Month: March 2022

BETT 2022 (including day 2)

After my Bett day 1 post (read more here) I was intending to post at the conclusion of day 2 however having travelled home, feeling a little bit under the weather (but not covid thankfully), and suffering from Bett fatigue this just didn’t happen.   As such I thought I would combined my Bett day 2, and overall Bett post into a single post;  this one.

Day 2

So, day 2 for me didn’t get off to a great start as I woke feeling a bit under the weather, however thankfully the lateral flow tests indicated negative.    As such I decided to cancel a planned breakfast meeting in order to get a couple of extra hours in bed in the hope of feeling better.   I was also concious of having to travel home at the end of the day, having only been able to justify attendance at 2 of the 3 days of Bett, as such I thought the extra bed hours were wise.

I spent a bit of time of day 2 supporting the Association of Network Managers in Education (ANME) on the stand area they had on the NetSupport stand.   This was good as it allowed me to have discussions with IT staff from a couple of schools which I wouldn’t otherwise have talked with, discussing issues and possible solutions.   Again, this highlights the key benefit of the Bett show in the opportunity to network with colleagues.

It was while on the stand that Bukky stopped by for a chat.   I always come away from chats with Bukky feeling positive and upbeat and this time was no different.   We discussed a number of different areas including assessment and how there is a need to explore how technology can be better used to change the examinations and assessment systems which currently still rely on paper based exams.    Mark Anderson also popped by, and I was introduced to Esam from Microsoft leading to a nice group selfie.   I note on reflection, I may have briefly met Esam at a Microsoft FE event some years back however at the time and in the busy day and number of people met, I didn’t associate the face or name.  And this is a problem I often have at Bett, recognising who I have or havent met in the past, including those I have only met via social media;   It is however great when Bett provides you an opportunity to meet someone you have previously only corresponded with online.

During day 2 I also had the opportunity to meet up with an ex-colleague who is now working for a college.  He was at the event with a new apprentice, so it was nice to see them both exploring Bett and was a good opportunity to introduce them to the ANME, which I am not sure FE colleges are as aware of as schools.

Before I knew it, it was time to jump on the train and head home.

Bett 2022

I suspect on reflection that 2 days at Bett is likely to be about the most I could reasonably allocate to the show.   I will admit there were a few people I had wanted to meet, who due to time, etc I didn’t manage to catch up with, plus there were a few presentations I missed which may have been good to attend.   That said, I think this year, although the need for planning your time at Bett was clear, I also realised the importance of allowing some time to support those unintended catchups and meetings which could never be planned.

For me, sadly not feeling so great towards the end of the first day, and into the second day impacted on what I was able to achieve;  Sadly there is little I could have done about this.   It had been a busy couple of weeks leading up to Bett and I think this simply caught up with me.

Again, looking back, the key benefit of Bett is the networking opportunities.   During the two days I caught up with a variety of other educational professionals in different roles and in different educational contexts, and was able to chat and discuss the opportunities and challenges, including how technology is being, or could be used.    Without Bett, and similar other shows, these opportunities wouldn’t exist.     It was at this point I also thought about the ANME trail, which sees visitors to the show encouraged to visit a set of stands to try and win prizes;  I love the way this encourages visitors to follow a path around the venue, and in doing so hopefully encourages opportunities for networking and discussion.   

I didn’t manage to attend as many presentations as I intended during the two days, however I think this is partly due to some incidental meetings, which resulted in me not going to some of the presentations I planned to go to.  On reflection, I think this was a fair exchange.   The presentations I did manage to attend were all useful and informative, so it is definitely worth reviewing the programme of events ahead of Bett and planning which sessions to see, even if you don’t eventually get to them.

Conclusion

Bett continues to be a big event in the UK EdTech calendar.    I am not sure I go for the stands anymore, instead going for the presentations and the mainly for the networking side of things.   And the networking side of things never fails to deliver, especially following a 2 year absence from face to face meetings at Bett.

