Updated
Bett Futures
The Bett Show is over for another year, so I've been reflecting on what i saw and did.
As usual, Bett was noisy, vibrant, exhausting, exhilarating. I saw some good products, and spotted several themes, but by far the most enjoyable aspects were meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and taking part in some great discussions.
The point of the discussions, in my opinion, is not to find oneself agreeing with everyone's point of view, but to have your own thinking challenged and enlarged.
For example, I am not convinced that education technology is the answer to the teacher shortage. For me, teaching is mainly about relationships. Ed tech can help by enabling pupils to do more than they might otherwise be able to do, and by reducing teacher workload, but it's not the be all and end all.
Oldies but goldies. From left to right: me, Steve Wheeler, Simon Finch. Photo by Simon, embellished by Amy Burvall
It's the people that make Bett. I've been going for so long now (over 30 years) that I am continually bumping into people I know, which is great. Even though we are all getting on a bit (apart from me, of course: I am forever young, and have a picture in the attic to prove it!), our enthusiasm never seems to diminish.
It was also a privilege to meet enthusiastic young people, with brilliant new ideas. The world of ed tech is safe in their hands.
If you saw anything at Bett that you loved or hated or have some other opinion about, please complete this survey. It is my intention to collate the answers and publish a report, which will be available free of charge.
While you're waiting for that, here are some other articles about Bett 2017.
You Bett we did, by Steve Wheeler
Thoughts from Bett 2017 Day 1, by Oliver Fisher
Bett 2017 Themes, by me
Bett 2017: 10 Strategic Questions
An economist goes to Bett: 4 useful concepts from the world of economics
The articles by me (above) are currently exclusive to subscribers to our newsletter, Digital Education
Finally, someone pointed out to me that not everyone would have had the time to think about buying my book about getting the most out of conferences before or during Bett. Therefore, I've decided to keep the price at £0.99 or $0.99 for another week. Here's the link to the book on Amazon: Education Conferences: Teachers' Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences.