The Educator Magazine UK May- August 2023 - Magazine - Page 8
The Bett Advisory Board’s
thoughts on Bett 2023
With this year’s Bett dubbed as the ‘best Bett ever’,
members of the Bett Advisory board reflected on this year’s
show and what the best bits were. Here’s what they had to say…
Amy Hollier
Director of Blended and Online Learning, Blended Learning Consortium,
Heart of Worcestershire College
‘Best Bett ever is an understatement!
What an event this year’s show turned
out to be. It was fantastic to see the huge
number of delegates attend, the buzz was
electric and the range of people I got to
meet from all around the world was
phenomenal. I was there for the first
two days and ran out of time to squeeze
everything in as there were so many talks
I wanted to see and networking I wanted
to do. I hosted the Bett Academy Live
theatre and got to witness the incredible
turnout for Dan Fitzpatrick’s talk on AI in
education. There were literally hoards of
people outside the theatre, 5 deep (pics
attached), trying to hear a nugget of Dan’s
wisdom in the world of AI. I can’t wait for
next year!’
the ExCel again. The amount of people
thirsting for knowledge around digital
issues was absolutely astonishing. Digital
transformation is changing the face of
teaching and learning and Bett is a key
catalyst in how the system moves this
forward. Bett has always build capacity
of attendees but the quest to find out
more about how digital technologies can
support and improve learning this year
was catapulted to a new level. With reductions in school budgets teacher
professional learning was a key facet
of the BETT delivery model. In several
theatres where I attended sessions the
line to get in was testament to passion of
educators to learn more to deliver better.
The range of diverse educational
providers assisted thinking and consideration of future school improvement
endeavours. I loved the robotics and
esports element as did the many children
engaging in the show. For me, Bett is the
coalition of the willing of educators and
providers who wish to provide support
and solutions that only guide today but
provide direction for tomorrow.’
afternoon that I can meet with and catch
up. I have a lot of colleagues and friends
who attend the event who come from all
corners of the globe and Bett is a great
gathering of everyone in one space.
I quite often agree to meet the
headteachers or IT leads of my partner
schools over a period of a couple of days
and wander the halls with them. If they
have previously highlighted a desire to
move in a certain direction, I accompany
them and act as their technology support,
making sure they find what they need
and highlighting the best options from
past experiences. I always stay close by
and make the most of the evenings to get
together with colleagues from industry
or schools for dinner. Bett is a great
opportunity to reconnect and find those
opportunities for collaboration.’
James Garnett
Graeme Lawrie
Corinne Latham
Principal, Seaview Primary School, Belfast
‘It is impossible to capture the sense of
feeling to see attendees flood through
Director of Partnerships, ACS International Schools
‘I have been coming to Bett for as long
as I can remember. I usually attend on
my own, but usually find people I know
the night before, during the day or that
Director of IT, United Learning
‘After many years as just a visitor it was
lovely to feel part of the event, albeit in
an advisory capacity. This year found me
hosting the Leaders @Bett which gave me
an opportunity to spend most of the day
listening to leaders in their field inform
and inspire others; sessions on
sustainability, digital exclusion and
MAT growth were ones I was glad not to
have missed. I look forward to returning
next year for more discovery and
networking on all things Ed & Tech.’