Looking forward to Bett 2023, I think I will be in attendance once again.   I suspect one area I need to work on is planning to visit more of the stands, and particularly those stands which represent new start-ups and solutions, as opposed to the established brands and products.  

Bett 2022 was another useful, memorable and fun event.   Here’s looking forward to Bett 2023.

Day 1 of BETT

OK so lets start with the usual BETT mishap, and this years one is a good one.   Basically had a breakfast meeting setup for during BETT, occurring in the centre of London.    So I departed my BETT hotel and headed out early in the morning, necessitating getting up around 6am.   And so it was I arrived early, found the location and took in some views of the Thames, before presenting myself at the venues security area, an area populated by around 15 security staff and me, their first visitor of the day.    But they had no reference of the event I was attending.   A quick look at the invite and it was dated the 24th March, tomorrow, I had just somehow got it in my head it was on day 1 of BETT.   I was not just early, I was 24 hours too early!     Now am not sure how I will ever top this one.

Networking

So, onto BETT itself.    The main benefit of the event is the networking side of things, and once again it provided on this side of things.    I spent a bit of time with the Association of Network Managers in Educations (ANME), spoke with Steve Beswick from Microsoft in relation to the Microsoft Surface Devices and inking and discussed cyber security and data protection with Tony Sheppard

I also said quick hellos to Mark Anderson and Al Kingsley on the Netsupport stand and to Abdul Chohan and Aarti Malani ahead of their session plus to Tom Dore from British esports (and am being careful to ensure I write esports correctly following Toms session) and Ian Stockbridge.     And apologies to others I may have missed off, in my foggy recollection at the end of a busy first day.   I will note I need to get better with my selfies, as despite the many hellos or quick chats I came away with very few selfies.

Esports and cyber

I took in Tom Dores talk on esports, which really highlighted the potential esports has as a vehicle to engage students and to promote soft skills plus also the digital citizenship skills and knowledge increasingly needed in this technological world.    This highlights my need to continue to encourage and support esports in schools.

I also took in two cyber security discussions, with the most significant comment being the need to discuss “Cyber Resilience” of schools rather than the narrower focus of “cyber security”, looking largely only towards preventative measures.   I also liked the 10 recommendations which one of the sessions finished on which included the need to adopt a “Continuous Improvement Cycle”, with this need echoed in the 2nd of the two sessions.   The need for the wide awareness of cyber risks among staff but more particularly as something discussed at a senior level, regularly, with this referring to daily or weekly rather than an annual discussion.

Interactive Panels

I wont make much of a discussion on this as sadly there were still quite a few companies hocking their interactive panels and projectors.   Not really that much of a surprise from a business perspective as, if you take them as useful, the market comprimses of every single classroom in every school, across the world;   As such I need to get over this issue;   As long as there is a market and a profit I suspect interactive panels will continue to show up at EdTech shows.    One interesting trend though this year, was the projectors setup to create large interactive floor surfaces or walls rather than your traditional board wall space.   It’s a minor variation of the interactive panel theme and I can see some interesting use cases with younger kids, but still feels a bit like old tech, just wrapped up as something new and shiny, and I note I saw i3 doing similar things almost 10 years ago now.

AI and Machine Learning

It came up in some of my discussions especially in relation to cyber security products, but as it was quite a busy day I didn’t really push anyone in defining how AI or machine learning was utilised within their products.   Maybe something to focus on in day 2.

Conclusion

Day 1 was a busy one.    My step count by the end of the day was around 15,000 steps, and being above 6ft tall, plus tending to walk at a brisk pace, this means I covered some surface area, in and around the chats and presentations.    Although BETT this year Is smaller, it didn’t really feel smaller.

Was it worth it coming down for BETT?    I would suggest it was however at the end of day 1 I wonder in myself whether I could have made more of day 1.    But that is an issue I am more concious of in myself these days, that maybe the search for continuous improvement leaves me always feeling a little disappointed no matter how things have gone.    Maybe I need to relax a little, network, have fun and just be content with having achieved all that I could achieve.

