Trigger Warning: This episode discusses recent sensitive real-world events, military actions, and the unrest in the region, which some listeners may find distressing or triggering.

This week on The International Classroom, Alex, Drew, and Bodruz sit down for a candid, raw, and necessary conversation about living and teaching through one of the most surreal and frightening weeks in recent memory.

While the sudden onset of unrest in the region brought undeniable anxiety—including firsthand accounts of witnessing military interceptions in the sky—it also highlighted the incredible safety protocols and community strength within the UAE. We discuss the realities of the sudden pivot back to distance learning, how schools are prioritising student and staff wellbeing over strict academics right now, and the unique ways educators are managing the "COVID-era" remote teaching muscle.

But it’s not all heavy. We also share how we are finding normalcy and keeping grounded—from baking cupcakes and playing exploding kittens, to a lighthearted debate on why Drew is currently banned from the "British Dads in Dubai" Facebook group.

This episode is a massive thank you to the community, the school leaders sending out care packages, the government ensuring our safety, and the everyday expats stepping up to look out for one another. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. Step away from the rumor mill, lean on your community, and stay safe.

In this episode we cover:

• The emotional toll and reality of the recent unrest in the UAE.

• How schools and teachers successfully pivoted back to distance learning.

• The importance of prioritising wellbeing and mental health for both students and staff.

• Standout moments of the expat community coming together to support one another.

• Finding humor, routine, and control in times of extreme uncertainty.

#Dubai #UAE #InternationalClassroom #Podcast #DistanceLearning #Resilience #ExpatsInDubai #CommunitySupport

Are you drowning in school admin and disjointed EdTech systems? In this episode of Show Us Your Stack, we sit down with Matthew, a science teacher based in India, who decided to stop waiting for perfect EdTech and started building his own.

Facing teacher shortages, curriculum revisions, and endless data entry, Matthew turned to AI to regain his time. He walks us through exactly how he uses tools like Claude Code and Google Apps Script to bypass strict school firewalls, build custom standards-based grading apps, and automate departmental budgets—all without being a professional software engineer.

If you want to take control of your workload and learn how to safely build AI tools specifically for your school's ecosystem, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The Firewall Workaround: Why building within Google Workspace (Apps Script + Sheets) is the best way to deploy custom apps in restricted school environments.

• The AI Tech Stack: Why Matthew transitioned from ChatGPT to Claude Code for architecting his education tools.

• From Idea to App: The exact workflow for turning a messy spreadsheet into a clean, functional web app for teachers and students.

• Beating Burnout: How investing time in AI up-front can drastically reduce daily administrative fatigue.

Episode Timestamps:

- Introduction to Matthew and the reality of teacher workload.

- Sink or Swim: Using AI for IB Science moderation and data.

- Matthew's workflow: Storyboarding with Claude and coding with Google Apps Script.

- Navigating school firewalls and data privacy with custom apps.

- Building a unified, standards-based grading dashboard.

- The best advice for educators looking to start coding with AI.

Links & Resources:

• Mentioned AI Tools: Claude Code, Google Gemini, Google Apps Script.

• Watch the video version of this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4W6ja6uoLik

• Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergray84/

• Discover more episodes and resources: https://www.deepeducationnetwork.com/podcast

Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a rating and review on Spotify! It helps other educators discover how to leverage tech to improve their classrooms.

Eric Chamberlain spent 25 years in education. Then he lost his job. Instead of sending CVs, he opened a laptop and started building.

Four months later, he'd shipped five apps — including Save Veritas, an oral assessment platform that tackles one of the biggest problems in schools right now: how do you know a student actually did the work when AI can do it for them?

In this episode, Eric walks us through everything — the origin story that started with his wife needing a French speaking app in Kuwait during COVID, the interview with an AI system that sparked the idea, and the technical journey from Bolt DIY frustrations to a robust, multi-assessment platform built on Vercel, Supabase, and the latest AI models.

We get into the real stuff: the tech stack choices, why PRDs and user stories changed everything, how to handle security and GDPR when you're not a developer, the tools that actually work on a bootstrap budget, and why boring, disciplined building beats vibe coding every time.

Whether you're a teacher curious about building your own thing, a solo founder figuring out your stack, or just fascinated by how fast non-coders can ship real products with AI right now — this one's worth your time.

In this episode we discuss:

• The assessment integrity crisis and why oral assessment solves it
• Building on free tiers — Vercel, Supabase, OpenAI, and Google Gemini
• Going from idea to PRD to user stories to shipped features
• Git branching, work trees, and protecting your codebase from AI agents
• Red teaming your own product for security
• Anti-Gravity, Claude Code, and Olama Cloud for budget AI-assisted development
• Aligning with UK DfE AI product safety standards
• The difference between vibe coding and actually building something that works

Connect with us:Alex Gray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergray84/

Darren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-coxon/

Eric Chamberlain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericchamberlintech/