of escape, that's a good one.
Joachim:
I think we know where everyone's going to be jumping very soon, that's for sure. And I've been doing a little bit of learning myself too. And I managed to find this great site called Take 2 STEM and it's being produced by the Western Australian Department of Education. And it's all about how STEM skills and subjects and knowledge transfers to lots of different professions. And one video that really caught my attention was how STEM works in sport. And there was a great presentation on this idea called biomechanics so like the science of the body, and how you can film yourself and learn how to optimise all the different components of your body. And so that really took my eye because we're around science week at this time of the year.
Yvette:
Marginal gains, Joe. Marginal gains, that's how you get faster, higher, stronger, better. That's what biomechanics is all about in elite athletes.
Joachim:
Oh my gosh. We obviously have an athlete on the podcast today.
Linda:
You're our new coach.
Joachim:
That's right.
Yvette:
I know. I've been trying to whip you guys into shape for a while now, but we're getting there. We're getting there, but biomechanics is fascinating, Joe, that's all I'm saying.
Joachim:
Yes, listeners, you're quite right. Yvette did make us do 10 pushups before we began today. And obviously, we're going to have to do it before we're allowed out, but yes, indeed, make sure you check that one out. That is for sure. But is your tummy rumbling? It's time for lunch. And we here at Technology for Learning headquarters are delving into some robot made orange juice. Have you guys seen those robot made orange juice machines out on the street? I brought some of that in today for you.
Yvette:
Do they squeeze the OJ? What, like, how does it work?
Joachim:
Yeah like oranges roll down the little, little layer and then they get squeezed and out comes your juice freshly done when you push the button. It is very cool.
Yvette:
I feel like I'm lacking in my normal orange juice life now after hearing that.
Joachim:
I know you will have to go and find one. I'll have to put a link in the show notes or something like that. I probably won't actually but nevertheless, this way, you can find one. But a battle that we're getting back. Well, lunch is boring. Normally, at school, you're stuck with your Vegemite sandwich. What are you going to do? We're stuck here. We're bored. We need a guest. So today we are so, so lucky. We are going to be joined by someone who has certainly has a passion close to my heart because I'm a bit of an avgeek. And last week, I saw a story about drones being used to check aircraft. It disinfects spaces and this really got me thinking, what about drones or UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles and education?
Joachim:
So today, we are lucky enough to be joined by someone whose passion is all about making technology concepts like drones accessible to everyone, demystifying technology and empowering everyone to just get on with it and make an impact. So thanks for flying in Dr. Catherine Ball from World of Drones Education. Now, we are really curious here. You're a doctor, but a doctor of what?
Catherine Ball:
Well, I'm actually now an associate professor in the practice of engineering, but my PhD was about... Hold on. This is so exciting. It was about how bacteria fight with each other in the soil so we can work out how nutrient flows happen and how we can therefore increase agricultural production. That was my PhD.
Yvette:
You sure you're not going to be called out to help us with current scenarios and current bacteria problems, Catherine?
Catherine Ball:
Yeah. Well, I actually did do quantitative real time PCR during my PhD so I actually put my hand up to go back and work in the labs if they needed it. But I wasn't called upon so.
Yvette:
Well, there's a shout out, you're there if you need. Can I ask you, Catherine...
Catherine Ball:
If anyone needs me to do some PCR, yeah.
Yvette:
Yeah. Can I ask you Katherine, can you tell us about like an average day? Like, What does your working life look like?
Catherine Ball:
Oh, wow. Well, I have a number of businesses of my own, and now I have this new academic role as well as a number of philanthropic roles and a couple of board positions too. So there is actually no such thing as a typical day for me. I suppose the average week would consist of, a number of Zoom calls and meetings. Obviously, before lockdown, I worked from home, and I've just had two babies in the last three years so working from home and managing that. I will try and get out for a walk at least once, if not twice a day. I live here by the river in Brisbane so I love to get out, breathe some fresh air, get the blood flowing, get my brain thinking.
Catherine Ball:
I try to read for pleasure at least for half an hour a day, but that has dropped off a little bit recently. Too much computer work probably in my day, and maybe when the conference is on, for example, I'll spend a whole day, two days working at the conference. If I have speaking work internationally or interstate, I think in 2019, I was on a plane nearly every other day. I almost made platinum one with Qantas. And if I hadn't got pregnant, I actually would've made platinum one with Qantas. So I'm afraid I don't have an average day and I think that suits me rather well.