Some BETT Show advice

Its been a while since the last face to face BETT show, so I thought I would share what I hope is some useful advice in advance of the event.

Wear comfy shoes

There will be a lot of walking involved, although my understanding is that the event is smaller than it was previously, it still presents a significant bit of floor space.   As such it is important to be prepared and therefore to have comfy shoes on, and also generally comfortable attire.   That said, I suspect I will be in suit as per normal;  I once wore my suit on a trip with year 7 and 8 students to Blackpool zoo, so suspect this is simply a habit when working.

Bring a supply of Bru (or other drink!)

There are places to get a drink and a bite to eat but, in my experience, they can be busy, plus sometimes have limited choice, and tend to be expensive.    As such it’s worth making sure you bring something to drink with you, which in my case has to be “the bru”.   I will also be trying to get my usual Irn-Bru themed selfies as usual, but more on selfies later.

Have a plan

I think this is the most important piece of advice I can give.    With Bett I feel you get what you put in.   If you go without a plan, you are likely to get little from the event, or at least will get less than you could have got.    As such look at the programme of presentations, look at the stands, consider the colleagues who will be there and then consider what you want to achieve.   With this information you can now plan your trip, which stands you will visit, what speakers you will go and listen too, etc.    You can make sure that you get to the speaker sessions relevant to you and your school, avoiding the disappointment of a missed session.   That little bit of effort in planning your visit will pay off when you reflect back on what you have got from the event.

Selfies

The BETT Show is also a great opportunity to get some selfies in;   Now I have never been too good at this so it is something I need to work on.    When do you interrupt a little networking discussion to ask, “Can I get a selfie?”   The key benefit of a couple of selfies, is the ability to use them as a conversation starter online, and to engage with other EdTech people via social media.   Its also nice to keep a record of who you met and bumped into to reflect back later in the year or further into the future.    Am increasing aware of the need to gather photos as a record of my endeavours to help when my memory fails me.  

Enjoy and network

Above all BETT is a technology show, with people there to share their thoughts, to share their products and to generally explore technology in education.    As such take the time to network and meet people, discuss your thoughts and ideas and seek the views of others.   Enjoy the fact that for the duration of the BETT show there are people from all over, all located in the same building because of their shared interest in how technology can be used to support, enhance and redefine the educational experiences of our students.   BETT is the home of the EdTech crowd.

Conclusion

I have in the past been disappointed with BETT but in recent years I have come to realise it isnt about all the stands and the presentations, that which disappointed me, but about the people you meet and interact with while there.    Its about networking, and about a little fun.    So, with that in mind, I have a plan, my comfy shoes are ready, the Bru will be packed, and I will be off once more to network with as many EdTech enthusiasts as possible.

Look forward to meeting some of you on the BETT show floor, do feel free to stop me and say hi if you see me and if we don’t bump into each other, I just hope you have a great visit!

BETT Show 2022

It’s the BETT conference this week.   Last time I was there was 2020, as the last couple of years have been without it, without the biggest EdTech event in the UK calendar, so this one will be a little special.   As such I thought I would share some thoughts in advance of the event.

Lost again?

Let’s start out with the inevitable for me;  getting lost on the tube, missing a train, etc.  Will this year be the year I manage to get to and from BETT without any drama, or will it simply be another year, another transit related mishap?

esports

One of the things I am looking forward to is the inclusion of esports in this years event.   I see great potential for esports within education so it is nice to see that esports will have a visible presence at BETT.  Am particularly looking forward to catching up with Tom Dore and seeing his presentation on “Esports: What educators need to know that your students know already!”.    The potential is there, it is now just for schools and colleges to get on board.

Meeting and networking

For me this is the big reason for going to BETT.  It is the opportunity to meet up with colleagues from schools and colleges across the UK and discuss the possibilities and the challenges in relation to the use of technology in schools.    It is this sharing of thoughts and ideas, along with the common goal of BETT, that of supporting the effective use of technology in education, that brings me to the event most years.   

