DattaQueensland's podcast

Episode Overview In Episode 81 of the Bridge Building Podcast, host Stephen Anderson previews two inspiring sessions from the 2025 DATTA QLD Conference. Margaret O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of Young Change Agents, is our Friday morning keynote. She shares how design and technologies education can be a springb...

Episode Overview In Episode 80 of the Bridge Building Podcast, host Stephen Anderson previews two powerhouse sessions from the upcoming 2025 DATTA QLD Conference (June 19–20, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre). He’s joined by Michael Mikhail, a Melbourne-based engineer and fibre laser innovator,...

Episode Overview Stephen Anderson fuels excitement for the 2025 DATTA QLD Conference in Episode 79, recorded on May 5 and 7, 2025, with Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi educator Sally Lawrence and QUT PhD researcher Leighann Ness-Wilson. This episode previews their June 19 sessions at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition ...

Episode Overview Stephen Anderson launches the 2025 DATTA QLD Conference Series in Episode 78, recorded on April 28 and 30, 2025, with design educators Justine Hawkins and Wayne van den Bos. This episode previews their June 20 sessions at the DATTA QLD Conference, offering a sneak peek into practical tools and ...

Episode Overview Stephen Anderson sits down with five Year 11 and 12 students from Cleveland State High School to launch the 2025 Teacher Excellence Awards and Service to Design and Technology Education Award. Recorded on March 26, 2025, this episode celebrates the educators and supporters shaping design and te...

Episode Overview Stephen Anderson sits down with Tim Bateup, a STEM teacher from Roma State High School, who’s kicking goals in rural education. Recently awarded a $10,000 Toyota STEM scholarship, Tim’s headed to London to bring back fresh ideas for his Southwest Queensland students. From his roots in digit...

In this episode, Stephen Anderson sits down with Emmanuelle Buecher Hall, a science teacher at Mansfield State High School in Brisbane. A former marine biologist who’s researched jellyfish in South Africa and sailed the world with her family, Emmanuelle now brings real scientists into her school to spark curi...

In this episode, Stephen Anderson chats with Keith Alexander, Student Engagement Coordinator at QUT’s Faculty of Engineering. Keith shares how QUT opens its doors to high school students through design and engineering workshops, offering hands-on experiences that align with school curriculums. From speed sket...

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Madritsch, a woodwork teacher from Mullumbimby High School in NSW and the creator of The Woodwork Camp. We discuss the challenges facing woodwork teachers today, particularly with the increasing number of out-of-area teachers stepping into the workshop, and how well-st...

In this episode of the Bridge Building Podcast: From Technology to the Trades, we chat with Leighann Ness Wilson, a designer-turned-educator with a passion for fostering creativity and innovation in education. Leighann shares her journey from growing up in rural Nanango to designing workspaces across the globe ...

Today I am thrilled to be introducing you to the new executive of the Queen. Today I am thrilled to be introducing you to the new executive of the Queensland chapter of the Design and Technology Teachers Association....

In this episode of the Bridge Building Podcast, host Stephen Anderson is joined by Hamish Cranitch, an inspiring young teacher whose journey is a testament to resilience and passion in the teaching profession. Hamish, new to teaching design and navigating the challenges of a workshop environment, shares his exp...

Welcome to the Bridge Building Podcast: From Technology to the Trades! In this episode, host Stephen Anderson interviews Zoe Keidge, an inspiring designer-turned-teacher and the recipient of the 2024 Queensland Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Fellowship. Tune in as Zoe shares her journey from design into teach...

Welcome to the Bridge Building Podcast: From Technology to the Trades! In this episode, host Stephen Anderson sits down with Martin Bannard, a robotics and design teacher who's tackling a monumental project with his year 10 design class: setting up a school-sized recycling facility.   About This Episode: Marti...

Welcome to the Bridge Building Podcast: From Technology to the Trades! In this episode, Stephen Anderson sits down with Phillip Murdoch, a fellow design and technology teacher who is on a mission to foster collaboration in education. About This Episode: When Stephen returned to teaching in 2017, he noticed a si...

