Introduction

There is always a danger that no matter how good an event like Bett is, it will turn out to have very little impact in the longer term, as you forget what you saw and more pressing concerns vie for your attention. Here are some suggestions for preventing that from happening.

Have a good rest

This is not entirely flippant a comment. I usually find that I need a day or two to recharge my batteries after a conference, especially if it’s a big one, and be able to reflect on what I've seen and heard.

Meet your team

(If you have one.) Arrange a team meeting for as soon as possible after Bett. Have each team member say what three things most excited them, and three new ideas they picked up, plus what needs to change in your current practice. OK, “three”” is an arbitrary and artificial number, but you get the idea.

Plan ahead

Draw up an action plan for following up. That may take the form of arranging visits to other schools, or demonstrations from suppliers, or introducing some new ideas into your lesson plans.

Meet the leaders

Arrange a meeting with the Headteacher or other senior leader as soon as possible after your team meeting. The aim is to discuss with them what you learnt at the conference that may impact what you are doing, or the school’s plans. If you discover that you are ahead of the game and don’t need to change anything at all for the time being, that is in itself an outcome that needs to be conveyed to your senior leadership team.

Make sure that you are well-prepared for the meeting, especially if you will be suggesting changes in what the school does, or you wish to ask for extra funding.

Also take into consideration whether your headteacher is a shoot-the-messenger type, if you need to report back on a new – and unwelcome – Government direction. For example, the Department for Education, just after Bett, launched an education White Paper which I hope to write about soon.

Give feedback

Give feedback to the rest of the staff on any key messages you picked up from the conference. This is as much for diplomatic reasons as anything else: for some reason, there are people who believe that spending 12 hours travelling and walking around all day along with thousands of other people is the equivalent of a day off.

Be patient

Allow at least a week after the conference to hear from any suppliers to whom you gave your business card.

Filter out the time-wasters

My view is that if suppliers to whom I gave my business card or who otherwise took my details don’t get back to me within 10 working days, what will they be like if I need to talk to them after I’ve bought their product or service?

And again:

Be on the grapevine

Find out what others thought about products and events seen at the conference. Use the tags mentioned in this article, and searching the blogosphere for posts about the conference.

Find out what I’ve seen and thought

Check the ICT & Computing in Education website at www.ictineducation.org for news and reviews about Bett. However, I have to point out that this year I didn’t attend it, so my knowledge is second hand I’m afraid

Do something strategic

For example, revise your education technology strategy or your assessment policy in the light of things you hear during the conference.

Follow up

Email people you’ve met and suppliers you’ve spoken to. For example, thank them again for an interesting conversation, session (if they were one of the speakers) or for useful information. If you offered to let them know something, such as a particular website, or to introduce them to someone, do so.

Share what you’ve seen and thought

Here are some ways to voice your own thoughts about the conference.

Write an article for me

If you would like to write a short article on your own experiences of Bett, please get in touch – see http://www.ictineducation.org/contact/.

Add your own comment

… to other people’s blog posts about Bett.

Write your own blog post about Bett

... and then publicise the link.

Key point:

Blog about the conference while it's fresh in your mind.

Tweet about it ...

... using the Bett hashtags.

Comment about it in Facebook ...

... if you have an account.

Write an article in LinkedIn

... if you have an account.

Concluding remarks

These suggestions have been adapted from my book. It was written a few years ago, but it’s still relevant. And it’s only 99p (or the equivalent in other currencies)!