Cyber Security

I have spoken and wrote a reasonable amount on cyber security in schools over the last couple of years so it was with interest I noted a number of presentations on the very subject at BETT.    I will be eagerly attending a few of these to get an insight into others approaches and thoughts, to see how these align with my own and where there might be areas for me to build on and improve.   Cyber security is a growing concern for schools and I think the presence of a number of presentations on the subject just highlights this, but also that this fact has been recognised.

Interactive panels

I mention interactive panels, as my ongoing dislike for them continues although the reducing price point of them makes them a little more palatable.   The issue I have had with BETT over the last few years has been the number of companies showing off their interactive panels or interactive projectors or the new software they have for use alongside interactive display devices.   My issue with this is that SMART started selling interactive whiteboards around 25yrs ago, so in a tech conference I wouldn’t expect 25yr old tech, which in tech terms is an age, to be taking up such a significant part of the event arena.   Now I hope this year this won’t be quite as big an issue, and especially given I believe the BETT event has a lesser floor space than in previous years, however only time will tell.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI  and ML have been buzz words of the last couple of BETT shows however the reality is that the solutions reportedly using AI often weren’t.  It is my hope therefore this year to maybe see some interesting ideas or applications of AI and ML, beyond the speculative future gazing as to possible uses, or the mis-marketing of use, where it isnt.    I will however be honest that I suspect this hope will likely be dashed.

Conclusion

The BETT Show 2022 will once again bring EdTech enthusiasts together in a single building to share thoughts, ideas and solutions.   I will be there, and am looking forward to catching up with colleagues from other schools and colleges.   I will also be trying to take in as many of the speaker sessions as I can.  

I am once again looking forward to BETT.   Here’s hoping I won’t be disappointed (and that I don’t get too lost on the way there or the way back)

A need for wellbeing and digital citizenship

If the news shapes our view of the world what has the last few years done for our students?

The last few years have been rather turbulent.  First there was Brexit, and the binary views which sprung up around that.  You were either pro the EU or against the EU, with little room for any balanced middle ground.    Then next the news was filled with the pandemic, with nightly figures of deaths and infections.   Again, there were binary views around government measures to reduce infection rates and to encourage vaccination.    And more recently we have moved on to the war in Ukraine, and massive numbers of refugees exiting Ukraine while fighting and bombing continues.

In each case our news was filled with interviews, videos and other content regarding the issues at the time, with the news on Brexit, Covid and Ukraine drowning out the other news.   Social media was equally awash with content on each topic as it arose.

And for students consuming content via social media, via Instagram, snapchat, TikTok and the like, the news was all the more enveloping of their lives.    Technology, which should be keeping us more informed, which seems like a good thing, might be overwhelming us, and influencing us, which is not such a good thing.

Then we have the issue of fake news, with this being reasonably easy to evidence with Ukraine where footage and images have been shared online reportedly showing events in the war, but where the actual source is previous conflicts and in one case, even footage taken from a video game.   With students consuming quick content, so short videos or images, rather than more detailed reporting, you have to wonder how often the source of the content is properly considered.    I will admit myself, when accessing the likes of TikTok, that I may not be as critical of the content as I might be had I consumed it through another media which didn’t present thinks as bite-sized content, where swiping through is encouraged.

We also have the issue of social media being purposefully used to manipulate the public, which is linked to fake news mentioned above.  This involves more targeted messaging and fake news designed specifically to manipulate the narrative with the Cambridge Analytica scandal coming immediately to mind.    There were many discussions of this kind of manipulation of the public via social media during Brexit, and also during the US presidential election which was around the same time.  

Looking at the above it suggests that, if the news does shape our view of the world, students views of the world might be that little bit bleaker than they once were.    They might also be that little bit more susceptible to manipulation and influence than previously.

So, what can we do?

Two thoughts jump to mind, with these being the need to increasingly consider wellbeing and also the need to consider digital citizenship.