Yvette:
Sounds incredible. You might just have to put those points on ice for a little while. I thought I was busy, but truly Catherine, this is fascinating. Your background in science and the work we've done with you with drones in education, what has been your journey? You've done lots of different things and obviously, a very busy person, but, what are some of the main signposts along the way with what you've studied and how you've worked?
Catherine Ball:
So when I was at school, I was one of these kids that's a bit of a polymath, and so actually making choices of which subjects to drop were quite hard for me. I didn't like dropping subjects. So I actually, despite being one of the youngest kids in my school, got the highest grades during my GCSEs when I was 16. I actually was 15 when I did my GCSEs, and then I went on and I chose to do biology, chemistry, physics, and French at A level which we have in the UK. We have these things called A levels. You do between 16 and 18 and those results get you into university. And originally, I had wanted to go to medical school, but because I was working two part-time jobs, because I'm not from a very well-off background. So I was working two part-time jobs and doing four A levels instead of three A levels, I missed my chemistry grade by 0.7%, which stopped me getting into medical school.
Catherine Ball:
So I had to sort of go, "Ah, yeah," and I could have stayed and re-sat the exams and I retook a few modules and I got like 95% on them. So my chemistry knowledge was not my problem. My problem was that I had been too thinly spread across working and studying. And I still feel that now to a certain extent, being thinly spread across too many different things going on.
Catherine Ball:
But anyway, I decided to change my frame of reference after I did my gap year in Zambia, where I was working with kids and young women who had HIV/AIDS and in the 1990s, AIDS was a really problematic thing in Africa. It's a much greater extent than it is now. The medications that have come out for HIV/AIDS, they've just changed entire countries and how people live and work. At the time, it was pretty dire. And I realised actually then that my fight to get back into medical school, which I could have done, I then decided not to do, so I actually completely changed from wanting to study medicine, to actually wanting to work in environmental science. I figured that you cannot vaccinate against famine. You cannot vaccinate against food shortages. You can't immunise economies against climate change.
Yvette:
So you've always been drawn...
Catherine Ball:
So we have to actually get in and prevent problems.
Yvette:
You've always been drawn to science, but also the real problem solving and philanthropic elements. So I just, yeah, I mean there's so much that we can take away from your journey.
Linda:
Gosh, and what a journey it's been. Catherine, can I ask you, in terms of drones, the STEM project has been experimenting and piloting with drones in schools. What do you see as their future in the world? And what do you think is next for all things drones?
Catherine Ball:
Oh, there's a number of things that have really come a long way in the last few months here during the lockdown. Drones really have been used to deliver things in ways people were sort of already trying to do, but it never really had quite the business case. I think it's a real shame that our delivery drones and our ecosystem of drones in our cities was not ready before this pandemic hit, because I think it would have been incredibly useful for us to have that in place. So the drone industry is actually accelerating. So what we call drones for good, includes things like humanitarian response and agricultural surveys, environmental monitoring, looking at how, for example, in New South Wales, they've had that terrible coastal erosion around those beaches there, looking at how that could be mapped with drones to understand our erosion of our coastline's, fisheries,
Catherine Ball:
Climate change and how we mitigate and manage how our environment is being affected, especially the Great Barrier Reef. There's a lot of drone work happening in our marine environments and our coastal environments. In terms of fun things, drone racing was always going to be the next formula one and I think that's still going to happen. But all drones are robots, but not all robots are drones and so a lot of drone companies now are actually buying up and investing general robotics companies or are becoming more of a robotics company and drones are just one of the types of robots that they tend to play with. And if you think about the regulatory piece, if you think about the safety piece, the communication aspects that drones and robots are really so very similar, that it's about having systems that work together, the latest and greatest idea is to have these autonomous boats that are floating around the ocean with drones flying off them and ROVs coming off them and little boats coming off them to do full environmental monitoring without having a single person on board that ship is quite an interesting idea.
