Tag: BETT

BETT 2025: Cyber resilience and schools

On the Friday afternoon of BETT 2025 I had the opportunity to deliver a session on cyber security for education, called “cyber resilience and schools: lets get pragmatic”.   Now I will admit I was a bit worried with it being a day three afternoon session, would anyone turn up, however the session was very well attended which was great.     One thing I will note though is that when I asked about the roles of the various people in the audience, around 95% of them were from technical IT roles.    I get why this would be the case however I worry that this is symptomatic of cyber incidents still being see as an “IT” issue rather than a school wide issue.   When an incident happens, although IT will be the people working hard to resolve it, it will be the whole school which is impacted including in relation to administrative tasks like registration and parental contact, teaching and learning, pastoral and wellbeing support and much more.    Cyber resilience, or cyber security if your prefer that term, needs to be seen as a school wide issue so my thanks and applause go to the small number of school leaders who attended my session, and I hope they found it useful.

My presentation broke down into four main areas, being the current context of schools and cyber security, the need for risk assessment, the need for incident preparation, and the basics which schools need to be doing to limit risk including reducing likelihood and impact of an incident.

In relation to the context it is pretty easy to see the impact and risk in relation to cyber and schools with one school being forced to remain shut at the start of the first week of BETT due to a cyber incident.   The ICO also acknowledged that reported incidents in 2023 had grown 55% over those in 2022.   If putting a cost figure to things, cyber crime world wide is estimated to reach $10.5 trillion dollars this year.   So cyber crime will definitely continue and will continue to hit schools.    One key challenge for schools though is the limited budget available, both financially and staff resource related, to tackle cyber risks and cyber resilience.    This highlights the challenge for schools however I noted a discussion in an industry event where they talked of whether doubling cyber related budgetary spend might half the risk;  The common consensus was probably not.    So, cries for more money, although money would help, would not solve the challenge.

It is therefore about risk management and balance.   Schools can be more secure but in doing so this might impact on flexibility, and therefore on the educational experience of students.    We need to seek to risk assess, identifying our risks, their likelihood and impact, plus the mitigation we could or have put in place, complete with any implications of such mitigation.   Once we know our risks we can plan accordingly in terms of mitigation or incident planning.

My next main point was the need to accept that cyber incidents are a “when” rather than an “if”, and based on this we need to prepare ourselves.    For me this is where desktop exercises are useful, actually working through an example incident with colleagues to identify what needs to be done, by who and when, plus to identify any assumptions which may have been made in terms of how an incident would be responded to.    Now this was one of the exercises from my session however the key value is in conducting such exercises in your own school, with a cross section of your own staff and therefore where the exercise can be tailored to the specific needs and context of the school.    It is all about thinking about the processes in a safe environment of a desktop exercise rather than in the heat of battle in the event of a real life incident.

The last section of my presentation, which may feel a little backwards in relation to having looked at risk management and incident planning first, was that of how we might pragmatically delay an incident occurring or limit its impact.    As I mentioned earlier we don’t have the resources of enterprise organizations so we cant simply throw money or resources at the problem.    For me this therefore means we need to seek to do the basics in terms of cyber resilience.    This refers to forcing MFA, patching as many servers as we can, providing users only with the access they truly need, etc.   It is these basics that will reduce the risk level for our school and college, and hopefully see criminals moving along to the next school or organisation in the hope of an easier target.   And generally the basic steps don’t cost the earth, other than some time to undertake them.

Conclusion

My summation for the session was very much about the need for cyber resilience to be seen as a school wide issue and therefore for it to be discussed at the highest levels including governors/trustees and senior leadership.    They need to have a sense on the risks being faced and guide in relation to seeking to address these risks.   They may not know the technical side however they set the risk appetite and therefore guide the spending of resources, including IT staffing, plus the balance between security and flexibility, which includes flexibility in the classroom.    They should also be central to considering the “what if” scenario and considering how the school might respond to cyber incidents such as data breaches, ransomware, etc.    It is better to prepare than to have to work out what you are going to do while in the midst of a cyber crisis.   And lastly is the basics, we simply need to do these as they are the most cost effective method to delay or limit the impact of a cyber incident.