Wellbeing for me isnt a bolt on, it is central to our lives.   Sometimes our wellbeing will be good, and sometimes, when things are hard, it will be not so good.    The key therefore is the ongoing process to manage our wellbeing, our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, if I am to be a bit more exact.   And this requires a greater awareness of the status of our own wellbeing and of what we can do to influence it positively.    Now, I don’t think anyone ever taught or advised me of this, I think I picked it up through experience, plus a bit of reading around the subject, but I believe in this fast paced world we have responsibility to provide some support and teaching in this area for our students, which I know many schools already do; I just think we can never quite do enough in this area, so need to be constantly searching to improve and do more, with this more important than ever before.   

The 2nd area which comes to mind is Digital Citizenship and is something I have long been harping on about.   The world we live in is a technology driven world, so we need students to be more aware of the positives but also the drawbacks.    They need to see the balance which exists in using technology, plus see the extreme positives and extreme negatives through a pragmatic lens rather than the magnifying lens of social media.    Students need to understand the implications its use has on them and on the world, and how they can manage this, plus need to be alert as to how some others may use technology to their own gain.

Conclusion

It has been a difficult few years and there is no getting away from that.   These difficult times will have impacted on our view of the world, and on our wellbeing.    I think in general we are all that little bit more anxious than we were 2 or 3 years ago.    The key though, is how we manage the situation and move forward.   The key is resilience and agility to push through the difficulties and then drive forward to better things.

Coursework moderation, exam bodies and technology

One of the big advantages of productivity suites like Google Workspaces for Education or Office 365 is the ability to easily share and collaborate.   This is great within schools, allowing students and staff to share and work together on documents and projects, however I also believe it starts to provide some other benefits for education in general, such as in relation to coursework moderation and exam bodies.

I have long believed the exam boards have lagged a bit behind in terms of technology use.   I remember being a visiting moderator for a vocational IT qualification some 15yrs ago and being presented by mountains of print outs.   I was visiting schools across England to carry out moderation activities relating to the evidence students had created in working with technology tools such as website development tools, spreadsheets, email clients, etc, yet it was all being printed out for me to look at.   I dread to think, on reflection, how many trees were cut down in the process.     It was around this time that I decided as a teacher of the same vocational qualification that I wouldn’t repeat this mistake, so I worked with our network manager to come up with a way to structure student evidence such that it was easy to extract and burn onto a CD (remember this was 15yrs ago!) which could be handed to the visiting moderator, rather than trying to bury them under mountains of paper.  Through the CD the moderator would have access to all student evidence in a structured and easily navigable form as opposed to a pile of A4 folders of printed evidence.

Office 365 and Google both allow for the easy sharing of digital evidence, which solves the above issue which I had previously solved with a CD, some network setup and a few batch files.    Recently working with one department who were using OneNote to store student evidence, we made use of the Parental Link functionality (See instructions here) to share the content with a moderator.    In some other areas we are using SharePoint for example to share video evidence of student work.   Now some planning does need to go into this, as some schools will have external sharing turned off in relation to data protection, however with a bit of thought and configuration, a solution can be found. 

This all highlights for me the need for exam boards to catch up.   Why arent exam boards providing more guidance to schools in terms of easily sharing digital student evidence with moderators?  Why is it being left to schools and their moderators?   Given most schools will now have either Microsoft’s or Googles suite in place, now is the time to drive things forward.   And it is about time, as looking back, I was trying to go paperless 15yrs ago, prior to the bandwidth and sharing tools which now greatly enable this to easily occur.

Additionally, and looking a little broader, why are we still making so many students sit in large exam halls to complete paper-based examinations following 2 years where the pandemic has meant that students and teachers all over the world have been reliant on technology to collaborate, communicate and engage in learning.   Why arent we looking at how technology can facilitate exams?  Now I note some initial pilots are being trialled but to me it all feels a little late in the day.   Again, there is a need for things to be driven forward here, and I don’t sense the drive and urgency I would expect.  

