Walking around the show it was obvious that there were some big growth areas, one being remote learning. Several exhibitors offered components or complete packages to assist within this area which encourages pupils currently not attending mainstream school for reasons such as teenage pregnancy, expulsion and severe behavioural issues, to continue with their education. Accipio, a remote learning provider, conducted live lessons on their stand to give a true demonstration of the tools they can provide to secondary pupils in these situations. Managing Director of Accipio Learning, Ric Belfield said of BETT, "Teaching live on stand at BETT was a great success; it really illustrated just how the internet can be used at its best to provide education for those who cannot learn in the mainstream classroom. Having Andrew (who suffers from Asperger's syndrome) give two seminars was fantastic as learning with Accipio has really turned his educational career around. Accipio is already looking forward to BETT 2009."
Also the Marketing Director from Sam Learning, Mike Taylor commented, "BETT is always a fixed date in the dairy for visitors, exhibitors and anyone wanting to hear and see more about the latest innovations, policy and best practice examples. As always the SAM Learning stand, was inundated with questions, queries and a hive of activity for discussion and debate. "A few hot topics for discussion were; extended learning, home school links, personalised learning, assessment, effective implementation, learning platforms, Primary National Strategy and 2009 exam specifications.
"SAM Learning also shared the results from the recent Fischer Family Trust Impact Report which confirms e-Learning has a considerable impact on leaner outcomes."
Another part of the sector which we noticed a particular emphasis on was School Management from online assessment packages to digital registration many of the exhibitors were looking to capitalise upon this growth area. Serco's product Facility was a huge success and this I think was down to the comprehensive tools that the product offers within its one program. Decision makers could buy with confidence from Serco and numerous case studies were on hand to show the good work and improvements carried out in schools who have already implemented the package. SERCO.......
Aside from the exhibition BETT offered visitors a whole host of lectures looking at the teaching products and methods of the future. Two new sections of particular success were "Learner Voice" and the "New Technologies Zone". Learner Voice was launched with pupils and teaching staff in mind and was an opportunity for these two groups to voice their opinions about the methods and products which would help in the classrooms of tomorrow. The New Technologies Zone provided an area where decision makers could test and discuss products available to them before they decided whether it would be suitable for their school. This opportunity to test and assess product suitability meant that decision makers could make informed buying decisions and gain the best value from their yearly budgets.
