Show Preview: BETT 2010

The world’s largest educational technology event – the BETT exhibition – will take place at London’s Olympia between 13-16 January. Like last year the show organiser, Emap, expects about 30,000 visitors and 600 suppliers to attend the four-day event.

New to the exhibition this year is a Future Learning Spaces (FLS) area, which promises to give visitors a glimpse of what classrooms could look like in 2012-15. FLS has been developed by the show organiser in collaboration with Partnerships for Schools (PfS), the organisation responsible for the development of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and the Primary Capital Programme (PCP). Visitors to the area can find out the latest news from BSF and PCP projects around the country as well as schemes in their own local authority.

Within the space, specialist exhibitors involved in BSF and the PCP are running information-pods which preview new learning spaces. Visitors can also attend a range of seminars held in the dedicated FLS presentation area.

‘With so many schools in the UK expected to undergo renewal as part of BSF or the PCP, BETT 2010 has the opportunity to provide both UK and international visitors with a platform to inspire, inform and debate initiatives and activities. In the FLS area, visitors can see first-hand the innovative approaches to learning that are being implemented in schools across the country,’ says Richard Joslin, BETT exhibition director at Emap.

Listed below is a selection of the av companies and what they are showing among the 600 exhibitors at the event.

CRESTRON (stand S42)

Crestron will be at BETT 2010 to showcase the control products in its range that are suitable for the classroom. Also on show will be the company’s collaboration with Texas Instruments to connect and control DLP projectors via Crestron’s RoomView Express software. Crestron control is built into DLP projectors to deliver direct network management without a control system or programming.

The company will also be showcasing its MPC (Media Presentation Controller) range that is designed to connect, control and route av presentation equipment in small, one-projector applications, typical of classrooms. All models are scalable and can be wall or lectern mounted.

Also on display will be the Crestron TPMC-4SM that has been designed to help educational institutions manage conference rooms efficiently. It ensures rooms with different capabilities and capacities are allocated appropriately and scheduled rooms are either used or quickly made available. Additionally, RoomView usage reports provide information enabling facility managers to evaluate building, energy consumption and space planning.

Products from Crestron’s range of touchpanels will also be at the stand, including the TPMC-4SM, which is a 4in touchpanel suitable for mounting just outside a room’s entrance to view calendars, reserve rooms and detect room status for impromptu bookings.

EPSON (E106)

Epson will be showing its range of ultra short-throw projectors for the classroom at BETT. The new range consists of five projectors, two of which have inbuilt interactive capabilities and can turn a projection surface, such as a wall, into an interactive whiteboard. The EB-460i and EB-450Wi use an interactive pen to provide much of the functionality that teachers will already be familiar with when using other whiteboards. The interactive models are being aimed at classrooms without an interactive whiteboard or with just a wipe-clean board.

For those working in larger classrooms the five projectors feature a microphone input so teachers can amplify their voices. All five models also feature a 10W speaker.

The projectors can display a 70in screen in 4:3 ratio from a throw distance of 20in, they can also project a 70in screen in 16:10 ratio from 22in throw distance. The models also feature a USB input so that files can be accessed directly from a flash drive without the need for a PC to be connected. The projectors will be available to purchase in late January.

NEC (E90)

NEC Display Solutions will be showcasing new and existing products from its education range at BETT. There will be projectors and LCD screens for use in lobby areas to equipment for lecture halls and secondary schools.

NEC’s NP610 projector is set up for primary schools looking to limit TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) costs. While for secondary schools, NEC has the combination of the NP610S projector with an interactive smart board. This short-throw projector can be used at a distance of as small as 90 centimetres.

For large lecture halls NEC will be presenting its stacking system, which uses four NP3250 projectors to create a single picture, with a total brightness of up to 20,000 lumens. If one of the projectors is blocked by the lecturer or fails the students can still see a full image.

NEC will also be showcasing products for entrance rooms and lobby areas, these include the X461HB public display, which has brightness of 1,500cd/m2, the Multeos M461 DST monitor that delivers information interactively via touch screen, while the P401 public display has protective glass. Corresponding with these monitors, NEC also provides bundled digital signage software and a media player for the creation and playback of multimedia content for public displays.

ONELAN (G125)

Onelan will be showing its digital signage, video streaming, lesson capture and latest digital signage IPTV gateway products for the education sector and demonstrating how these products can enhance learning.