I feel schools have driven forward their use of technology over the last few years, urged on by needs resulting from the pandemic.   This has been great to see and has left schools in a stronger positive in my eyes.   But why are some of the services which underpin our current education system, such as the exam bodies, not working harder to do the same.   My main concern is that these services may serve to drag schools back, losing some of the technology-based advances we have so recently made.

Why cyber security matters?

I have written repeatedly about cyber security and the fact that cyber security is an increasing risk for schools. In my view, it should be on the risk register and subject of regular discussion but why has it become so important?

Increasing amounts of data

As we become ever more digital within schools, we find ourselves gathering, but also generating, ever more data.   Whether this is the simple demographic data such as name, address, DOB and gender or other data such as browsing history through school filtering solutions and device information for personal devices.   We increasingly have online payment gateways for parents to purchase school lunches or uniform, or solutions which record health and allergy information.   We are gathering ever more data.   And with the ever more data, we are able to generate yet more data by combining it or inferring from it.    So, if the data is the new gold, then schools must clearly be untapped gold mines from a cyber criminals point of view.  As such cyber security is important in keeping school data safe.

Schools being hit

Looking at the newspapers and online press and it wont take you long to find a school or group of schools which have suffered from a cyber incident.    The reports often indicate the need for school closures while recovery is attempted.    This clearly shows that schools are being hit, and possibly even specifically targeted, and that a cyber incident has a significant impact.   Given this context, that schools are suffering impact from cyber incidents makes it difficult to not consider cyber security and mitigating risk as much as possible.

Schools as soft targets

The purpose of a school is education, teaching and learning.  As such its resources are focussed on this.   This means schools, despite having large amounts of data, are not investing in cyber security to the same extent companies may do.   This is both in terms of cyber security technologies but also, and possibly more importantly, in staffing with cyber security experience.  Now I feel this isnt that surprising given the general shortage of cyber security professionals and the resultant potential wages they can demand.   Schools will therefore find it difficult to match such wages.    Additionally, schools will have a variety of different systems and hardware, including student and staff personal devices possibly, all connected to their network often with updates unapplied or poor general security setup.  The focus of IT will largely be on enabling teaching and learning rather than maintaining a tight security perimeter.     This all leads to cyber criminals seeing schools as soft targets. 

Young Peoples personal data

Banks and other financial organisations are increasingly using data to identify unusual activity on an individuals account as a method of identifying and stopping fraud.    The challenge with young people is that, to start with, little data exists as they setup their first account, their first loan, their first hire purchase agreement and eventual mortgage.    Therefore, from a cyber criminal point of view, having access to sufficient personal data to initiate identify fraud is better with young people, where little data exists, than with older people.   With young people the first transfer into a bank account in the control of a cyber criminal is more likely to get lost in the wealth of other firsts for these individuals.    Again, this points to school data as a gold mine for future frauds and financial gain on the part of cyber criminals.

Safeguarding

We also need to consider safeguarding.  Students are increasingly online in schools and also at home.    Schools need to keep them safe in school, and cyber security is a part of this, in ensuring their online activities are safe and secure, their devices remain secure, etc.   Additionally, schools need to ensure that, through the data schools have on students, they remain safe outside of schools.   We need to ensure that their data remains safe and secure such that it cannot be used to malicious ends in approaching them online.  

Conclusion

Cyber security matters.   I would even go so far as to say critical.   All schools need to consider cyber security and not just as a one off but as an ongoing process.  Cyber security needs to be part of school culture in the same way that safeguarding has become part of school cultures over the last 20 years (it may be longer than this, but my experience is limited to just over 20 years).  We need to ensure we do all we can to keep schools, their systems, data, staff, students and wider community from cyber risks, to prepare for inevitable incidents which will happen and to make all aware.   It’s a big ask I think so first step is to ensure we have at least given it some thought, started talking about it and started sharing our thinking.   To that end I hope this post has been of some use.