In This Episode: We continue our focus on creativity by featuring an inspiring conversation with Steve Muir, a Humanities teacher who is breaking the mold in Hervey Bay. Despite the stereotype that Humanities is all about sitting and reading, Steve is doing things differently. He's using iPads and augmented rea...

Over the course of this year I have come to the belief that our subject area if done well is a haven for the generation of creativity, and the concern we have is that when training our teachers there is little or no emphasis on how to teach this creativity or design thinking.   Today, I am talking to Jamie Ger...

Today, I am honoured to be talking to a simply sensational teacher who began her life as a automotive designer and what can I say she is doing some great things for her students. I ran across her on linked in where she was telling of a method she uses to show how important prototyping is when designing. The con...

Today, I am speaking with Terri Quinn, now Terri is the program manager for the Technologies Teacher Pathway Program. Today she will share a bit about the program and how she is taking steps to help fix the teacher shortage we have in this state Rosie. If...

Right off the back of a very successful Datta conference and quite frankly I am seriously excited about the future of education, I have the pleasure of spending some time with two sensational educators. Scott Millar and Megan King will spearhead a conference in July called the “Future of Education Summitâ€...

Welcome to the Bridge Building Podcast from Technology to the Trades. I am Stephen Anderson and this is session number 61. Well, it's just one week to go and today I bring you the last two, of the speakers that I've been able to track down for a chat. First up we have Rashan Senanayake talking about one of the ...

We are getting really close now. Just two weeks to go until this years annual DATTA conference and today it is all about engineering. I get to speak to a couple of really smart teachers about the challenges of teaching senior engineering. First up is Philip Canalise who is leading a tutorial on how to use inven...

I just love this time of year. Running up to our annual conference I get to chat with some the most passionate teachers about something that is near and dear to their heart. It is invigorating, it is inspirational, sometimes a little intimidating but I wouldn’t miss it for the world. My guest today is Tim Osb...

As I record this, we have about one month to go. It has been and will be my pleasure to speak with many of the presenters at this year’s conference and today I am really in a bit of a quandary because these two speakers are not only had my absolutely rapt attention, but they are both talking at the exact sam...

Over the next several weeks it is my pleasure to speak with many of the presenters at this year’s conference and today, we will chat with 2 of these speakers. First is Deirdre Dennys who is leading the workshop Designing spaces for diversity, inclusion and participation: The Corner Cafe Project. Then we spend...

Over the next several weeks it is my pleasure to speak with many of the presenters at this year’s conference and today, we will chat with 2 of these speakers. First is Kellie King who is leading a workshop names Design Thinking and the user experience. Then we spend some time with Malcolm Lee discussing his p...

Over the next several weeks it is my pleasure to speak with many of the presenters at this year’s conference and today, only because I am just back in town and my head has not stopped spinning which means I have not had time to organise someone else you get to hear from me. On the Thursday at 1.55 and the wor...

Welcome back to week 1 term 2 2024 and today I have Rory Johanson who is leading this terms DATTA teach meet.  So if you are in the position that I think most of us are changes are happening and those changes are all around the move from version 8.4 to version 9 of the technologies syllabus which is why we hav...

My original thought for today was to talk to a young designer about his thoughts on how he see’s design working against the people of New York and a bit about a Google program that he has been accepted into that is training young people to work in that field.   Francis Bazil is that young designer and he is ...

Today, I am speaking with a few experts in the field. What field I hear you ask. The field of knowing just what a great teacher is and who are the best people to talk about what to expect from a great teacher, well students of course. So today I am talking with one of the students from the hive program at the m...

The show, this first term of 2024 will probably have a different feel to it because quite unexplainably I have been awarded the Queensland Cooper Hewitt fellowship and am spending 12 weeks working at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. My aim is to create an introductory program to design t...

Today, I’m speaking with Andrew Devoy. Andrew is the well, what we in the department call a head of department technology at the Marist college in Ashgrove and if you were to look back at the list of guests on this show you will see Andrew’s name as one of the very first.  There is a reason I want to have ...

