In June I attended this years’ Amazon Girls Tech Day in Melbourne, hosted at Wyndham Tech School. Engaging kids in the education space is something I’ve looked forward to for a while now. When my buddy Jesse at Canopy Creative asked me to come along and talk to the girls – how could I say no?
Engagement Through Virtual Reality
Canopy Creative specializes in developing custom software solutions that power and scale immersive experiences in VR, AR, and Video. I’ve worked with them providing voice acting for a couple of characters in their Wundrful World Of Christmas experience in Sydney, Australia. Be sure to check it out next holiday season!
The team showcased systems they develop including a media entertainment system, and training simulation, both powered by VR. Riding a virtual reality rollercoaster was an absolute hit. The training simulation included a crash course on how to maintain and service solar panels, which engaged them too. We had a long line to manage at several points.
Kids At Play
It’s incredible in itself to observe kids in play to remind myself, as an actor, what that kind of freedom feels like. They’re so inquisitive. The school had a robot called Pepper on display – which admittedly gave me the creeps. It wouldn’t say anything, but would track motion around it to quite a wide angle, Exorcist style. However, at one point in the day, it spontaneously began talking! I was chatting with a staff member who mentioned they purposely had turned off Pepper’s audio systems during the event, as the bot could get confused. He had no idea how the girls had managed to reprogram it and turn it back on to interact with it, but applauded them.
Am I the only one who felt that it was less frustrating playing videogames as a kid than it is now? Back then, we were still making sense of the world. If something didn’t make sense, we explored it openly. These days, if something “doesn’t make sense” in a video game, I often find myself growing frustrated rather than tapping into my sense of discovery like these kids have.
It also reminded me of when I had a customer service role in the games industry back in the day. The number of emails I got from parents requesting refunds because their child had somehow “hacked” into their iPad and purchased a huge amount of in-game currency was bordering on absurd. Take care of those passwords, parents. These kids are inquisitive.
Career Choices
I was equal parts impressed and surprised. Heaps of these middle-school aged girls already had a solid idea of what life path they wanted to pursue. One girl mentioned she’d love to be a maths teacher – a testament to her current teachers in that area. Another girl, set on taking on a business degree.
It took me almost my entire life so far to find my own place in the world. Though, looking back, my shift into performance art does track with my interests, even from back then. Almost coming full circle since my earliest memories of reading stories to my stuffed toys. Now I read them out loud for people to listen to all around the world!
Work Hard, Play Hard
Whyndham Tech School’s facilities were fantastic. They even have a dedicated eSports centre that doubles as a computer lab. Students do their assignments in there! I’m not sure how I’d be able to stay focused. Working from home has those challenges too, if you’re a gamer. But I have so many quests to finish…
Dream Screen Australia also had a space to show off their green screen tech – super cool!
And what’s an event like this without catering? So good. Wonderful wraps, sandwiches, and of course fruit and sweets. Another highlight was the dedicated barista. What a champ. He was lovely and attentive all day, ready to keep everyone else’s energy up with a great coffee.
I can’t wait to do it all again. Throwing an event to get girls engaged in tech careers, or a career in the arts? Call me 🤙