Bett 2020 Seminars in the afternoon of Day 3

January 24, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting in the afternoon of Day 3 of Bett 2020.

Bett Seminars in the morning of Day 3 of Bett 2020

January 23, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting in the morning of Day 3 of Bett 2020.

Virtual Reality Headset, by Terry Freedman

A good application of Virtual Reality (I think)

January 23, 2020

Using the MEL VR headset and software at Bett2020, I entered the molecule of a diamond, followed by that of a pencil.

Bett 2020 Seminars in the afternoon of Day 2

January 23, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting on the latter half of the afternoon of Day 2 of Bett 2020.

Bett2020 Preview, screenshot by Terry Freedman

The Bett2020 Floor Plan

January 21, 2020

As the Bett Show has grown immensely in terms of the number of halls there are, it’s worth grabbing the Preview Guide. It has floor plans spanning four pages.

Terry Freedman's Bett 2020 Supplement

January 20, 2020

Here is my list of interesting-looking seminars at the Bett Show. It’s divided into days, from Wednesday to Saturday. I hope you find it useful.

Listen up! The audio side of Bett 2020 -- UPDATED

January 19, 2020

UPDATED and CORRECTED! News about Bett Radio and the EdTech podcast at Bett2020.

Coming soon: my seminar recommendations for Bett 2020

January 18, 2020

I’ve gone through the Bett seminar programme, and highlighted the ones that I’d go to if (a) I could be in several places at once (I’m working on that) and (b) needed to know about a much wider range of issues than any person does.

Bett 2020

January 16, 2020

A heads-up about a pdf guide to Bett. Three articles in particular are worth perusing.

Bett 2020 Dates for your diary

December 10, 2019

Bett 2020 is coming…

Virtual reality: a solution desperately seeking a problem

June 7, 2019

A lot of Virtual Reality ‘solutions’ I’ve seen are just a massive waste of time and resources.

Data for its own sake is pointless

June 5, 2019

Unless data can be turned into information, what’s the point of collecting it?

The 4 stages of Bett

January 30, 2019

The four stages of Bett, illustrated.

Bett 2019: some photos

January 27, 2019

Here are some of the photos I took at Bett 2019.

Pick up your free unofficial Bett guide at http://bit.ly/TFBett19 — Pick up your free **unofficial** Bett guide at http://bit.ly/TFBett19

Bett 2019 News Bulletin 2019-01-25

January 25, 2019

(Very) quick looks

Here are a couple of the things I’ve seen at Bett so far.

Robots

Kubo: teach younger children coding by placing physical objects (“tactiles”) on to a special board, thereby making a small robot travel. You can build up surprisingly complex programs. Concrete learning definitely has a place, though you will need to be very hot on classroom management to make sure bits don’t go missing.

DF Robot: They make and sell kits for the Micro:bit and other such devices. I liked the modular aspect: you can add sensors of various kinds, and there is an add-on which gives the Micro:bit internet access. Impressive.

More news soon, probably after Bett. Look out for more product reviews, and an interview with Mitch Resnick, probably in my newsletter Digital Education in the first instance.

In the meantime, I’ve compiled a list of hints and tips for Bett, along with the seminars I find most interesting, and various organisations’ ed tech predictions for 2019. You can download the free pdf from here:

http://bit.ly/TFBett19

Bett 2019 News Bulletin 2019-01-22

January 22, 2019

More news regarding Bett.

Bett 2019 News Bulletin 2019-01-21

January 21, 2019

If you’re attending Bett this year, these news items may be of interest.

The Education Show 2019

January 17, 2019

The Education Show is going on next door to the Bett show this year, on 24th and 25th January. Here are pointers about a few of the sessions going on.

Bett2019 Pointers: a personal perspective

January 16, 2019

There is tons to see and hear at the Bett show this year — even more so than usual I think. Here are the things I’ve earmarked for myself, based on the assumption that by next week I will either have mastered the technique of being in several places at once, or somehow acquired a team of ten people.

Getting the best out of Bett2019

January 15, 2019

Here are a few words about the revamped (I think) Bett show in London, and some tips on how to get the most benefit from attending.

Recent book reviews

Backlist: The Written World

Writing was invented ‘only’ a few thousand years ago. It’s a fascinating story.

Backlist: What I'm reading: Bounce

What does it take to become an expert? And what can the Computing teacher do about it?

Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution

The title of this book invites curiosity: what were the other three ‘revolutions?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.