BETT Show, Olympia, 12-15 January 2005

The British Educational Technology and Trade (BETT) show is targeted at the education market and specifically the primary and secondary sector (5-18). This isn’t my normal client base but the show is useful because after substantial government investment the education sector is ahead of industry in innovative use of ICT to support learning.

There is an eclectic mix of companies and organisations exhibiting at the show. Centre stage are the government funded bodies themselves - the DfES, Teacher Training Agency, Becta (the Government agency for ICT in education) and the National Council for School Leadership (NCSL). Key players in ICT such as Apple and Microsoft were also there - Apple promoting it’s user friendly machines and software - Microsoft it’s office applications plus it’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) product Class Server. Macromedia was also there showing its creative development tools (including Dreamweaver and Flash) and also its Virtual Classroom product Breeze.

Interactive whiteboards are clearly big business in the education market with products from a variety of companies and accompanying software applications which make the most of the format’s advantages. I have used these interactive whiteboards at a number of venues and though they take a little getting used to, if used thoughtfully, they can really improve interaction in a presentation or workshop. Crucially, like most technologies, you have to try them to really understand how to get the most from them.

“Interactive whiteboards are the most common method of interacting with large visual displays, a key benefit being the ease of manipulation of texts and images. This kinaesthetic motion of dragging images and text into correct positions can assist in embedding learning and understanding of concepts and links to pedagogical approaches based upon visual, auditory and kinaesthetic approaches to learning.” www.nestafuturelab.org

Some highlights at BETT 2005:

Microsoft Class Server
Although late to market with their VLE product Class Server Microsoft appear to have developed a tool that nicely supports the conventional classroom based approach. Based on a range of existing Microsoft technologies (including SharePoint and IIS) Class Server provides an integrated schools portal aimed at teachers, students and parents. Though it’s targeted at the education market I can also see it having potential within a corporate learning environment or as an added value service from a dedicated training provider.

Virtual Classrooms
Virtual classrooms are going to grow in popularity as pressure grows to train people more quickly and more cheaply. One of the most polished is Macromedia’s Breeze which combines video, VOIP, IM and presentation facilities to provide a virtual learning experience that is the next best thing to actually being in a classroom together. None of the individual elements of Breeze are new but the way it combines them and runs on Flash technology within a standard web browser makes it a product that has enormous potential.

NESTA Futurelab
“NESTA Futurelab is helping to transform the way people learn. We're using new and emerging technologies to create rich learning resources that are involving, interactive and imaginative.”

NESTA Futurelab is an initiative of NESTA (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) and is funded from National Lottery cash. They fund projects which break new ground in using technology to support learning. If you think e-learning or virtual classrooms were cutting edge check out their upcoming workshop on ‘artificial emotion technology’.

ExLink: www.nestafuturelab.org
ExLink: Microsoft Class Server
ExLink: Macromedia Breeze