Cyber crime isn’t going away, so we need to plan and prepare, and not just the IT staff. 

Now if you wish to review my slides or the resources, which included some cyber incident cards for a risk assessment exercise, then you can access them here via Google Drive.

BETT 2025: reflections part 2

Continuing on my reflections of the BETT conference from my previous post, I found sir Stephen Frys discussion with Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon to be quite interesting in the exploring “science reality” and how some things science fiction have come to pass, plus in looking at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has actually been around for some time.    In terms of science reality, I did a presentation last year where I referenced an episode from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where it appears that captain Piccard is using a device very much like an iPad or other tablet device.     It is notable the episode aired in the 1980’s and focused on events from the 23rd century, when in fact the iPad made its appearance in 2010.   For me this highlights that science fiction sometimes presents us with novel and interesting ideas, that people then seek to make happen.   It also highlights that we are pretty crap at predicting the “when” of things with any real accuracy.

In terms of the longevity of AI, the concept has been discussed since the 1950’s with period of progress and then periods of quiet, with one particular quiet period known as the AI winter.    The reality is that the current progress of AI, as discussed by the sir Stephen and Dr Imafidon, is likely the juncture between increasing computing poor and increasing “oil fields of data”.    I found the point regarding how we “sleepwalked into the internet age” interesting, highlighting we cannot do the same with AI, but did we truly know what the impact of the internet was going to be, so can we truly know what the impact of AI might be?      I also found discuss of how social media focussed on “maximising engagement” to hit the nail of the head especially when this was expanded to include maximising bias, hatred and other negatives.   The term socio-technical skills as something we should possibly seek develop, was a new one on me, but I can see the point.

The discussion then progressed to education and assessment categorising the implications of ChatGPT for cheating as a minor issue brought about by the education system we currently have.    This aligns with some of my views on the need to reform education.    Education is not about tests or coursework, it is about learning.  It isn’t about grades.    I found the comment regarding our current system “testing for ignorance” and then pushing it, to be a particular telling and critical assessment of the world we consider to be education.    In the roundtable on assessment I took part in, that was one of our discussions regarding how coursework and exams are simply scalable for use across different schools, regions and countries, so we use them due to this scalability rather than because they are the best thing for education or for learning, or for our students.   

As the discussion moved back more towards AI there was an interesting discussion on AI development in terms of how we often describe AI as currently being the worst it will be, and that it is constantly improving.  This is fair to a point but sir Stephen referred to the internet as “filling with slop” and “contaminated” and if we assume that AI continues to use the AI in its training data then it too may become contaminated so it maybe possible to suggest that AI might be at its best now and only get worse as it becomes more contaminated by its own “slop”.    And who controls the AI and its development.  It was suggested that the three worst options might be the three groups most likely to lead the way on AI development, being countries, corporations and criminals.   In all three cases I can see the outcomes being far from positive and we can already see the internet being used to political and national ends, for pure commercialisation, consumerisation or profit, or for crime.   

I could likely write a whole series of blogs based on the session by sir Stephen and Dr Imafidon however rather than focussing on that I just want to share how they finished the discussion, on the need to find the “sweet spot”.   The need to find a balance between pessimism and optimism.   Now this aligns very much with my view of balance, in that most good things will have some balancing drawbacks or challenges.   We need to try and find our way and find the best middle group, the “sweet spot”.

The next session I watched before hitting the BETT conference floor was a session titled “Education in the AI era”.   Again I could write a lot about what was said as I found it to be very interesting indeed but am going to avoid doing that.    One key comment mentioned 30% of teachers not using AI;  My sense is this figure is lower than the reality.   The data came from TeacherTapp which I think is great, but I also think that the subset of teachers using TeacherTapp are likely to be those who are a little more tech savvy and therefore likely to use AI, and that a greater proportion of those who don’t use AI will also not be using TeacherTapp.  The bigger and possibly more important question is why some teachers who know of AI aren’t using it;  Is it they don’t know they are using AI, but are, that they don’t have access, lack training, lack confidence or something else?    In terms of access, this session also mentioned access to technology and affordance, which to me links to the concept of digital divides.

