Author: admin

Do you remember that one teacher who inspired you, who you thought was really ‘cool’? Did it make the subject more enjoyable and engaging?

Attention spans are getting shorter and old-style teaching is not working and technology provides the innovation we need.

There are a lot of young teachers who have grown up with technology and these teachers can be the ones that inspire today’s students. Technology, especially used with project focused learning, can provide excellent engagement with students. Technology is the tool to bring subjects to life and embed the knowledge into their young brains.

Currently 3D printing, when understood in all its wonder, is the top resource exciting teachers and bringing their lessons to life. For a long time, price has been a big barrier to schools having their own printer but with prices having come down significantly, they are much more affordable for schools now. Websites such as Thingiverse even have full lesson plans for most subjects including history, science, art and manufacturing. Teachers can personalise these plans and bring a different dynamic to their teaching. Children can print all sorts of items that they can touch and examine in detail making the learning process much more memorable. 3D printers also bring industrial manufacturing into the classroom!

Children absolutely love robots. Getting them building a robot covers so many areas such as design, construction and of course coding and programming. Drones are also popular and what better way of introducing children to the science of how things fly.

Virtual reality is a resource that has amazing potential and gets great engagement from children. Schools could ask parents to donate old smartphones, buy some google cardboards and have the capability to deliver lessons that include VR resources for the whole class for less than £100. Just think how much fun history would be if the children could get a gladiator’s eye view of the Coliseum in Rome simply by donning their VR headsets.

The BETT Show is a 4 day event which is held annually in ExCel, Dockland London and its the biggest educational technology event in Europe, and with a 100 acre size it gives you an idea of just the sheer scale of the event.
What’s exciting about the BETT Show is being introduced to the latest technologies for the education sector and the tools that can be used to teach students of our generation as well as looking forward to the future generation.
It can also be very exhausting and intensive going around the exhibition looking at these exhibitors for the 4 day period.

However, for the 2017 event we had the exciting privilege of showcasing the IDEAS Bus which attracted a lot of attention from visitors of all walks of life. E.g we met people from Dubai, Turkey, Ukraine, Israel, Sweden, Nigeria, USA and also school children.
We also had the industry partners providing their equipment stationed around the bus.
The highlight for me was actually interacting with the visitors at the show and showing them what the bus offers, plus having the opportunity for them to use the technology that’s used on our bus visits.