Once again I headed into the madness that is known as BETT. I was talking with various people and they all agreed that this is the busiest year yet. Looking around the stands, I noticed a few interesting products and companies.
Polyvision was showcasing their recently released Eno, a next generation interactive whiteboard. The board itself is based on a normal whiteboard and this means that you can use dry eraser pens on it as well as adding magnetic items to the board just like any other whiteboard. It has no wires at all. The interesting part is that you get a pen that turns it into an interactive board with all the capability of a traditional interactive whiteboard but with lots of extra functions. The tools that were traditionally on the side of the board are now on a magnetic strip that can be used with the pen anywhere in the classroom. The board, which bundles with RM Education Classmate software, provides an extra layer to a more than already useful board. This item is very interesting and will certainly appeal to a lot of schools.
As a person who loves technology, I visited the Robosavvy stand. This is a UK firm that was showing remote controlled wireless robots. The robots, which can be used to teach programming as well as other cross-curriculum subjects, will certainly appeal to students--and anything that will engage students in learning has got to be good.
I also looked at the recently announced new version of response system by Turning Technologies, which now means you can use the system over any Internet-enabled devices, such as the IPhone and UMPCs. Along with the upgraded software that added lots of new features, Turning Technologies has really moved response systems on.
Intel was showing the latest version of their Classpad series, which again provides tablet-like functionality to the series. SMART announced at BETT that they would be adding their software to these devices, and this and the other included software makes it a very attractive device.
Promethean announced a new version of their interactive board software, which has been updated with new features (many based on user feedback).
The BETT show is starting to draw to a close with only two more days left, and certainly this year’s show has been very successful and well attended.
Russell Dyas is an IT Professional, Education Technologist, blogger, and public commentator on ICT in education. He has gained a professional reputation from being a Manager at EduGeek.net.