I also liked the discussion on banning and blocking AI where they compared it to knives in food tech.   Why would we ban AI in some or all subjects when we know knives can be dangerous, yet don’t ban them?    Now I know that this is a very simplistic and flawed analogy and that it was likely used for effect rather than accuracy, but I think the point is valid;  How often has prohibition of anything ever been beneficial or effective?   It just tends to make people do it more, but do it in secret.

This session finished on the big question, which had also been raised the previous night at the Edufuturists event, in terms of what the purpose of education is?     In terms of what we measure, tests, coursework, grades, are these what truly matters?   And if not, what does matter, and how might we measure it, assuming we need to?

That’s some pretty deep questions to end this post on, but that’s where I found myself and I was still in the morning of day 1 of BETT.   The afternoon would see me getting around the event and doing the networking side of things, which for me is one of the main benefits of BETT, but the sessions from the morning, and some of the other sessions I attended across the conference were also very beneficial in stimulating thoughts and ideas, and in some places in confirming or challenging some of my thinking.    Next BETT post to follow soon……….

BETT 2025: reflections part 1

Last week was the BETT conference and the annual pilgrimage for EdTech peeps the world over, to London.   Its 3 days of tech conference complete with some excellent speakers, trade stands, events and meetings.   For me, this meant three and a half days non-stop with a lot of learning, a lot of sharing and a lot of networking.    As I write this on the train home my social battery is very much depleted but the train ride does provide me an opportunity to reflect, albeit I suspect if I were to stop and relax I would be asleep in seconds.  And I just wish my laptop was working properly, however it seems to be suffering from BETTLag leaving me trying to write this on an iPad but without a keyboard as I opted for the lighter case rather than the heavier one with integral keyboard.  Doh!

So where to start?   I suppose the best place to start is with my usual travel woes.   Am not sure why I seem incapable of a trip out without some sort of issue however this time was no different.   Basically, I arrived at the train station to park my car and get the train to London to find there were no available spaces.    With less than10 minutes until the train this didn’t allow for much searching for an alternative place to park the car leaving me no option but to park it on the road, but outside someone’s house next to the station.    Am hoping they weren’t too annoyed by my parking where I suspect they would normally park however the lack of spaces, and this is despite me having already paid, left me no real choices.    Thankfully after this my journey was reasonably without any further drama except for google maps seeming to indicate I was walking backwards as I navigated from my hotel to the Canva and Edufuturists event on Tuesday night.  

The main thing which struck me from the Edufuturists event was the discussion in relation to culture, and its importance.   This is something I have thought to be true for some time and actually something I presented on when interviewed for the post I now hold.   The required topic for the presentation, from what I can remember, related to developing a technology strategy and culture, however in my presentation I talked at length about strategy, before bringing it back to culture and how culture underpins everything.    A good plan with a weak culture, will remain a good plan but is likely to be poorly implemented, but a poor plan within a strong culture will likely see the plan improved on, driven and developed to positive ends.  Culture eats strategy for breakfast.     I will note that the Edufuturists event felt a little bit strange being in the nice clean professional offices of Canva, whereas my last Edufuturists event, the UpRising event, was held in a slightly different style of venue.   That said, it may also have felt a bit strange as I was to be seen wearing jeans rather than my usual suited and booted look, something that at least one person pointed out to me.   I was however equipped with Irn-Bru as normal, so at least some things never change.

Another thing which struck me in relation to the EduFuturists event was the engagement of those in attendance who all were eager to learn and share, and to do whatever they could to try and drive and support education in its many forms.    My phrase of choice is the David Weinberger quote, “the smartest person in the room is the room”, and in the room with the EduFuturists, I felt we were all that much smarter together, and the collaborative culture made for some really interesting and thought provoking conversations.   These included discussions on the need for continual learning, on personalisation, on accessibility and more.

Wednesday saw the first day of the BETT conference and I loved the phrase David Verry used in referring to AI as a “weapon of mass production”.    The question we then have from that is what such mass production means for us in termly of how it shapes the news, how it shapes our beliefs and identity, what it means for something to be original and much more.   

