Questions for discussion
Plane parts
- Discuss air travel with another student.
- Describe the events that occurred on flight QF 32.
- Name three facts about the A380 Airbus.
- Some of the world’s biggest manufacturers of planes are:
- Qantas and Jet Star
- Boeing and Airbus
- Virgin Blue and Qantas
- What action has Qantas taken since the emergency?
- Who is responsible for the engine in the A380 involved in the emergency?
- Qantas has a good safety record. True or false?
- Describe the impact these sorts of emergencies have on companies like Qantas.
- Think of three questions you would ask Qantas or Rolls Royce about the incident.
- What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?
Test your knowledge in the online quiz.
Bank business
1. How has the role of banks changed over the years?
2. Why do people need banks?
3. The money that banks charge people who borrow money is called ______.
4. Who sets the base interest rate?
5. Banks can determine what their interest rate will be. True or false?
6. What did the Commonwealth Bank do recently?
7. How did their customers react?
8. Describe the profits some banks are making at the moment.
9. Who are banks making money for?
10. How do increased interest rates affect your family?
Write a message about the story and post it on the BtN guestbook http://abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html
Free-range farming
1. Before you watch the Free-range farming story, record what you think free-range farming is.
2. Why are many pregnant sows kept in stalls?
3. What changes is pork producer Riverlea about to make?
4. Why do you think more consumers are demanding free-range products?
5. Why has it been difficult to have a clear definition of what free-range is?
6. What does that mean for consumers buying products labelled `free-range’?
7. What is the pork industry doing to make it clearer?
8. How would you solve the problem?
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of free-range farming?
10. How has your understanding of free-range farming changed since watching the BtN story?
`Would you pay more for free-range products?’ Vote in the BtN online poll.
HD TV
1. Briefly summarise the HD TV story.
2. How has television changed since it started in the 1950s?
3. When did Australia get colour television?
4. What does HD stand for?
5. Describe how a TV picture is made.
6. Where does the word `pixel’ come from?
7. Why does HD TV have the best quality pictures?
8. What is the difference in broadcast quality for normal and full HD TV?
9. How many HD channels are TV stations allowed to have? Why?
10. Think of three interesting facts you learnt watching this story.
Find out more about the changes in broadcast technology at the Learning @ Film Australia website http://fromwirelesstoweb.com.au/
Podclass
- Explain the BtN story to another student.
- What is a podcast?
- The word podcast comes from which two words?
- How are kids at a school in Italy using podcasts to help with their learning?
- What skills are the students learning when they make a podcast?
- Complete the following sentence: To download a podcast, you need…
- Describe the steps involved in making a podcast.
- What sort of information can be included in a podcast?
- How do you think making and listening to podcasts helps kids learn?
- If you could create a podcast, what would it be about?
Use the BtN story transcript to create a word search or crossword about podcasts.
Free-range farming
Focus Questions
- Before you watch the Free-range farming story, record what you think free-range farming is.
- Why are many pregnant sows kept in stalls?
- What changes is pork producer Riverlea about to make?
- Why do you think more consumers are demanding free-range products?
- Why has it been difficult to have a clear definition of what free-range is?
- What does that mean for consumers buying products labelled `free-range’?
- What is the pork industry doing to make it clearer?
- How would you solve the problem?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of free-range farming?
- How has your understanding of free-range farming changed since watching the BtN story?
Free-range farming
Students will create an argument for or against all animals being farmed in a free-range environment.
Discuss the BtN story with the students. Create a class concept map of different animal farming practices (including free- range and intensive). This will help students develop a clearer understanding of the pros and cons of free- range farming and respond to the following question:
Should all animals be farmed in a free-range environment?
Questions to consider…
· What is free-range farming?
· How is it different to intensive farming?
· What are the ethical/humane considerations?
· What are the environmental considerations?
· What is the impact on farmers (including cost)?
· How are consumers affected?
Structure of an argument
Statement of position
State what the issue or topic is.
Form a clear, forceful statement of position or opinion.
The audience should be clear about the stand being taken by the author.
Argument stage
Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence which introduces each point.
The rest of the paragraph gives more reasons.
Arguments can be ordered from strongest to weakest.
Reinforcement of statement of position (Summing up)
Sums up the author’s position.
Language features
Words that link arguments (because, therefore)
Evaluative language (important, best, safest)
Thinking verbs (we believe, people think)
Reflection
Ask students to think about how difficult it was to think of arguments to support their case. Do they think they could have created a stronger argument for the opposing view?
8 Related Research Links
ABC Landline – Cry freedom
http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2010/s3059325.htm
ABC Behind the News – Intensive farming
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2584973.htm
Australian Pork – Free-range farming
http://www.australianpork.com.au/pages/page204.asp
Australian Pork – Housing
http://www.australianpork.com.au/pages/page175.asp
Podclass
Focus Questions
- Explain the BtN story to another student.
- What is a podcast?
- The word podcast comes from which two words?
- How are kids at a school in Italy using podcasts to help with their learning?
- What skills are the student learning when they make a podcast?
- Complete the following sentence: To download a podcast, you need…
- Describe the steps involved in making a podcast.
- What sort of information can be included in a podcast?
- How do you think making and listening to podcasts helps kids learn?
- If you could create a podcast, what would it be about?
Podcasting
Students will plan and create their own podcasts about a topic of their choice. Begin by clarifying student’s understanding of what a podcast is. Working in pairs, ask students to discuss and record their responses to the following questions:
· How do podcasts work?
· Do you listen to podcasts?
· What podcast topics would interest you?