Shantell is a Maths teacher and I am going to try not to hold that against her mainly because of what a sensational thing she is doing with her students. She has guided 5 of her students through the building and racing and winning the inaugural - that means first ever - Australian Hydrogen Grand Prix. ...

Today, I’m speaking with Jamie Lay, Jamie is one of our young design and technology teachers who is stepping up and has joined DATTA and taken the responsibility for managing our design student awards which is what we are going to talk about today, but before we begin, I have just spent my weekend watching so...

Today, I’m speaking with Tony Grudinski who kinda does the same thing I do, recording information that is, the difference being that his stuff is so interesting that he is looking into using artificial intelligence to publish his videos in many different languages.  I am telling you that now because it is so...

Today, I’m speaking with Sally Lawrence. Now, she is probably one of those people that would well and truly deserve one of our teacher excellence awards, that is if she was still in the classroom. That is our good fortune cause now she talks to teachers about the 8 ways of aboriginal learning which has an am...

Today, I'm speaking with Vinesh Chandra now. Vinesh and his co-author, Basil Slynko, are talking to us at this year's conference. You can see them on the first day. My ears pricked up right from the start when I found out that they taught together an eternity ago in one of my old stomping grounds. That's Bunda...

Today, I’m speaking with Beth Welden. Now, Beth is talking to us at this year’s conference, and you can see her on the first day. She is talking about our sustainable future using timber and I have to say the few minutes we had together made me realise that I am sadly lacking in my understanding of where ou...

Today, I'm speaking with Mike King. Now, Mike is talking to us at this year's conference,and you can see him on the first day. And if you really want to see, you may have to push me out of the way, because I'll be sitting right up the front, ready to go. Now, over the last few years, he has worked with his stud...

Today, I am speaking with Daniel Spat, now Dan is the Queensland chair o the Design Institute of Australia, a working designer at Integral and the speaker at our conference dinner on Thursday evening the 15th of June. Dan is in a rather unique position to talk to what is needed for our kids to aim for a career ...

Today, I am speaking with Jamie Lay and not to hear about some of the incredible things he has done, though he has done some pretty impressive things. No today we are talking about one of the teachers in his staffroom, the design and technology teacher of the year for 2022, Carol Anne Durkin.  Now there is a r...

Today, I am speaking with Mark McMullin and we are going to chat about a brand new competition pitting schools against schools with the aim of growing fabulous young people who are gaining skills for this new world of renewable energy.  But before we get to I, I would like to tell you about it after our chat. ...

Today, I am speaking with two of the organisers of our Qld Pedal Prix events for 2023. We will be chatting about the sport, how it was affected by Covid, how we have lost some of our oldest and much-loved races and how we are moving into the future with a goal to make it bigger and better than ever before.  I...

Today we are speaking with DATTA Qld Teacher of the year Carol-Anne Durkin. We get to know her some more and suck in the excitement she exudes for this subject area of ours.  She actually started teaching design before she left school. As a senior she was writing lesson plans and taking the role of prac teache...

Today we ask the question, what would you do with 2 million dollars. Carol Flikweerk from James Nash High in Gympie has been given funding to upgrade the technology facilities at her school.  So I thought would be a good Idea to hear just what changes she is going to make and just for the fun of it we invited ...

Chelsea Mclean is an advocate for and leader in the move towards a change in the way we look at design into the future.  The push towards a circular economy is one way to change the direction of climate change and frankly our ability to live comfortably or at all on this planet.  Chelsea was the Saturday key ...

Roslyn Richards is the HOD of Technology at Wynnum State High School and has had the job for nearly 30 years. When I heard that she has over seen the transformation of her subject area I just knew I had to sit down for a chat and hear some of the things that she has seen and just how much things have changed. S...

Today, I am speaking with Peter Murphy. Now it seems to be a staple on this show to talk to people who are trying to get more teachers into our area and today is another step along that path.  Peter Murphy is ex chair of the DFATTA Australia and now lecturer at several universities teaching design. But most im...