Onelan digital signage is used in education, from primary schools through to higher education establishments. It has installed screens in reception areas, staff rooms, canteens and student accommodation, and is a proven method for communicating information instantly across an entire site, replacing existing noticeboards with screens that can show a range of information from lunch menus to pupils’ work and details of after-school clubs.

The firm will be presenting a demonstration of its Net-Top-Box digital signage media player at two box-to-screen demos on Wednesday 13th and Saturday 16th January.

POLYVISION/ANDERS + KERN (J25)

PolyVision and its exclusive UK distributor Anders+Kern, are to showcase the eno range of interactive whiteboards at BETT. PolyVision’s newest product on show is the eno Flex Dynamic, an all-in-one product combining a dry marker board, chalkboard and/or tack surface with an eno interactive whiteboard.

The eno interactive whiteboard will also be at PolyVision’s stand and carries the same eno surface lifetime guarantee as the Flex Dynamic. The interactive whiteboard allows up to three users to work simultaneously, giving teachers and students the chance to collaborate. The system is also able to save notes and drawings so that they are ready to be uploaded for the next lesson.

PolyVision will also be showcasing the eno Mini, a mobile slate that allows teachers and students to create and deliver presentations from anywhere in the classroom. The unit allows students to participate in lessons from their seats and gives teachers the ability to move around the class during a lesson.

PROMETHEAN (stands B30 and N23)

Promethean will be showing its latest suite of ActivClassroom products at the show, including the launch of its latest version of ActivInspire teaching and learning software, the ActiView Visual Presenter that features ‘self-paced learning’ functionality. And to support the personalised learning and assessment agendas, it is introducing an enhancement to its ActivExpression Learner Response System. The ‘self-paced learning’ feature enables each student to work through questions on their handset at their own speed, giving teachers greater scope to tailor teaching to individual requirements.

Promethean’s interactive whiteboard (ActivBoard) range has also been updated to meet different teaching and learning environments and budgets. At the top of the range, the ActivBoard 300 Pro is available in widescreen version with a motorised height adjustability option and offers integrated speakers, amplifier and additional USB ports. The ActivClassroom now also includes a portable, all-in-one audio enhancement system (ActivSound One).

SMART (B50)

New products at the Smart stand include an updated version of the wireless slate product and a response system called Response LE, which is specifically aimed at primary schoolchildren.

The Response LE system combines handheld wireless remotes, a receiver and assessment software for creating and evaluating responses, and supports three kinds of questions: true or false, multiple choice, and yes and no.

The updated slate product enables teachers and students to interact with digital lessons projected on a screen, interactive whiteboard, display or interactive pen display.

Also being launched at BETT is Response CE software, which allows automated assessment in computer-enabled classrooms. It is being aimed at classrooms without hand-held response systems, as students can use their computers and Smart Notebook SE (Student Edition) software to answer questions.

Existing products being shown at BETT for the first time include the short-throw 685ix interactive whiteboard system and the Podium ID422 22in widescreen interactive pen display.

BETT 2010
Venue: Olympia, London
Wed 13 January 10.00 – 18.00
Thur 14 January 10.00 – 18.00
Fri 15 January 10.00 – 18.00
Sat 16 January 10.00 – 16.00
www.futurelearningspaces.com
www.bettshow.com

SEMINARS
Below is our selection of the key seminars running at BETT over the
four-day exhibition
13 JAN
10:45 – 11:30 ‘Power Up’: How ICT is transforming BSF schools
11:00 – 12:00 Opening ministerial keynote address
12:00 – 12:45 Building special schools for the future: a case study
12:30 – 13:30 BESA keynote – ‘Breaking the Bonds of Learning’
13:15 – 14:00 How schools are using technology to make next generation
learning happen
14 JAN
12:00 – 12:45 ‘Power Up’: How ICT is transforming BSF schools
12:30 – 13:30 Empowering next generation learners – at home and school
15 JAN
10:45 – 11:30 Creative classrooms: effective uses of technologies for
learning in a primary school
12:00 – 12:45 Establishing a virtual learning environment in a new
school. Cottage industry or firm foundation?
13:15 – 14:00 Extending the use of the interactive whiteboard to support
writing in primary classrooms.
15:45 – 16:30 Developing teachers for next generation learning
16 JAN
13:30 – 14:15 Harnessing technology for a joined-up system: challenges
and opportunities
14:30 – 15:15 Becta