Joachim:
Oh my gosh. I could just imagine students listening to you, Dr. Catherine and getting so excited about the possibilities of how they can use drones and what their future careers are going to look like, and they connect to so many areas as you've identified. So what do you think are the kind of skills that students need for the future and to be working with drones?
Catherine Ball:
Well, there's a little trick that I just mentioned then when I talked about my A level subjects. So I chose biology, chemistry, physics, and French. So one of the biggest things I'd say to any kid who's really excited about STEM is do not lose your languages, because if you can speak a second or third language, you're actually better at coding and you're actually better at understanding how robots and AI and machine learning are going to be speaking to each other because they use different languages. So if you can carry that law of how to understand how a language is actually constructed, it's actually going to make you better in the science subjects and that's actually been backed up with some really cool research. So I think there's lots of skills that we get thrown at us, but the idea really around being able to think differently and being able to think creatively, these are the key aspects for people like Leonardo da Vinci, who's painting the Mona Lisa one minute and designing helicopters the next minute.
Catherine Ball:
We have to make sure that we allow our brains to relax and to be creative and to think about things in different ways. So I think for a lot of students, especially those worrying at the moment about results, don't worry about results because the way universities are going to move, the way employers are moving is we want to hear about the skills and the experience that kids have just as much as their results and their grades.
Yvette:
Oh, that's fantastic advice, Catherine, thank you. I think it is so important for the students and teachers to hear that. And while there are those subjects that students can choose, it can really boost their science knowledge. What are some of the pathways in terms of getting the jobs? What kind of degrees should they be looking at or subject selections in their senior years? I mean, obviously, we're talking not just those focus subjects, but in terms of those uni pathways, what could people be looking at?
Catherine Ball:
I would really recommend if you're looking at any university, to look at the people that are going to be teaching you, because the one thing I've learned is that your network is your net worth. And if you have really great lecturers that are really forward thinking, celebrated and award-winning people, they're going to have networks that are really going to open up your careers. Now I might be slightly biased here because I am currently one of the newest hires at the ANU in the brand new Research School of Aerospace Mechanical and Environmental Engineering and the work that's been happening there into the 'Reimagined Program', under the Dean of Engineering, Elanor Huntington, Professor Elanor Huntington, for me, it was absolutely game changing.
Catherine Ball:
It was the only university in the country that I was going to say yes to. So I am going to do a shameless plug to the ANU here and that the Reimagine Project at the College of Engineering and Computer Science is actually building the next generation of engineers. The 3Ai Institute with Genevieve Bell is creating conversations around the cyber physical systems and artificial intelligence in ways that nobody else really is managing in the world. And so if you were really looking to see how you can change the world, you want to be at the best university you can possibly get to that fits with your life and fits with the ideas that you have about how you want to be and I always, when I looked at the offers that I had in front of me, emulated the people that wanted me and I was like, "Yeah, I could be their friends."
Joachim:
I'll tell you what...
Catherine Ball:
So I chose that.
Joachim:
Dr. Catherine Ball, I just have got three amazing quotes that I've just written down. Everything was amazing, but 'all drones are robots, not all robots are drones', that's one cool thing that I think people need to remember. They're just cool flying robots, but 'let your brain relax and be creative' is something we really need to emphasise into our students, especially those year 12 students and I'm loving 'network is your net worth.'
Yvette:
I love that.
Joachim:
Absolutely.
Yvette:
I'm going to use that, Catherine. Thank you.
Catherine Ball:
It's everything. It's what makes my entire career work. Absolutely, your network is your net worth. Yeah.
Joachim:
Now, we've actually...
Catherine Ball:
Do voluntary work, get out there, travel, go and meet people that aren't like, you go and do different things. I still try to do all of that now just as much as I did when I was 17.
Joachim:
You are amazing. What an inspiration. Now we ask all of our guests and before you go, what's your favourite technology hack?
Catherine Ball:
Oh, you know what? I read this and I was thinking, "I have no idea what to put in here". Do you know what one of my favourite technology hack at the moment might be? I've just signed up for Audible, which is where you get audiobooks, because I am actually getting eye fatigue. I think it's because I'm about to turn 41, but I had to get my first pair of glasses because I've been spending too much time in front of the screens. Now I love podcasts. Don't get me wrong. But I do also love to get into the meat of a well-written book. Despite being vegetarian, I like getting into the meat of a well-written book and I've been missing that. And so, like I said, I try to read, but I just don't have the time, but I can go out for my walks and I can still listen to books.