The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson, the secretary of state for education was next up and it was nice to hear how she emphasised the “power of tech”.    There has long been great potential available through technology however to date the situation varies significantly across schools in terms of access to technology, support, training and the other prerequisites needed before we get to actually using technology in lessons.    It was therefore nice to hear reference to the need to “close the digital divide” although personally I prefer to refer to “divides” rather than a singular divide given there are so many factors which impact on the disparity in relation to tech in schools.    AI was obviously a fair part of her speech, as it was for many others across BETT this year as AI continues to be the shiny new thing being talked about.    For me here there is a risk that we are speaking so much more about AI that we are not speaking about some other things such as the basic infrastructure, data protection, training and culture.      I also noted a sense that the discussion was very much about AI and teachers, where this is achievable with limited tech in schools, rather than AI with students, and the need for 1:1 devices, where this would require significant investment in devices but also in infrastructure.     She also talked about seeking to address an “absence epidemic” however for me, the key here was when she talked about “belonging”, as this links back potentially to the Edufuturists discussion in relation to culture, and for me is likely something significantly bigger than just the education sector, extending into wider society as a whole.    I wonder if social media, globalisation, increasing migration for work, etc, are meaning that on average people are feeling a lesser sense of belonging than they might have done in the past?    Is the social fibre, the communities of the past, breaking down or at least changing?

Caroline Wright from BESA was up next and her comments regarding the need to focus on the basics, things like infrastructure, training, funding, etc, rather than the “shiniest new thing” struck a cord with me.    I continue to be a big fan of the potential for AI to assist teachers, and for it to help reform education for the better of our students and their future, but I also worry that it is the current shiny thing which everyone is talking about meaning we are speaking less about some of the basics we need if we are to truly see the potential benefits.

I then stayed to listed to Sir Stephen Fry before making my way onto the floor of the main BETT show and beginning my meetings, networking, etc, but for now I will leave that for a future post to be shared shortly.    My step count to this point was reasonably low but it was never going to stay that way.

BETT 2024 – Initial thoughts

So travel on the annual Bett Show pilgrimage began on Tuesday evening, still suffering  a little from a flu bug I had come down with over the weekend, but this time with a bit of company from my son for the travel down.   My usual scatterbrain was in effect first thinking I had left my headphones at home when in fact they were in my jacket pocket.   So boarding train 1, then 2 and all seemed to be going ok when scatterbrain kicked in and I realised I had left my water bottle in the cars central console;  Not great considering I have a bit of a tickly cough which I hoped the water bottle would help with.  Oh and a full water bottle is a Bett 101 requirement.   As the BETT conference progressed I was that busy and engaged in so many interesting and thought provoking discussions that I became unaware of my cough.   By the end of the 3 days, and 5pm as I sat waiting for a train, I was knackered however I had thoroughly enjoyed and found useful the whole event.   The energy, positivity and community spirit was exactly what I think I needed after what has been a difficult period of time for me on a personal level. Possibly for me it was my best Bett ever!

As I posted the other week, Bett for me isnt really about the trade show but about the networking and discussions, plus the various presentations.    And once again this was true.    This year was all the more interesting and fun with the opportunity to meet a number of people I would consider as legends including Ross McGill (TeacherTookit), Tony Parkin and Amanda Pickard to name just a few.   These are people I have followed from afar, occasionally interacting via social media but I had never met them in person despite being in the same venue (usually Bett!) at the same time on numerous occasions.   As such meeting with them and having a bit of a chat was great although being so busy and focussed on the chat meant I missed the opportunity for selfies, actually finishing the conference with only a couple of selfies;   Abid Patel would be disappointed by my poor performance!    On top of these legends there were catch ups with other edtech stars including Sarah White, Bukky Yusuf, Mark Anderson, Emma Darcy, Darren White, Abid Patel (the selfie king!) Gemma Gwilliam, David Horton, Miles Berry, Tom Dore, Kalam Neale, Patrick Hickey, Al Kingsley, Kat Cauchi, Ian Phillips, James Garnett, Jonny Wathen, Alessandro Bilotta, among many others (I wish I could list all but that would likely turn into a post in itself so apologies to those missed off).   There was also a gaggle of ANME Ambassadors (Based on some of the laughter at times, I think gaggle seems like the most apt collective noun here) to spend time with, share thoughts and ideas with, and to walk around the show with the giant read Swag Bag.  It was pretty full on but with each meeting and chat, even where only brief, I felt that bit more positive in relation to the technology in education space and the energy, purpose and drive of those working in this space.   The potential for technology is there and there are also the people and increasingly the networks of support and advice.    Maybe through this we can see the reform of an education system which has changed little in over 100 years?    Maybe we can also seek to address the digital divides which increasingly exist?

