What others have said about BETT 2007

Fortunately there have been a few other bloggers at BETT so here are some of their views and links.

John Connell

I was only in the exhibition at the massive BETT Show for a very short time today, but ........ more

Andy Watson

The hot product this year is the Virtual Learning Environment with several companies offering competing technologies. Whatever the weaknesses of Glow, at least in Scotland we will have one system and will be able to share across the country. Without some strong guidance from Becta, England’s schools will become isolated within propriatory systems........ more

Theo Kuechel - Digital Signposts

One of the highlights, of the show, for me, has been meeting Steve Powter and the students of Castle Manor Business & Enterprise College in Suffolk; on the Centerprise stand. The students are carrying out live research, interviewing visitors to the stand about their views on social software. I was really excited to be able to to take part, and I look forward to reading their findings. This is indeed a timely piece of work as it comes hot on the heels of two major pieces of research on students online spaces from Pew Internet in the US and the DEMOS report, released yesterday......more

Derek Robertson

A few weeks ago I watched the Gadget Show on Channel 5 (The only show I watch on the that channel) and I saw a robot challenge. The presenters had series of challenges that three different robots had to carry out. It was really interesting to see what could be done with the robots that are commercially available now but I was really quite captivated by the LEGO competitor on the show.

The first stand that I visited today was the LEGO one and I met a Physics teacher who told me how he had developed a programme that allowed LEGO to be used throughout his school. I must say that t looks rather exciting......more

And no doubt there are many more.

What has inspired you at BETT 2007?

If you have seen anything exciting at BETT 2007, anything that is inspirational or something simple that you can take back to the classroom on Monday then let us know?

What have been your impressions of BETT 2007?

How could BETT 2008 be even better?

We want to know your opinions as we begin the process of developing the 2008 programme.

The Guardian changes the name of its educational technology supplement.

Editorial

Richard Doughty

Tuesday January 9, 2007

EducationGuardian.co.uk
Today marks the 40th edition of the Guardian's educational technology supplement, which has covered the rapid changes taking place across the curriculum over the past eight or so years. But it also marks a radical change in our page format, a new title and expanded coverage of an area in education that never stands still.

In this first issue of Link - a name we think reflects our readers in a growing online education community - we are including a new review section of the latest hardware and software on the market.

We will also take a regular look at research, focusing on some of the numerous surveys and projects on the use and impact of technology in education. We also aim to increase coverage across the education sector, provide a platform for opinionformers and tackle key policy issues, along with increased news coverage and our usual mix of columnists and practical features. All reactions welcome!

more....

School leaving age to rise to 18

School leaving age to rise to 18

Young people will have to be in training or education until the age of 18Young people will be required to stay in school, training or workplace training until the age of 18.
The Department for Education and Skills has confirmed plans to raise the school leaving age - to be introduced by 2013.


This will not mean that pupils have to stay in the classroom or continue with academic lessons - but they will have to continue to receive training.

It would mean raising the leaving age for the first time since 1972, when it was raised to the present 16 years old.

The proposals would seek to tackle the problem of young people leaving education without qualifications or workplace skills.


more......

View Film Clips of BETT Award Winners 2007

Film Clips of Winners 2007

The annual BETT Awards represent a partnership between Becta, the Government’s lead agency for ICT in education, BESA, the trade association representing the educational supply industry and Emap Education, the organisers of BETT – the largest educational technology show in the world.
The awards also recognise outstanding education sector products and learning solutions. Judges review the entries based on criteria including design, cost-effectiveness, support of higher order skills and effective learning and teaching styles. The technical criteria against which the awards were judged focused on the robustness and resilience of each product, and its accessibility for those with specific needs.

more.....

BETT in the newspapers

Future perfect

The Bett show is packed with futuristic educational technology. Nadine Clarke went to check it out

Thursday January 11, 2007EducationGuardian.co.uk

"I come here every year to get a vision into the future. I want to see in which direction to go with ICT for the next 10 to 20 years," says primary school headteacher Petula Allen at Bett, the annual educational technology show.

The event was officially opened with a speech from the minister of state for schools and 14 to 19 learners, Jim Knight. He admitted that government needs the industry's help to solve what it calls the "digital divide". He hopes that industry will come up with specific proposals that will allow all pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged families, to get home access to computers and the internet.

The MP is setting up a home access taskforce, so "classroom practice will have to adapt to the knowledge that children can access at home," he said.

more.....

