Bett is the first industry show of the year in the education technology landscape. With the slogan "transforming education,” the 34th edition of the Bett Show (London, 24-27 January 2018) brought together some 850 companies, 100
start-ups and 35,000 attendees to discuss the future of education
and the role technology and innovation play in enabling all educators and
learners to thrive. Bett 2018 featured edtech solutions for the early
years, K-12, secondary education, higher education and SEN.
On my first participation at the Bett show I wanted to learn more about the latest edtech products and to connect with tech-savvy educators and industry influencers from around the globe. Besides getting up to date with new exciting tools and networking with edtech innovators, I was particularly interested to find out what proven and promising practices that are "transforming education" in rich countries could be brought to the most marginalized settings and meet the diverse needs of all students, in particular refugee and displaced children and youth.
Bett offered a compelling insight into how technology is impacting education and teaching. I was blown away by the diversity of content, amazing products and innovative solutions.The volume and quality of the exhibitors was impressive. Here are my 5 takeaways from Bett 2018:
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| Source: Bett 2018 |
1. Virtual Reality meets education.
As witnessed at Bett 2018, we are seeing a rapid adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in education. These technologies offer multisensory, immersive and engaging experiences to significantly increase students’ knowledge and enhance learning. VR/AR solutions are suitable to teach almost any subject: art history students can visit the Uffizi gallery, marine biologists can explore the Great Barrier Reef, and history students can travel back in time to Ancient Greece. Using stand-alone head-mounted displays (HMDs) or a combination of glasses and mobile devices (e.g.Google Cardboard), these solutions are often curriculum-aligned, delivering a fully immersive VR/AR experience under the teacher’s control.
As witnessed at Bett 2018, we are seeing a rapid adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in education. These technologies offer multisensory, immersive and engaging experiences to significantly increase students’ knowledge and enhance learning. VR/AR solutions are suitable to teach almost any subject: art history students can visit the Uffizi gallery, marine biologists can explore the Great Barrier Reef, and history students can travel back in time to Ancient Greece. Using stand-alone head-mounted displays (HMDs) or a combination of glasses and mobile devices (e.g.Google Cardboard), these solutions are often curriculum-aligned, delivering a fully immersive VR/AR experience under the teacher’s control.
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| Source: Bett 2018 |
2. Going full STEAM ahead.
STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. "STEAM" was huge at Bett 2018 with an impressive number of solutions, products and tools (including "tech toys" and robots) to help students discover computer science, coding, robotics and 3D printing in an accessible, fun and interactive way. By bringing STEAM to the classroom with games, coding and kits, these solutions aim at teaching 21st century skills to inspire and prepare the next generation of engineers, designers and scientists for the 4th industrial revolution.
STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. "STEAM" was huge at Bett 2018 with an impressive number of solutions, products and tools (including "tech toys" and robots) to help students discover computer science, coding, robotics and 3D printing in an accessible, fun and interactive way. By bringing STEAM to the classroom with games, coding and kits, these solutions aim at teaching 21st century skills to inspire and prepare the next generation of engineers, designers and scientists for the 4th industrial revolution.
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| Source: Active Floor |
3. Redefining the classroom.
Schools are embracing innovative technologies and techniques to help move their classrooms into the future. The 21st century classroom is a fun space where kids learn, play, explore, interact and collaborate. As seen at Bett 2018, interactive floors and walls create immersive experiences where children learn while having fun and being active. A smart classrooms also features interactive whiteboards paired with innovative softwares to create unique engaging and interactive teaching and learning experience.
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| Source: Bett 2018 |
4. Data-driven teaching and learning.
At Bett 2018, I observed a significant number of edtech tools and solutions tools to help teachers in their efforts to plan, deliver and assess their students’ learning. If used appropriately, these solutions can help educators deliver differentiated, individualized and personalized instruction. For example, companies are creating edtech tools that collect and use students’ data to help them achieve better outcomes. There are smart solutions out there that are able to determine how well individual students are doing, where they are struggling, and how they can be helped to improve on their scores. Similarly, I noticed a vast offer of digital solutions for tests, exams and other types of learning assessments (links below).
At Bett 2018, I observed a significant number of edtech tools and solutions tools to help teachers in their efforts to plan, deliver and assess their students’ learning. If used appropriately, these solutions can help educators deliver differentiated, individualized and personalized instruction. For example, companies are creating edtech tools that collect and use students’ data to help them achieve better outcomes. There are smart solutions out there that are able to determine how well individual students are doing, where they are struggling, and how they can be helped to improve on their scores. Similarly, I noticed a vast offer of digital solutions for tests, exams and other types of learning assessments (links below).
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| Source: Microsoft |
5. Professional learning resources to boost educators' edtech skills
Along with hundreds of edtech startups , Bett 2018 hosted several well known tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Adobe. Apple was notably absent perhaps due to Microsoft's sponsorship and protagonist role at Bett. Besides presenting new products and solutions, they also promoted their online learning resources and certification pathways for educators. Adobe Education Exchange offers collaborative courses, taught by educators for educators, to learn how to integrate digital media and creative problem solving into the curriculum. Google for Education delivers online courses on Google tools with certification programs available for educators, trainers and innovators. Microsoft courses cover their tools and softwares as well as teaching how to integrate technology into instruction. Badges and points are awarded to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator.
Along with hundreds of edtech startups , Bett 2018 hosted several well known tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Adobe. Apple was notably absent perhaps due to Microsoft's sponsorship and protagonist role at Bett. Besides presenting new products and solutions, they also promoted their online learning resources and certification pathways for educators. Adobe Education Exchange offers collaborative courses, taught by educators for educators, to learn how to integrate digital media and creative problem solving into the curriculum. Google for Education delivers online courses on Google tools with certification programs available for educators, trainers and innovators. Microsoft courses cover their tools and softwares as well as teaching how to integrate technology into instruction. Badges and points are awarded to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator.
Conclusion
The 2018 Bett show was truly impressive. It was great to meet and connect with educators and innovators from across the globe who share my passion for transformative learning. At Bett I discovered a wealth of remarkable technological solutions that empowers teachers, students and parents to learn more together. Many of these products and solutions could seamlessly be adopted by educators and school leaders in humanitarian settings and education in crisis situations.
Join the conversation
Is Educational Technology (EdTech) the solution to solve the "learning crisis" in emergencies and crisis contexts? Join the conversation by adding your comments below and/or via twitter using the hashtag #edtechumanitarian
Andrea Naletto
Education Adviser, Middle East Regional Office (Amman)
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Twitter: @nale_andrea
Email: andrea.naletto@nrc.no
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