Divides

This was a subject for some discussion over the 3 days however am not going to write much here as I would like to focus on this topic as a blog in itself at a later date.     The key however is that in education there are definite and widening digital divides.   This might be access to reliable fast internet for staff and students in a school or college, it might be a future thinking digital strategy or student devices, it might be training to support teachers in using technology, access and encouragement to use AI or IT support staff to keep the tech running and maintain cyber security;  The divides are many and I feel they are growing currently.   Dan Fitzpatrick mentioned them in his brilliant AI talk, with AI being another divide between those that have and those that have not.   A lot of those people I talked with are those who have moved things forward, are aware of the issue and working towards addressing it however the challenge going forward is how we help and encourage those schools who are yet to fully engage in the importance and power of technology.  Now I note, when funds are limited and when other cost pressures continue to arise putting a focus on technology may prove to be very difficult however we need to engage, be aware and try and take positive forward steps.

Balance

I have talked about balance on many occasions in that any positive change likely has some costs, and that there is always some sort of balance involved.    So it was great to hear Darcey Bussel kicking off Bett and talking about technology but the balance with health and wellbeing.    Yes technology can make us more efficient but is efficiency the ultimate outcome for human kind?   If we were meant to be more efficient why dont we work 7 days or work longer each day?  In relation to technology it makes me think of email;  It made us more efficient in our communication but in doing so just meant we communicated more, sometimes when we didn’t need to or where emails were the wrong communication method.   So we now spend more time reading emails and maybe the net effect is that we are less efficient.  But maybe being human is more than this, maybe human flourishing isnt simply about efficiency, and maybe the only reason efficiency matters is to allow us more time to focus on what matters, whatever it is that enhance our lives and the lives of those around us.  

And as to Darceys opening session which involved getting everyone in the audience up and dancing I note this wasn’t something I was comfortable with, although I did feel better for it, plus I had committed the Bett sin of failing to wear comfy shoes;  I should know much better than this.

Conclusion

I had wondering about maybe giving BETT a miss this year however some scheduled meetings led me to conclude I needed to attend for at least 1 day.   Previous experience told me, if making the trip down, 1 day is never enough to make it worthwhile so it became 2 days and then I found out about Dan Fitzpatricks talk on Friday and this made me decide to go for 3 days.   I wasn’t sure it would be worth it, but in hindsight it was the right call as it was a manic, fun, busy, engaging and thought provoking 3 days.   Now I just need to allocate some time to sit down and work out what my actions are following Bett 2024 as the event isnt the end, it is the actions which come from it, the relationships and networks which we are building and the resultant impact that this all has on education and most importantly on the students in our schools and colleges.    For all the technology it is still about our students, their learning, the opportunities we can provide and the skills and experience we can provide to support them in their lives beyond school.  

And so I will sign off in writing this post although I am planning at least one further Bett follow up post and I suspect many future posts will also have origins in chats from Bett 2024;  I will finish here though before Bett fatigue sets in!