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Today, I am speaking with Rowan Cahill, now Rowan is the Regional Co-Ordinator for the F1 in schools north Queensland. Today we will talk about the program and some of the sensational benefits students gain from being a part of it.  I hope you enjoy our chat, I sure did. Thanks Rowan, for the chat!     About...

Today, I am speaking with Terri Quinn, now Terri is the program manager for the Technologies Teacher Pathway Program. Today she will share a bit about the program and how she is taking steps to help fix the teacher shortage we have in this state Rosie. If you are a HOD looking for staff or a teacher wanting to ...

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To keep this podcast going, I need your help.Today, I am speaking with John Joyce, now John Heads up the Queensland Pedal Prix Super Series. Today, we will be chatting about the 2022 series and all of the great things that are ahead for the competition. It is nearly two years since the kids at my school have ha...

Today, I am speaking with Jodi Perkins, a teacher from a little town called Wandoen in the south west. Now I met Jodi earlier in the year and was delighted to hear what she is doing.  Virtually every other teacher that I have spoken to about design and tech in primary school has said that it is simply to hard....

Today, I am speaking with John Barnes and Matt Davis from Shailer Park State high and the way they run their vocational programs is just brilliant. With six separate pathways heading for quite specific vocations. The kids are trained well and the local community and industry is loving it. I hope you can take so...

Today, I am speaking with ITD course organiser from the only university in Queensland to offer Design and Technology as a component of their bachelor of Secondary Education. Brad Connolly has some exciting news if you know, like I do, a Tradie that would like to teach, but can’t because four years to complete...

Today, I am speaking with Design and Technology teacher of teachers, Steven Somerfield from New South Wales. When it comes to design this teacher puts his money and several years of his time where his mouth is.  He saw a need to make one of the tools we use in design safer and easier to use. We had a great tim...

Today, I am speaking with DATTA Australia’s Teacher of the year. We talk of problem solving, checking cattle feed and simply stunning stem days.  We had a great time and I hope you enjoy my conversation with this inspirational teacher from Western Australia. Thanks to Simon for the chat!   About the Bridge ...

Today, I am speaking with Monique Dalli. This is the second half of our chat from earlier in the year and we take a deep dive as problem solvers into some of the problems we have in our subject area.  We are talking the lack of training, mentors and growing DT teachers. In Monique’s words we need to take nar...

Today I am speaking with MJ Raatz. MJ is the Head of department for Digital technologies and Business at Forest Lake High and when I heard about some of the things he is doing, I just had to have a chat. He really is an innovative teacher and today I am drilling him about FPV drone flight and how he is adding u...

Today, I am speaking with Thomas Oliphant. Tom is the Vex Robotics Australian Teacher of the year for 2021 and a finalist for the South Australia STEM teacher of the year too. It is not hard to see why. Tom runs an extracurricular program which brings 60 students from all year levels and thirty percent girls ba...

Monique is the new President of the DATTA Australia and she is simply incredible to talk to.  It is just amazing to see someone who lights when she talks about our curriculum.  Our chat lasted twice as long as normal so I have cut it up into two parts. Today we discuss gender in our design workshop and then o...

Today I am speaking with Terry Deen who is the head of learning at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. QGOMA is planning to include design and tech teachers and students in a range of learning spaces in the future.  Today we talk about the first one which along with another 40 or more teachers I was lucky to...

Design and technology week is happening this year between the 14th and 18th of June. Taking point is Kirsty Cooper and in this episode she describes how we can give our students a reason to get excited about design.  She shows a cracking way to spread it through your school and get all the kids involved.  She...

Just imagine working with a group of young people who are so keen that they come in for hours every week to work on the coolest project. Simone Buckingham leads one of this type of teams at St. Columban's in Caboolture.  An aerospace school that partners with the likes of Air Bus and Boeing with students looki...

Just imagine teaching kids who are really well prepared for our type of learning, project learning fostering collaboration and communication, critical thinking and above all creativity. And to top it off preparing them for incredible careers in some of Australia’s high growth industries. The space industry, c...