Students can listen to podcasts at the following websites
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=11531 and http://www.podkids.com.au/
http://www.csiro.au/products/CSIROpod.html
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/
Listening to podcasts will help them get ideas about the content for their own. Possible topics include:
· Book or film reviews
· Science
· Languages other than English
· A story you’ve written
Making a podcasts
Steps to create a podcast
- Make sure you have the required hardware and software - a computer with a microphone and software such as Audacity (PC) http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ or GarageBand (Mac) http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
- Decide on content. Who is your audience? How will you keep listeners engaged?
- Rehearse the content (practise speaking)
- Record. Create and save an audio file, usually in mp3 format.
- Publish. Audio files need to be uploaded to a web server. There are many free podcast hosting services on the internet.
- Promote the podcast. Your schools website is a good place to start.
The following websites have more details about what is required to make a podcast:
http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/click/features/podcasts/default.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/help.htm
Reflection
What worked well with your podcast?
What would you do differently next time?
8 Related Research Links
ABC Behind the News – Podcasting
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/v3/stories/s1714551.htm
ABC – Podcasting help
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/help.htm
ABC Podcast
http://www.abc.net.au/services/podcasting/
Aberfoyle Park High School – BtN researches podcasting @ Aberfoyle
http://homepage.mac.com/michael_cowling/BTN_@_Aberfoyle/Podcast/Podcast.html
BBC Radio – World News for Children podcasts
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wnc
Global Post – Teaching the World
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/education/101103/italy-poetry-and-podcasts-mix
BtN: Episode 33 Transcript 16/11/10
On this week's Behind the News:
· What it takes to keep these flying machines safe and in one piece.
· How life on the farm for some pigs could soon change
· And decoding the definition of high definition!
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley thanks for joining us again for Behind the News.
There's a lot happening on today's show.
Later on we'll connect with some kids in Italy who have found a fun way to liven up some of their school lessons.
First up though.
Bank Business
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Let's have a look at banks because some people seem to be really angry at them lately.
It's complicated but it all started after one bank decided to charge people more money on their loans.
They charged more than the Reserve Bank recommended when they set the base interest rate.
It's all left some people saying the banks are too greedy.
But others would be angry if banks weren't trying to make bigger profits.
Why?
Because a bank is really just a business and business means business.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTING: Back in the day, putting your money in the bank was as much about trying to keep it safe as anything else.
But these days, banks play a much bigger role in society.
A lot of money goes into them and a lot of money comes out of them.
But just how much goes in, and stays in, is causing some controversy at the moment.
The story all starts with houses.
Say your family wanted a new one.
The average house costs around $350,000 bucks which you'd agree, is a massive amount of money.
Most people don't have that money just sitting round.
So that's when they go down to the bank for a loan.
Down at the bank, if you can prove you'll be able to pay it back, they will lend you the money to buy.
But they don't just give it to you for free!
Banks are a business that need to make money.
So they charge you money, to lend you money!
How much are we talking?
Well on that $350,000 house we were talking about earlier, by the time you've paid it off, the total could come to around $869,000 - more than double the original cost!
The money they charge is called interest and it's worked out through an interest rate.
The banks are given advice on when they should raise and lower the interest rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia. It sets the base rate.
But the catch is, banks can set their rate to whatever they like.
If they want to raise it higher they can, and their customers have to pay!
That's exactly what the Commonwealth Bank did.
They raised their rate by 0.45 of a percent, which doesn't sound like much, but for that house loan we were talking about, it would mean an extra $39,000 dollars all up.
Some other banks raised their rates as well.
Guess what their customers thought of that!
CUSTOMER: I think it sucks actually!
CUSTOMER: I am very angry; it's disgusting the way they've done it.
One of the main reasons people are angry is that most of the banks are making record profits, while some of their customers are struggling.
A few days after the Commonwealth put up their rates, another bank, Westpac, announced it made $6.3 billion dollars this year.
The question many customers ask is if they are making so much cash, why do they need to charge us so much more??
NATHAN: The answer is pretty simple. Banks are public businesses, so their whole job is to make money for their shareholders.
Right now, the banks say they are paying a bit more to source cash from overseas.
So they will pass on those costs to make sure they continue making big profits.
But understanding that doesn't make it any easier for families struggling to keep up with their repayments.
So the Government is hoping to help, by making it easier for bank customers to shop around for a better deal.
So if your bank's feeling more like highway robbery, maybe it's time to ride on over to another!
Presenter: And now all of what they call the big 4 banks have put their rates up more than the reserve bank's increase.
The Wire
OK so what else has been in the news?
Alfie's on it.
***********
Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano is continuing to spew ash three weeks after the latest eruptions began.
200 have been killed and over 400-thousand have been left homeless by the eruptions which have sent boiling hot gas and rock flowing over a huge area
Scientists are keeping a close eye on it but some believe the eruptions may be just starting to ease.
Plane Parts
Reporter: Kirsty Bennett
INTRO: Qantas has been in the news a lot lately after one of its new Airbus A380 planes had to make an emergency landing because one of its engines exploded.
Bits of aircraft dropping off in mid-air is always concerning so Qantas grounded the super-jumbo while they work out exactly what went wrong and how to fix it.
Kirsty had a look at what it takes to keep these complex machines in the air.
KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: This is the unexpected view some passengers had on flight QF 32.
Not long after the plane took off from Singapore airport, one of the Airbus A380's engines exploded and bits of it ripped into a section of the wing.
The pilot turned the plane back to Singapore and it landed safely.
Two days later, another type of aeroplane called a Boeing 747 had to make an emergency landing.
Emergency landings can happen, sometimes the problem might not seem serious but pilots like to play it safe.
But when it happen to an Aussie aircraft it's likely you'll hear lots about it.
The A380 is the world's biggest passenger jet and can carry more than 500 passengers.
A380s have only been in the sky since 2005.
Qantas owns six of them and has only had them for about two years.