Joachim:
We concur, don't we panellists?
Catherine Ball:
So I'm trying to consume books through Audible. Yeah.
Joachim:
Dr. Catherine Ball, it has been such a pleasure. I think you provided so much inspiration to all of our listeners to inspire our students. Thank you so much. We'll let you take off and we're going to put some great resources in our show notes about an amazing competition that you're running as part of the World of Drones Education and there's also an upcoming conference as well that people might be interested in. So thank you.
Catherine Ball:
Thank you so much. Get in touch.
Joachim:
And now it's my favourite time in the day when we get to head out on playground duty. But instead of joining the handball court or being bombarded with all those questions from students, here, we get the chance to answer your questions or questions we've seen people searching for answers for on social media. So this being our first episode, we didn't have any questions from the audience, but we do have one question that we found lots of people asking, and that's how can they take advantage of all these cool digital classroom skills, future focused digital classroom skills, both my students and I, being the teacher, have to shake up the physical design of my classroom? So Linda, I'm going to throw this to you first.
Linda:
Well, I think a really quick win is to play with the furniture you have in your room. But I'd be a huge fan of getting the students to guide what they want. I've seen a lot of teachers in the past that have moved everything out of the room and the students grab it as they need it so if they want to collaborate, they make a collaboration space. If they want independent learning, they'll make themselves a single kind of space to work. And I think allowing those flexible technology into the room at the same time, just really lets you explore and experiment with what's going to work for the students you have in your room. How about you, Joe, what have you got?
Joachim:
Look, I'm going to join on that, that train that you've got there because I would firstly be putting in a robotics playground or an experimentation zone where students can go and test things out and prototype things, that would get me excited, a filming zone, where they can create their own ideas and even where the teacher can record flipped lessons, because I think that's a really thing that people could do at the moment. And if you're scared about that, look at LinkedIn Learning, what kind of content can you grab from there for your seniors, your year 11 and 12s, or even show to junior students if you think it's appropriate. So that's what I'd be doing. But Yvette, I'm curious to hear what you might be thinking of.
Yvette:
Well, I think in this time, particularly where we're having incursions and there's lots of opportunity to change up how the tech is being used in your classroom, given that it's a kind of at the portal out into another world for the students, obviously it's going to depend where your main piece of tech, your MLD or your MoCow or your Whiteboard is. So how you can change that space up, whether it's just in front of it. As an author I used to do lots of Zoom calls to remote schools and I just used to absolutely love seeing what different classrooms, how they'd changed it up for that session. And even if you're doing a writing workshop, say for instance, online or over a Zoom call with the class, how the teacher's going to set that up. So often, even as a guest speaker, I used to talk about how we'd have that set up in advance.
Yvette:
And I think too, given where we're at, it's a great idea and a great opportunity at the moment to be able to get in different kinds of guests, aiming straight into the classroom. So maybe that's another avenue you could be looking at. Obviously, there's heaps of different... We've already mentioned places that are having virtual tours and so on, but there's so many institutions. There's the Opera House. There's...
Siri:
Good afternoon. What's up?
Yvette:
Good afternoon Siri.
Joe:
Oh, thanks Siri, for joining us.
Yvette:
Siri's really getting involved in this podcast. I think there's loads of opportunity for you to bring in different kinds of guests into your classroom, or look up something like DART Connections, done a lot of great things with DART Connections. There's lots of different events that you can join in on and have aimed into your classroom. So maybe think about bringing the world to your classroom.
Joachim:
I love how you have just transformed us from physical to virtual, because it's both spaces. It's a physical and a virtual space that we need to be really thinking about now, 100%. Oh goodness me, guys. Can you believe we're at the end of the day? So it's almost time to end today's podcasts and we're heading for the car park and it's time to chat all things we've been loving this week being in education or not. We're throwing it out wild. So team, what are you loving this week, Yvette?