BETT 2024

And so the BETT 2024 conference looms next week and I will once again be visiting and once again my reasons are the same.  I am not so much going for the tradeshow element of the event, although I will take a wander round and speak to vendors to find that something new and interesting which will be impactful in school, my main focus will be on people and sharing.    One reason for attending BETT will be to listen to some of the brilliant people sharing their thoughts, ideas and wisdom including Georgina Dean, SJ White, Donald Clark, Dan Fitzpatrick, Laura Knight, Dr Neelam Parmar, Al Kingsley and Stuart Walker, to name but a few on my plan.    I will also be there to have planned meetings with individuals such as Emma Darcy, Gemma Gwilliam, Abid Patel, Ian Stockbridge, Jonny Wathen and James Garnett.   I will try to get involved including recording a little podcast content on the NetSupport stand plus will hope to have some less planned but equally valuable meet ups with the likes of Mark Anderson.   Additionally, I will be trying to spend a little time with the ANME ambassadors offering support where possible to the IT staff working in and across schools.

Although my aim is not really to attend the tradeshow, all of these meet ups, the discussions and the resulting thinking and actions which come from these meet ups are only possible by the tradeshow and by BETT as a whole pulling so many education professionals into the one venue for up to three days.    As a result this year, although I have already planned most of my itinerary I am going to try and make a little bit of an extra effort to give the tradeshow more of my time, compared to previous years, as I suspect if the tradeshow was to collapse we might also see the BETT event, that annual technology and education pilgrimage disappear and with it the potential for so many educational professionals to benefit from coming together, meeting, socialising, sharing, discussing and debating, something which I can personally attest to having benefited from ever since returning back to the UK back in 2015.   

So with that am going to share some advice (and hope that I myself will actually take it this year!):

  1. Come with a plan;  Decide which presentations you want to see, who you want to meet, etc.
  2. But leave time for yourself to stop, consolidate your thinking and plan future actions;  The benefit isnt in attending sessions and meetings, but in what you do as a result of them.  Give yourself time to consider your next steps.
  3. Wear comfy shoes and clothes;  Not sure I will be able to convince myself to go casual rather than wearing a suit but I need to seriously consider it.
  4. Bring liquids;  I carefully say liquids as for some that will be coffee, water, or other drink.   For me it will be……….well I shouldn’t need to say, so will leave that for you to work out!  
  5. Get some selfies;  Another one I am not good at but is great to get some selfies as a record of the event and the conversations.   Is very useful from a reflection point of view although am yet to work out when is the best time in a conversation to ask the selfie question.

For those attending BETT I hope you all have a great event and if you see a tall Scotsman wandering around holding and drinking from a can of Irn-Bru, that’s me, so do feel free to stop me for a chat.   The more me all share and discuss things, the better collectively we all become.   

BETT 2024, here I come!

BETT 2023: Some reflections

BETT 2023 has been and gone so thought I would write my usual reflections piece.   I think this was my sixth BETT conference since returning back to the UK, a figure that pales into insignificance when compared to some of my friends and colleagues, however now exceeds my visits to the UAE GESS/GEF event.     It was a busy few days with lots of walking, lots of talking and a fair amount of listening too.  So what did I learn and how did it go?

Networking

The key reason I continue to attend BETT is the networking side of things, to meet up with friends and colleagues and share thoughts and ideas in relation to the use of technology in education.    Am not going to try and list those I met up with this year through fear of missing people out.   This year didn’t fail to deliver on this front although, as has been the case in the past, there were many people at the event who I failed to meet or catch up with.   I suspect this will always be the case given the importance of planning your trip ahead of time, meaning that there is only so much time available for those impromptu and unplanned meetups or for reaching out via social media to try and locate and meet up.    I will note that my selfie collection this year is once again a poor comparison to others often due to being too engaged in discussion to even think about getting the phone out for a quick selfie.  Maybe a note-to-self for next year is needed here.     On a more positive note it was great to hear from a few people who had read some of my previous blog posts or had listened to the “In our humble opinion” podcast which myself and Ian Stockbridge have been producing recently. It always great to hear that there is an audience although, as I have noted in the past, I find the process of blogging and podcasting useful in itself even if no-one reads or listens.

Presentations

I attended a number of the presentations during the course of BETT with those I attended mainly taking the form of panel style discussions.    I think this worked very well when compared with the “sage on the stage” style presentations which were more common in the past.   It allowed for a number of panellists to put across their views and approaches in relation to the given topic while highlighting that there is seldom a single solution and the important need to consider school context.     It also highlighted for me the importance of discussions, including discussions like those of the panellists, to help us share practice and improved collectively as educational professionals.

