On Friday 27th January 2017 I visited the BETT Show for the first time at ExCel London, reputed to be the largest educational trade fair in the world (Buckingham, 2011). Straight away from registering at the computers in the entrance, it was clear how much technology being used in the classroom has moved on from myself being a student in a primary school classroom. There is considerably more money invested into classrooms becoming digital classrooms. “According to BESA, around one-third of UK schools send teachers to the show each year” (Buckingham, 2011:2).
For instance, I read this news article (King, 2016) in which a school in Gateshead was backed by Samsung in which they invested extra technology into this school. “Andrew Riley, a key stage 2 teacher at the school, said: “At Bede we feel there is a very clear relationship between academic achievement and the digital classroom, with every pupil who has taken part in lessons in the classroom progressing by at least two levels.” On the other side of the argument, Selwyn (2011) states despite the beneficial claims of technology in the classroom, we must develop a critical and questioning approach, as none of these claims are necessarily accurate of the realities of technology use in education.
As a Computing Specialist it was immensely valuable to see in real life how many Primary School ICT Coordinators go around and choose what software, hardware etc. they are interested for using in their classrooms. Whilst looking around BETT I saw many companies that I would say have already succeeded and are commonly found in many primary schools. For example, SMART or CTOUCH for frequently used for their interactive whiteboards. Also from my BSE2 placement, I saw 2Simple being used to share work and achievements with parents of the Year One classroom I am based in. As stated by a Clevertouch report (2016) “Today, 51% of teachers and lecturers feel their employment is dedicating sufficient budget to digital tools. However, a third (33%) still feel their establishment isn’t putting enough resources into educational technology.” Therefore as a reflective teacher, it is important to recognise the perception schools have on funding into technology for education.
Many big companies were present at BETT with multiple talks going on throughout and even before 2017’s was over, advertisement for 2018 had already started…
In my personal opinion and in response to my previous blog about my predictions to BETT, it was very similar to what I thought. It was brilliant and it is so inspiring to see how much support there is out there for a huge range of needs that can be found in the classroom. However, it was the conversation of “HI THERE!” “Hi, I’m a student interested in possibly using your product in future. What can you tell me about it?” “Oh, well look in this brochure and have a nice day…”. The stands of sales people ranged from obsequious and fawning so you would buy something to overzealous sycophants who expect you to NEED their product! I can see myself returning in future, but I need to keep my wits about me or I’ll go and spend money just for the sake of it. I believe my experience is not seldom as Buckingham describes sale pitches as varying “from the minimalist to the hyperactive, although the latter are much in evidence” (2011:3).
Video URL – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIcJo23lnrc
References:
Buckingham, D. (2011) Beyond Technology, Cambridge: Policy Press
Clevertouch (2016) The rise of the digital classroom, Clevertouch news report, accessible here: https://www.clevertouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Clevertouch-mini-market-report.pdf
King, S.L. (2016) Bede Community Primary School reports increased attainment through the use of technology in the classroom, SchoolsWeek news article, accessible here: http://schoolsweek.co.uk/bede-community-primary-school-sees-attainment-soar-through-the-use-of-technology-in-the-classroom/
Selwyn, N. (2011) Education and Technology, London: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
YouTube Video (2017) The Bett Show 2017, accessible here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIcJo23lnrc