Just imagine heading to school in the morning knowing that today you are going to soar. Chris Barry’s students know exactly what that feels like. They know what it is like to be at the controls of an aircraft.  Undertaking flight training at high school is a reality for these students in Victoria.  Twice Vi...

Today, I am speaking with Matthew Williams from Ambrose State School. Just imagine being given the task to come up with a fully functioning business idea and to make a profit in just ten weeks. This mission was given to a class of 10, 11 and 12 year old students from Ambrose State School and more than half achi...

Today, I am speaking with Keith Holledge the creator of CO2 racing here in Queensland.  Well actually I am not doing that much talking, because Keith gave just so much knowledge, he simply didn’t leave anything out.  Starting next year Shaun, he sits next to me in the staffroom and is planning to start a CO...

Today, I am speaking with David Capill, Head of Department Junior Secondary at Toolooa High just South of Gladstone. David is a primary school teacher stepping up to take on this role and he is just loving it. In particular the ties it has to stem and David hasn’t held back. In this year, the COVID year, he h...

Today, I am speaking with Brett Dascombe, a geography teacher at Wavell State High and some of the stuff he does is just sensational.   Why a geography teacher?  Well Brett tells me that one of the careers he is preparing his students for is surveying and that overlaps with us just beautifully.  We will be ...

Today, I am speaking with Rachel Warnes, the head of department ITD at St Columban’s College in Caboolture.  Now, one day a week Rachel heads out to the local primary school where she picks up a bus load of grade five students and brings them back for 2 hours of design.  While these kids are learning to sol...

Today, I am speaking with trade teacher from Bundaberg High School Greg Smith. Greg runs the HPV Super Series which sees 200 human powered racing vehicles compete in 8 races across Queensland. Now, I though this was going to be a good news story about a new competition starting soon, but it wasn’t to be. It i...

In this episode, I am speaking with 3 teachers from my school who have teamed up to guide some very talented students in a project that frankly makes my skin grawl. They are learning how to grow maggots as a part of a program with the Queensland's Virtual STEM Academy called Medicinal Maggots.   About the Brid...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Senior Teacher from Ferny Grove State High School, Carol-Anne Durkin. I first met Carol a few years ago when she was speaking at DATTA Conference on the Sunshine Coast and she is one impressive lady. And I reached out to see how she did during the COVID-19 lockdown.   About t...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Senior Teacher from Gladstone State High School and President of DATTA Queensland, Mark McMillan. Mark is one of those teachers who has had design success during the COVID-19 lockdown. He has had his students doing some pretty cool thing.   About the Bridge Building Podcast â...

In this episode, I'm speaking to the most sensational young lady, Britt Cleary, a Second Year teacher of Ferny Grove State High School. I contacted her expecting to chat about some great stuff she's been doing with virtual reality in the classroom. But didn't she had a surprise for me? She is heading up a STEM ...

In this episode, I'm speaking with the Head of Department Technology and the Vet Manager at Mountain Creek State High School, Andy Walpole. For the last ten years, Andy has run a very successful Vet program that had as 30% of his students find apprenticeships. He has taken a full 50% of his student school time ...

In this episode, I am speaking with an ITD and Trade teacher from Winsolton State High School. John Joyce has created a bit of a Goliath at Winsolton in a little over 18 months. He is gone from just learning about HPV (Human Powered Vehicles) to having a fleet of 5 and a team of 50 students competing over Queen...

In this episode, I am speaking with Rebecca Abnett and Skye Douglas, Science teachers from Nanango State High School. Every year the kids from Nanango host the most incredible day for all of the primary schools in the area where cars being raced, bridge being built and so many cool things.   About the Bridge B...

Today, I am speaking with the ITD Coordinator of the Marist College Ashmore, Mr. Andrew Devoy where we will discover something their students do that is pretty cool.   ABOUT THE BRIDGE BUILDING PODCAST “This is the place where we dissect and then discover the many ways ITD teachers all over this country are ...