The latest trends in mobile learning, social media in education, interactive learning, e-learning, the flipped classroom, technology for special education needs and the latest technology used in teaching and learning were all on show at this year’s BETT exhibition, the most important fair for ICT in education in the world, which was held in London in the third week of January.
The world’s biggest brands such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Adobe, Cisco, HP, Pearson, Intel, Epson, Dell, and Panasonic together with smaller and more specialised technology companies all presented their latest offerings and ideas on how technology is supporting education in the 21st century.
Some of these companies and their products are present in the Maltese educational system, such as the Fronter e-learning platform for state primary and secondary schools provided by Pearson, Microsoft and HP, while there is potential for new players such as Google.
Maltese educators were also present at BETT, observing closely the latest trends and speaking to suppliers and potential partners in view of the ever-increasing role of e-learning at all levels of education, especially the introduction of tablets in Maltese primary classrooms in the near future.
Rather than being just a huge market with many stalls, BETT provided live classrooms, interactive stations with students and teachers invited to try the technology on the stands, several seminars and networking opportunities.
The BETT Arena for example was a large conference area where speakers discussed the most crucial topics and innovations in education, such as flipping the classroom (students learn at home and get support from teachers at school), how to harness big data being generated by the digital world, social media in the classroom, learning by playing games, and an interactive workshop about the new computing curriculum which will be introduced in the UK as from this September. Some of these issues such as social media, the flipped classroom and computer studies in primary schools are also being considered in the Maltese education system.
Another major event at the exhibition was the School Leaders Summit that offered the senior leadership teams of K-12 educational establishments the opportunity to hear from other education professionals who can help make sense of all the changes going on in technology in education.
Educators who have been recognised for their outstanding practice presented inspiring case studies to motivate their peers and stimulated dialogue on how to promote excellence in education. Topics discussed including demystifying the role of the tablet in the classroom, the impact of implementing 1-2-1 iPads across the school, case studies on encouraging children to use their own mobile devices for educational purposes known as ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD), and the use of Twitter for lesson planning and delivery.
BETT gave the opportunity to higher education professionals involved in IT provision to share ideas, future-gaze and streamline technology decision-making.
Being such an important event attracting in one place educators and players in the ICT industry from around the world, BETT was also used as the perfect opportunity to host fringe events before or during the exhibition. This included the Apple Educators Summit which provided educators from around the world with a glimpse of how Apple technology, especially its iPad tablet, is being successfully integrated in schools.
On its part Microsoft partnered with the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation to deliver a two-day workshop on the design and deployment of mobile technologies in education. Maltese educators also attended these meetings.
The BETT exhibition and the related events remain an important window of opportunity for educators and the ICT industry to come together and understand each other’s needs to give better mutual support.
However, one aspect was made quite clear throughout the exhibition and related events: at the end of the day, educators and the students are the most important thing and not the machines.
Having engaged and well-trained teachers is as important as having the latest and best technology, while education managers should listen carefully to what teachers, students and parents have to say.