Elly Yates-Roberts |
Bett, the education event, ran its first virtual show in January. Over 7,500 people from 110 countries and all parts of the education technology industry took part in three days of professional development and product discovery.
The event focused on three key themes – leadership, digital inclusion and resilient futures – and their role in shaping remote learning. Content was delivered via the Mainstage, Bett Academy and Solutions Showcases to support the different needs of the global Bett community.
Speakers on the live Mainstage included educator and historian Anthony Seldon, Twitter’s European vice president Bruce Daisley, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The event also included a special address from the UK minister of state for schools, Nick Gibb, who recognised the vital role that education technology has played in the past year and announced initiatives to support the continuation of this.
The Mainstage also gathered educators from across the world sharing stories from their schools during lockdown. These keynote sessions were designed to inspire but also to celebrate the classroom educator whose innovation and dedication has anchored and supported young people through this past year.
At 16:00 GMT each day attendees were able to benefit from continued professional development sessions from Apple, Connected Learning Centre, Animate2Educate and Microsoft. These sessions officially launched Bett Academy, a monthly series of interactive, accredited professional development that will take place live on the last Friday of each month at 16:00 GMT. Sessions are all available on-demand for easy 24-hour access.
BettFest also featured daily Solutions Showcase sessions which were available on demand. Companies including Dell, HPE, Asus, Acer, Cisco Meraki and Microsoft took part in these exciting sessions, which also featured celebrity discussions with comedian Dara O’Briain and astronaut Tim Peake.
Bett isn’t complete without the Bett Awards and this year was no exception. BettFest culminated in the announcement of the winners of the Covid-19 Response Champions Awards. The recognition paid tribute to the companies and schools who have responded to the Covid-19 outbreak in a way that has positively impacted the education, health and well-being of the student population in combatting the pandemic.
Watch BettFest on demand.
Sarah Marshall is the global head of content at Bett Show