Dan, Qaixen Consultant, reveals his top tips for getting the most out of BETT, the education exhibition of the year, in his latest blog.
Place your Betts! 29-31 March, ExCel London
It’s that time of the year again, everyone! Dust off your lanyards as BETT, the education technology event of the year, is here and ready to amaze you with every possible Edtech solution you never knew you needed! With over 600 exhibitors, BETT expects to welcome around 30K visitors during this 3-day event.
I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for BETT, my education setting would be nowhere near where it is today on terms of both technology and curriculum.
However, BETT is massive and it is quite easy for subject leads or head teachers to become overwhelmed by the vast nature of this annual education event. In this month’s blog, I’ll be looking at how to effectively prepare for BETT, as well as the do’s and don’ts of attending this educational technology wonderland.
Plan, plan and plan some more
Going to BETT without a plan of what you want to see and who you want to meet is akin to letting a child loose in a toy shop without a time limit!
This isn’t so much of a problem…unless that “child” is also in possession of the school credit card! Regular readers of this blog will understand the dangers of upsetting the business manager and how it is just not worth the risk.
It isn’t just important to have a plan, it is vital to ensure that you know exactly what your education setting needs. With a clear plan in place, you will be one step closer to ensuring that your visit will run smoothly and you can collect all the information you need.
Your plan doesn’t need to be detailed. The 2 hour journey it takes us to get to the London ExCel Centre will provide more than enough time to think carefully about what our trip should be focused on. This may seem straightforward, but I was often surprised, when talking to other subject leads, that they had just come to BETT to look around without any purpose or goal.
This runs the very real risk of spending money on tech you just do not need. Or missing out on testing a tech you do need – as you were distracted by something that you don’t.
Make a list
· Interactive white boards need replacing?
Make a list of all the suppliers exhibiting and their locations across the exhibition halls.
· Does your school have an increased focus on SEND?
Look for providers who may be able to assist with accessibility needs.
· Looking to find a solution for recording first aid information and other related incidents?
Review your existing hardware and consider what you need to do to make this happen.
Don’t get distracted
Yes, distraction. This is very easily done at BETT
There are a lot of exhibitors at BETT. Over 600 this year. And it is very easy to become enthralled, entranced and overwhelmed by the number of solution providers, vendors speakers, presentations and freebies.
I’ve witnessed many a teacher caught in the web of sales because the exhibiting company was giving away free chocolate while promoting the “next big thing” in technology to come into the educational sphere.
As hard as it is, you must be strong of will. Stick to your plan. Visit who you need to see and ensure you prioritise important decisions first. Once you’ve got what you need, then allow yourself some time to peruse other vendors. Remember who, what for and why you are visiting BETT, and you will make good, informed decisions.
With this in mind, don’t be afraid to say no to people. Vendors are there for one purpose and one purpose only, to sell your school their products. The majority are happy to give a brief talk about what they do and then let you go about your day. However, some can apply hard sell techniques and to the inexperienced, this can feel a little intimidating. Saying “no thank you” and moving on doesn’t mean you’re being rude. To this day, I can still recall a vendor explaining that his product was the best thing on the market, and we didn’t want to miss out. We politely said no (whilst ensuring we snaffled up some of the free chocolate) and tried to be on our way. To which he replied, “It takes schools about a year to come around to our way of thinking, you’ll be back!” That was 6 years ago. I still don’t think I’ve come around to their way of thinking yet.
Exploration time
This may come across as paradoxical, but you should also try to make sure you see as much as you can. I appreciate I just recommended that you should stick to a plan, and I still hold to that, but it is important to take your time to experience as much as you can. And this can still be achieved with proper planning.
Plan for unplanned time. Allow yourself an hour, or even two during your visit, to see things you had not thought about seeing. This is where ideas for later discussion can begin to develop. Of course, just because you see something new, doesn’t mean you have to commit to it there and then. A great example of this is from one of our previous visits to BETT, where we went to explicitly look for new interactive white boards. Once we visited all the relevant suppliers, we had some unplanned time. During this time, we came across some software for keeping a register of who was on site. I was not aware that we needed a system like this, and this led to some great discussion about the pros and cons of the technology. Again, this would not have come up if we hadn’t allowed for exploration time. Remember the event runs for three days so you can always come back the following day.
Presentations and talks
My one regret with BETT is never having the time to attend the valuable presentations and discussions that take place within the main stage area. If you are interested in any of the speakers taking part this year, do take the time to hear what they have to say. Listening to industry players within the education space is always interesting and it is good to have the finger on the pulse of what is relevant now.
This year is no exception with keynote speakers including Michael Rosen and Darcey Bussell talking about education projects dear to their hearts. I hope to hear some of these speakers this year to broaden my own knowledge and understanding of the technology within education.
Hopefully, this brief insight of what to do when visiting BETT will give you some ideas how to approach your own visit to this enormous education event.
And I will be there, too! So, if you see me wandering around, don’t forget to stop and say hello.
Wishing you a successful and valuable visit to this amazing show! And look out for my next blog where I’ll cover all the great things I discovered during my visit to BETT 23!