Creative and Constructive Tools

Creative and Constructive Tools

Gridmagic

Q4 Technologies Ltd

e-Assessment for Learning

e-Assessment for Learning

MAPS eQUALIFICATIONS

TAG Learning

Supporting Institutional Leadership and Management Solutions

Supporting Institutional Leadership and Management Solutions

SAM Learning Plus

SAM Learning Ltd

Post 16 Education and Training Digital Content

Post 16 Education and Training Digital Content

AutoLAB

LJ Group

Special Educational Needs Solutions

Clicker 5

Crick Software

Primary and Secondary Hardware

Primary and Secondary Hardware

TurningPoint 2006

Turning Technologies /Steljes Ltd

Digital Content – Secondary (Other)

Digital Content – Secondary (Other)

SoundJunction

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

Digital Content – Secondary (Core Subjects)

Digital Content – Secondary (Core Subjects)

Cabri 3D

Cabrilog/Chartwell-Yorke

Digital Content – Primary (Other)

Digital Content – Primary (Other)

ArtisanCam

Artists@work in partnership with CLEO (Cumbria and Lancashire Online)

Digital Content – Primary (Core Subjects)

Digital Content – Primary (Core Subjects)

Interactive Literacy Year 3 & 4

Smart Learning Ltd

Early Years Solutions

Early Years Solutions

Simple City

2Simple Software

ICT making the news.....

School computer test scrapped

In the test, pupils face a limited series of practical ICT tasks A compulsory computer test for teenagers in England has been abolished, ministers have confirmed.

A statutory test in ICT (information and communication technology) for Key Stage 3 pupils (14-year-olds) was due to be made compulsory from 2008.

more.....


Pupils get home internet access

Ministers say pupils need internet access at home as well as schoolThe government is to set up a taskforce to ensure all children have access to the internet outside of school.

The government says more than 800,000 children and young people in England are currently not online at home and wants to close the "digital divide".

more......


Mini-computers 'bring test boost'

Hand-held computers are popular with pupils Boys who under-perform at school could be greatly helped if they used hand-held computers at home and at school, a study suggests.
A pilot scheme in Wolverhampton has reported improved results in maths and science after children were given the devices to use around the clock.

more .....

Ministerial speech now online

Transforming Education Through TechnologySpeech by Jim Knight 10 January 2007 , BETT Conference

It’s great to have this chance to reflect on the recent years of transformation through technology. In that time, floppy disks have become obsolete, air-line tickets have become outdated and video players a thing of the past. Technology is even moving faster than James Bond. He was seen texting in his latest film, though perhaps there technology is going backwards – I seem to remember him using a mobile to drive a car a couple of films ago. Our daily lives have been transformed through technology. Nowhere is that seen more clearly than in our classrooms. more.....

What is your opinion of what the Minister said? Will it help transform the teaching and learning process for you?

Education Minister delivers key address at Moving Young Minds Conference

The DfES has just published the speech by Alan Johnson at yesterday's Moving Young Minds conference, one of the precursor events to BETT.

Equipping children for a technological tomorrow, by providing schools with technology today

Speech by Alan Johnson

09 January 2007 , Moving Young Minds Conference

In recent years, the pace of technological advance has been startling. A sixteen year old child in London going to school on the Underground today might easily witness a passenger listening to a podcast on their IPOD, someone else drafting an email on their blackberry and another person editing a photograph on a laptop. All on their way to work None of this would have been possible just ten years ago, when that child was beginning their education. In Africa, change has been particularly evident: with internet cafes springing up in once isolated villages, and a rapid growth in mobile phone usage, as many communities bypass land-line use completely. We will only equip children for the technologically advanced world of tomorrow by supplying our schools with vital computer equipment today.

For the full speech visit latest speeches

Not long to go now

Only about another 15 hours until BETT 2007 begins and like every year I've been here its absolute bedlam on the exhibition floors as workmen, presenters and all sorts of other interested people busy themselves in preparation for the doors opening.

Its hard to imagine as you walk through the doors at mid afternoon the day before the event that the whole place will be transformed into a really top notch exhibition with huge stands bursting with the latest technologies mingling with the smaller stands with equally valuable education resources.

I'm in the Pillar Hall which will accommodate the International, NAACE and Leadership lounges and here too there has been hectic activity all day getting things just right.

What will be the most inspirational aspect of BETT 2007? Well only time will tell over the next four days when over 20,000 people will visit this event to gather information, be beguiled by all the rich resources and share experiences with colleagues from across the world.

If you see anything of note why don't you post your comments here.

Words & Music is described as a new generation of music software which not only allows pupils to make music but also to write lyrics.It allows the creation of up to three tracks, for example a single treble, alto, bass or percussion track for simple rhymes, chants, raps, and melodies, or two/three-track compositions for work on harmonies, call and response, rounds, sound effects, layering, etc.

What has been your impression of this resource when used in the classroom?