BETT, for those of you who don’t know, is an educational technology trade show whereby big and small companies vie for our money. Well, it’s not if you follow a network of like minded educators who use the show instead as a vehicle to promote free tools for classroom teaching and learning during the teachmeet takeovers, one of which I presented.

First I’m going to focus on the former, the selling and buying aspect. The majority of people attending the show do so to locate a product that will hopefully answer the needs of their school. Many people were buying yesterday but I expect those numbers are a lot lower than previous years. School budgets have been cut and spending has been tightened. Being frugal rather than flamboyant as in previous BETT’s seemed to be the footstep mantra. I spoke with many teachers who had the same response – we’d love to get it but we just can’t afford it. Look at the ridiculously overpriced Office365 for example.

What did work for me, just like last year, were the many opportunities to connect with other teachers and educators, with companies that do care about education more than the quick sale. All had the same message, all had the same idea. There’s more to education than just buying into the latest/greatest technological marvel in the hope it will cure all your teaching and learning woes. The chat, the talk, the discussions, the sharing of ideas, the focus on pedagogy and great practice which were demonstrated so wonderfully and with great passion by the many presenters of both Teachmeet Takeover and Teachmeet BETT2011. That is what makes visiting BETT such a great event for me; their ideas, their inspiration, their passion. That is what I’m taking back to my school and into my classroom next week.