­
Exclusive: Review of Bett 2017 — ICT & Computing in Education
  • Front Page
  • Search
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Menu

ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
  • Front Page
  • Search
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Info
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy

Exclusive: Review of Bett 2017

January 18, 2017

This year's Bett show was very interesting indeed. There was much to see. So much, in fact, that it may well have been overwhelming were it not for the free interactive CD that was made available a few weeks beforehand. I can't report on all of it, but here are a few highlights.

Internet connectivity

As astonishing and exciting as this may sound, not only are many schools in the UK now connected to the internet, but some have even been able to connect their whole school network to the internet permanently, via an ISDN line. This is much faster and more reliable than dialing up with a modem. 

Of course, this makes pornography much faster to access, and therefore more attractive, so I'd highly recommend that schools look into using an internet service provider that filters access to the worldwide web or, as it is starting to be known, the information super highway.

Failing this, they should at least require both pupils and their parents to sign an Acceptable Use Policy.

New Informatics Course launched

The National Association of Co-ordinators and Teachers of IT (known as ACITT for some reason) announced its new IT course for secondary students. Called 'Informatics', it focuses on problem-solving using programming and information and communications technology. In essence it teaches a rudimentary form of systems analysis.

Times Education Supplement goes online

An exciting development is that the TES now has a website. This is clearly a growing trend among large organisations. Indeed, the Bett Show itself also now has a website.

Research Machines Window Box

Version 6 of the Window Box was unveiled at the show, and I think this looks very promising. It's a closed solution, meaning that unless you're an administrator you cannot get to the Operating System.  This should be welcome news for teachers who, until now, have had to try and prevent kids from deleting essential files.

The Window Box also comes with Word and Excel, but with a difference. Instead of presenting pupils with all the bells and whistles of the new Office 97 suite, you can choose to give them access to less-featured 'levels'. There are 4 levels in total, with the top one being the full blown version  of Word or Excel.

All in all, a very worthwhile experience, and one that will, I'm sure, prove a hard act to follow at Olympia next year.

Editor's note

We've taken the chrono-mechanism apart in order to isolate the problem...

We've taken the chrono-mechanism apart in order to isolate the problem...

Due to a technical glitch with our time machine, instead of going forward to Bett 2017 in order to bring you a review of the show before it had even happened, we accidentally went back to 1997. 

In fact, there is even an account of our visit in the archives of the now-defunct Micro Computer Mart magazine, as shown below.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the error.

The original review of Bett 1997 (Detail)

The original review of Bett 1997 (Detail)

Latest book: Education Conferences: Teachers’ Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences. Click the link for more info. Special Bett 2017 price: $0.99 or £0.99!


In News & views, Reviews, Professional development, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT Tags Bett, Review, conference
← Bett 2017 Bulletin #1Computers, life and work: some interesting 'background' reading →
Recent book reviews
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps

Some of these stories are so richly told, it can almost seem as though you’re right there with him.

Read More →
Review: Pen Names
Review: Pen Names

OK, so this has nothing to do with education technology, but we all read (I hope!). A very interesting examination of the pen names some authors have adopted, and why.

Read More →
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History

There's a really interesting section in this book about how ceramic storage of data and information is probably the most likely medium to stand the test of time.

Read More →
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps

The subject under discussion here is how human physiology has developed in different ways, in response to different conditions around the world.

Read More →
Review: Social Media for Academics
Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Read More →
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Read More →
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

Read More →
Review: The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History
Review: The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History

In some respects one could view this book as a single warning repeated 64 times.

Read More →
Review: The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street 
Review: The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street 

Taking readers from the Middle Ages to (more or less) the present day, Gray charts how the places where we do our shopping and what we buy have changed over the centuries.

Read More →
Review: Extraordinary Learning For All
Review: Extraordinary Learning For All

As a source of potential ideas and inspiration, the book could be very useful indeed.

Read More →
Dig+Ed+Banner.jpg

Contact us

Privacy

Cookies

Terms and conditions

This website is powered by Squarespace

(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved