Posts made in January 14th, 2010

BETT2010 Day 1 Photos

Posted on Jan 14, 2010 in Conferences | 2 comments

Photos from BETT Day 1 below. I must admit there wasn’t a lot of “brand new” stuff on show that I found. It all seemed to be improvements on stuff from last year – bigger whiteboards, larger screens, 3D tech and software upgrades.

A few things caught my eye on the first day.

Shoofly were showing off their new module – “Pirates Chest and other body Parts”, which looks excellent. 2Simple were demonstrating 2 Create a SuperStory which also looks like a great addition to their software range.

A few stands were demonstrating Augmented Reality applications. SMART were demonstrating it as a proof of concept but one stand that was really showing off what it could do was the Specialist Schools Trust with their LearnAR software. They had organ models, radioactivity investigations and bones/joints on show – practical classroom applications for the tech. It’s still in it’s infancy, but very impressive so far. (more here)

SMART were showing off their new multi touch boards. A button on the toolbar will turn this mode on, then you can have two students using the board at the same time.

There were a lot of cheap chinese whiteboards on show – demonstrating Paint and Google Earth in the main. Remember, it’s not just about the board, it’s about the content.

My favourite thing on show was Musii - which is nothing to do with IWB’s but would be excellent in a Sensory Room within a Special School. Squeezing it in different ways changes the colour, and makes music. It was excellent!

More photos here

Get infected with the “I Can” virus

Posted on Jan 14, 2010 in Conferences, Presentations | 0 comments

This video was shown at last night’s TEDxOrenda event at BETT last night. I thought it was pretty inspirational. Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life’s most valuable lesson: “I can.” Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

And if they can do it… you can do it!