Yvette:
I've just spent a bit of time immersed in the 100 Jobs of the Future Report, which has been put out by Deakin University, Griffith University and Ford. Now, some of the jobs that you might want to share with your kids is broken down by sectors, but there's some fascinating things that are kind of almost on our doorstep, if not, not too far down the track. I'm talking about things like being ethical hackers. Could your students be ethical hackers? What does that involve? It's a great website. We're going to chuck it in the show notes. You can look at things like cyborg therapist. There's heaps of jobs involving AI. There's mechatronics engineers, looking at yeah, automated vehicle engineers and experts. So if you are interested in learning about what's out there for the students, and talking through some of these job opportunities, it's a great report to have a look at.
Linda:
And what a great task for students to unpack that report and kind of figure out what skills they want to explore next, really great document
Joachim:
Absolutely. And Linda, what have you been loving?
Linda:
Well, you all know that I'm a bit of a podcast listener and 'Mackaroy Uncovered', an ABC KIDS podcast that was released, which I love. I'm probably not their target audience because it's for 8 to 12 year olds, I'm a little bit older than that, but the Lazenby family is completely loving it. It's a mystery adventure podcast and, it's a hit.
Yvette:
Is it like a story that you listen to?
Linda:
Yes. It's a story. I think there's about seven or eight episodes, but it really hooks kids. My 10 year old son was hooked instantly. So I would highly recommend 8 to 12 year old teachers that are looking after that age group, get into Mackaroy Uncovered well done ABC as usual, Joe, what are you doing?
Joachim:
Oh, thank you. Well now, before I told you I was an avgeek because I love aviation, but in addition to that, I love everything with wheels. And anything that's got wheels or goes, I'm so passionate about. So I want to design my own car. So in this amazing period of time where there's so much stuff happening at home, I've been finding this thing called Get Creative With Porsche, and with Porsche, there's this great video that shows you how to design your own car, and through all these different steps. So I've been trying to design my own car. Naturally, it has all the features that I want and then you share your design by hash-tagging.
Yvette:
What are some of the features that you want Joe?
Joachim:
Oh see this is a really good idea. I love these things called Kei cars in Japan. They're like the mini cars. They're tiny. They have to fit be a certain size. They have to have a certain sized motor, but I want things like a removable picnic table that I can just take out of my car and put up and set up and then I can remove the chairs and they have little legs that pop out. That's what I want in my car.
Yvette:
Okay.
Joachim:
I'm really dreaming here.
Yvette:
I love this.
Joachim:
I sound like I'm going back to being 12 years old, listening to that podcast, I think, Linda, maybe 8 actually.
Linda:
Can I ask are Porsche going to make... Are they going to make this car for you?
Joachim:
Maybe they are. I haven't explored that yet.
Linda:
You should ask them.
Joachim:
I am going to ask them, hashtag it, you have to make it as well. Absolutely. Oh, but, I think we've reached the end of the podcast.
Yvette:
Oh, home time.
Joachim:
Oh, this is very sad, home time, but you know what? We're not going to let our viewers go without some homework. What do you reckon? Absolutely. Yvette's giving us a maybe because sometimes we've got those teachers out there that think homework's a great idea and those that think it's a really bad idea. I don't think it's too bad an idea, because you know what? We're going to ask you to do something different this week. So whether it be to go and explore a new piece of technology, or maybe...
Yvette:
I think Googling. I've made a lot of reference to different excursions that are out there that are available. I think you need to go and look at what's out there. There's a lot of great free resources that are just either in New South Wales or out to the world. Have a look at what's there.
Linda:
Yeah, I agree. And I would say based on our previous conversation, move something in your room around, make it a bit different, but let the kids decide, not you.
Joachim:
There's your challenge people. Make sure you let us know what you did. You can email us. You can contact us via social media or just pop in a hashtag, #T4Lallstars to let us know the kind of things that you've been doing. But guess what? It's a wrap. Linda and Yvette, I can't wait to do this again. Will you come back?
Yvette:
Let's do it again.
Joachim:
Ah, fantastic. So stay awesome everyone. Thank you for joining us. Make sure you send us through your comments, your questions and your thoughts for our new guests and new segments. And we look forward to hearing you, seeing you, I don't know, maybe invading your ears in the next edition of The Virtual Staffroom and don't forget, subscribe, share with your colleagues and we're serious about the comments. We want to make it even more awesome for you.