Last chance to register online for Bett (for free)

March 3, 2023

I’ve just discovered that today (3rd March 2023) is the last day to register online for free for the edtech show known as Bett.

Bett, by Terry Freedman — Bett. Photo by Terry Freedman

After Bett

March 28, 2022

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.

Bett 2022: What if you CAN’T go?

February 22, 2022

The Bett Show is the world’s largest education technology show. Sadly, the seminars are not going to be recorded this time. However, all is not lost. Here are some ways you can keep abreast of what’s happening.

On this day #21: An interesting meeting at Bett

January 19, 2021

Gosh! It’s ten years since I wrote about meeting at Bett someone who had approached me for advice from the other side of the world. How far off those days seem right now.

BettFest 2021

January 19, 2021

One positive outcome of coronavirus and lockdown is that we can attend Bett, or part of it, this year without moving from the comfort of our own homes. No more being crammed on the Dockland Light Rail along with hundreds of others, no more spending the day breathing lots of stale air, and no more aching feet!

Will Bett 21 happen?

October 1, 2020

For more than 30 years, London has hosted the Bett show, a mega education technology exhibition/conference. Will it go ahead in 2012?

Bett2020: Lexplore reading analytics solution --Updated

February 14, 2020

Updated — Explore helps teachers to analyse how children are reading.

Bett2020: Kaligo handwriting software

February 13, 2020

Software which helps teachers teach handwriting to children.

Bett2020: Safeguarding and Wellbeing

February 9, 2020

Developed in conjunction with the police, this product for primary (elementary) school children addresses both safeguarding and wellbeing.

Bett2020: Story-telling with Dipongo

February 6, 2020

An interesting variation on the story-telling app.

Bett2020: Robotics

February 6, 2020

I have my doubts about whether building a 3d model is helpful beyond a certain age, but it has a certain appeal.

Bett2020: Safeguarding

February 6, 2020

Some time ago I compiled a list of ways in which pupils could be unsafe online. The list was extremely long….

Bett2020 Reader Pen

January 31, 2020

A device that could help students with reading difficulties.

Bett2020 Neo Learning Management System

January 29, 2020

Reflections on the Neo Learning Management System, and on implementing a learning management system in general.

Terry catching up -- or trying to! By Terry Freedman

Articles update

January 29, 2020

So many articles (to write), so little time! I’m in the process of writing up my experience of the Bett Show this year: products and reflections. It’s going to take me a while to do, even after setting myself a limit of 100 words per article. So, in the meantime, are a few pieces to be getting on with

Bett2020 The scalability problem (part 2)

January 26, 2020

The issue of scalability is not confined to cost considerations, but time as well.

Bett2020: The scalability problem (part 1)

January 26, 2020

Walking around the Bett Show and looking at products and services, I was reminded (as ever) of the need to keep scalability in mind.

Bett2020: The aggregation problem

January 26, 2020

The scalability problem is rendered more acute when you discover several products you like the look of, all priced in a similar way.

Bett2020: Eye Gaze UPDATED!

January 25, 2020

A short account of a talk about Eye Gaze, which helps teachers to know what pupils with PMLD are looking at, and what they are ignoring.

Bett 2020 Seminars on day 4

January 24, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting on the last day of Bett 2020.

Recent book reviews

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!

Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

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

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.

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.

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.

Review: Extraordinary Learning For All

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

Review: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

One has the impression that the main role of the university these days is to maximise profit, while that of the majority of teaching staff is to ensure the ‘correct’ views are passed on to students. All the while, students’ main concern seems to be to seek protection from anything that might make them feel unsafe.

Review: Next Practices - An Executive Guide for Education Decision Makers

Is a 2014 book on managing the computing provision in a school still worth buying?

Still relevant (sadly): How to lie with statistics, by Darrell Huff

Although this book is over 60 years old, it is remarkably apposite for our times -- and especially in the fields of educational research and assessing pupils' understanding and progress.

Quick looks: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

It was a great source of pride to me, getting hundreds of students through their A levels and encouraging them to go to university. But for some time I have asked myself a question: would I recommend this route now?