Comment from Alastair Crease
Time: January 10, 2008, 3:15 pm

Sounds like a pretty good summary of BETT to me - I’m in a seminar resting my feet as I write!

Comment from Ant Jessop
Time: January 10, 2008, 5:24 pm

I’m writing this on my Nokia N95 on the gallery of Olympia and I downloaded the audio thing from your blog to block out the sound of people trying to sell me rubbish with it too. You could get something similar and blog on the move, with flickr uploading thrown in! It’s all cheap with a decent data plan.

Comment from Martin Brown
Time: January 15, 2008, 7:33 pm

It was an English do but did you know that
Glow was at Bett? Several members of the team were there, presenting, attending seminars and asking questions at the stands. Jim Henderson, was fronting the NEN stand and talking about Glow and shared content which includes the LTS resource ‘Learning about Learning’, www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningaboutlearning.
This is a resource which I think may help to shape how we use Glow or other learning platforms, in the classroom.
RM had a second stand in Olympia 2 showing their flagship products one of which is Glow.
I enjoyed my three days at BETT with others from the Glow team. It was easy to be distracted from my mission: to look at (other) learning platforms, and to find out more about the personalisation of learning in England. It was also easy to find literature, discussion, presentation and seminars dealing with pedagogy, platforms and personalisation.
Some of the best stands for the latest innovations with learning platforms or VLE were:
The National Education Network
www.nen.gov.uk
Department for Education and Skills
www.dfes.gov.uk
Becta
www.becta.org.uk
Student Voice
http://www.schoolsnetwork.org.uk/
LP+(see LP+safari)
www.lpplus.com
www.shirelandlearning.co.uk
Fronter (see London Grid for Learning)
Frog
www.frogtrade.com
Gaia Technologies Plc
www.gaia-tech.com
Netmedia Education (Espresso group)
www.netmediaeducation.com
Clipbank (Espresso group)
www.channel4learning.com/clipbank
www.espresso.co.uk

My most memorable stands are LP+ and Gaia. The demo of LP+safari was excellent and the Gaia 3D Smartboard demo (wearing £600 specs) was amazing. I should also give Adobe a mention for my free sim card reader! The best freebee at BETT?
I also attended some interesting seminars and am happy to share my notes and photos otherwise check out the Becta site.
Two good seminars with quotes:
1. Personalising Learning-whats in it for me?
Bernie Zakary, Becta
“emerging technology is agnostic: it can reinforce traditional teaching or be used for self paced programs of learning”
“learning platforms are like car dashboards”
“teachers have a responsibility to design learning programs: personalising for the learner, with the learner and by the learner”
“every child should have access to an online learning space”
“teachers need more information about LPs and what to use first (functionality)”

2. Ten steps closer to the ICT pedagogy we need
Ralph Taberrer
DCSF (keynote)

“In the UK,we have high standards in ICT and pedagogy but do not get all the benefits we should (improving life chances)”
“Other countries in Europe, are doing better with less technology”
TheTen steps ( I think) are:
1. Self review and improvements in school management of technology.
2. More consistency in quality of teaching with technology.
3. Understand young people and their digital literacy better.
4. Allow learners to publish more often in school time.
5. Give parents more access to the school.
6. Remove artificial separations between formal and informal learning
7. Give clear advice on what to learn and how to learn.
8. Make the most of new technology; content and devices.
9. Provide an education service which is customer focused and personal.
10. Invest in change.