It was nice to hear panellists present thoughts which agreed with my own such as the importance of considering context when looking at data, the importance of culture and the need to accept technology advancement, and then identify how best to make use of it and best manage any risks.    One particular session which touched on Artificial Intelligence provided some of the standout comments in relation to technology being neither good or bad, but simply being “here” and also the risk associated with AI in regarding its potential for “automating inequalities”.  I also particularly enjoyed the esports discussion I attended which once again highlighted for me the potential which esports has within the education space.

Stands

As I pointed out last year I no longer go to BETT to visit the various stands although I will note I did visit a number of stands for quick discussions and to touch base with companies which I am either using or likely to be using in the near future.   I therefore avoided my usual frustrations with the number of interactive panels, floor and wall solutions as are normally on show, although my sense is they were, as always, dominant at the event despite representing a technology which must now be approaching 30yr old.   It was Dave Leonard who pointed out the BETT futures area as a specific area of the BETT conference to visit focussed on the new startups and the new solutions, and I will admit it was here that I had the most interesting and useful stand based discussions.    Data analytics and the use of the block chain to store certificates or identification documents being two of the more interesting topic discussions I engaged in.

Themes

Across the BETT event I believe there were a couple of themes which stood out for me.    These were:

  • Artificial Intelligence: this has the potential be a significant catalyst for change in the world of education representing many potentials and also a number of risks and challenges, and it is here, now!   We need to seek to adapt to this new normal and to use this new tool in the best, most effective and safest way possible to support our learners.
  • Digital Citizenship:  I use the term very loosely to including cyber security, data protection, online safety and digital safety, however in an increasingly digital world this continues to be increasingly more and more importance yet the resources to address the challenges, principally time to discuss and educate students, teachers and parents, isn’t currently there.
  • Culture: The often used quote of “culture beats [or eats] strategy” is true in the importance of culture, but what does this actually mean?   It makes for a nice one-liner when asked what the solution to the EdTech, or any other, challenge is, or what we need to focus on, but how do we seek to action “culture” and develop it across the board, in all our schools?   This was a question well raised by Al Kingsley in a session he chaired and a question I think we all need to consider.

The mishap

OK so I have shared my reflections but as always BETT had to come with a mishap and it would be wrong of me not to share.   This years mishap was a wardrobe issue in deciding to wear my new suit to the event.  It hadn’t been out of its suit carrier since purchase and I thought a nice new suit was perfect for BETT;  Remember I am rarely seen out of a suit when on school business even if it means a trip to Blackpool zoo with students or on a history field trip.     So as I headed out of the hotel room in the morning for BETT and just as I went for the door my wife noticed the back of the suit jacket still had a security tag on it, and it wasn’t for budging.    So no suit jacket for the duration of BETT. Doh!

And possibly more importantly I only brought a couple of cans of Irn-Bru so found myself having to drink Fanta instead;  The BETT organisers had failed to ensure that there were vendors selling Irn-Bru on site. The horror of it!!   Such a failure in their consideration of equality and diversity!

Conclusion

BETT 2023 was another useful event.   Lots of walking, listening and talking.   I do as always wonder if it delivers on the time and expense of attending especially given 3 or 4 hours on a train in each direction, plus hotel accommodation, but then this might be me just having unrealistic expectations of what the event can deliver.   I know others that are far more positive of the event than I am so wonder if maybe I am doing something wrong or not making the most of the event?   Flipping it on its head, if I didn’t go, would I achieve similar value, and save money, in just attending school over the days of the conference?    I suspect the answer to this flipped question is clearly no and therefore BETT continues to be the place to be.    And maybe its as simple as that, that if you are involved in Technology in Education then for the duration of the BETT conference you simply have to be there, at least for some of it.   As such I suspect 2024 will once again see me at BETT with a detailed plan in hand, still failing to adhere to the advice re: comfy footwear and clothes, but with more Irn-Bru to hand this time!

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)