As the title of this post suggests, I wasn’t able to go to BETT 2009 for one reason or another, although I have been going annually for the past eight years. However, this didn’t mean that I wasn’t able to learn about some of the new developments being shown off, or hear from those who actually were at the event.
So what did I discover from ‘visiting’ at a distance?
2DIY – This new software was something that I really would have liked to have seen first-hand at the show. It allows primary children to make their own Flash resources, interactive games, puzzles and quizzes. Anthony Evans has made some examples here.
New Senteo software - Danny Nicholson mentioned that v2 of the Senteo voting software was available in one of his blog posts. As a Senteo user at school, I’ve downloaded this at home over the weekend so that I can try it out before installing it in my classrooms.
Interactive tables - The Microsoft Surface and Smart Table were both at the show, and it would have been nice to be able to see them in action. While it might be a while before we see these in classrooms, it’s certainly interesting thinking about how they might be used in the future.
Teachmeet – This fantastic meeting of teachers and others involved in education is a great way of sharing what people are actually doing in the classroom. With lots of short presentations, there were a wide range of ideas shared which others can then take away and try for themselves. I was able to watch the Teachmeet via a live video stream, so didn’t miss out too much here (apart from the free beer).
Photoshop Tennis - One of the highlights of the Teachmeet evening was Photoshop Tennis, where students start by editing a given image using Photoshop (or other similar editing software). The new image is then edited by another pupil and this continues. There are some examples on the Flickr group. Since hearing about it, I’ve been wondering how a similar activity could be tried in a primary classroom, using some of the drawing packages available to us.
Admittedly, I would have learned about a whole lot more had I actually gone to the show, and I missed all of the seminars and presentations. However, by posting online, those who were at the show filtered through a lot of the information from the exhibition and highlighted the best bits for those of us who couldn’t make it. Thanks everyone!
There were a number of tools which helped me to find out about all of this:
1) Twitter – A large number of my Twitter friends did get to BETT and there were tweets galore about the things that they saw, heard and found. Using Tweetdeck, I was able to run a search for ‘#bett09′ and as people posted messages about the things that were going on, they popped up on my screen. The Teachmeet event on the Friday evening also had it’s own hashtag (#tmbett09) and as the event progressed, people posted their thoughts and experiences using that tag to make searching for their thoughts easier.
2) Blog posts – Lots of blogs mentioned the new things that people had seen at BETT. Using mobile technology a number of people managed to blog as they were going around the exhibition.
3) Live video – The Teachmeet event was broadcast live over the Internet, using Flashmeeting, Qik and Ustream. I watched most of the Ustream because it seemed to have better quality sound. Thanks to the person who set this up, as I didn’t see who was running it.
It was great to be able to read, see and hear people’s reflections of BETT as it was happening. However, I think that I really would like to go again next year and see things first hand. If I’m able to, I’d also love to make it to my first Teachmeet!
Image: ‘BETT in toy town tiltshift stylee!‘
