Thought, Impressions, Inspirations from #Bett2015

I was in London to attend Bett Show 2015 last week. Presenting at Bett was a great experience but being there, visiting the exhibition was even greater than that.

The moment I stepped into the venue, I realized this was something I was not ready to experience but a few minutes later I got used to the hustle bustle there. Bett was a great opportunity to up-to-date your knowledge about education, attend seminars, workshops and talks, listen to the real people who practised things and get inspiration from the teachers and students who were there to present their projects, experiments and ideas.

It was interesting to see where education is, where education is heading to. It was unbelievable to meet the people who designed the tools and apps I’ve been using. It was beyond my imagination to see companies exhibiting in their language (not in English) to the people from their country (not for the global market), telling me that Bett was the place they could reach their buyers, users.

Technology is an industry that is constantly changing and the market leaders are present to shape the education, having read the new kids’ needs carefully. Mobile technology is shaping the way we teach, learn and even mentor. Things are on the clouds and finally it looks easier to teach according to a child’s special needs now. And as things are on the verge of a great change, the curriculums we are using are so old. Marc Prensky highlighted the need for a new curriculum. He didn’t say to wipe out everything and start from the scratch but pointed out that the kids need to learn real problem solving, negotiating, creating, adapting, etc. You can see his slide for the other suggestions he made.

There was something for everyone at the exhibition, talks and summits; for the flipped classroom, for wearable education, for blended teaching, for gamification, for telling stories…

I was also very lucky to get my copy of Sir Ken Robinson’s ‘Out of Our Minds’ signed by him and had the chance to listen to him just before leaving for home.

We teachers should be aware of the big change but as Bob Geldof said at his opening speech it’s the teacher who will make a difference on students’ lives, not the apps. As we all know and accept they are just tools and we need to use them effectively as we’ve always done with the simplest tools or the most elaborate ones so far.

 I’m planning to share some of the tools that captured my attention in the next few weeks.

 And a few words for London before I finish this post, I feel a bit blue leaving the city. The moment I left, I started missing London. Although I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, London is still somewhere special; elegant, inspiring, innovative, yet old and classy and very cool.