BETT 2011, the world’s largest technology in education show, is to host ‘Visual Learning’ – a brand new feature area brought to you by the legendary Professor Stephen Heppell and headline sponsor Impleo. Each year, Prof. Heppell brings to BETT an area full of thought-provoking and innovative ideas for learning. Taking place from 12 to 15 January at Olympia, London, ‘Visual Learning’ is set to demonstrate how technology can enhance the opportunity for children to learn with visual stimuli, whilst promoting learning for less.
The feature area will be split into three key themes, all of which have been developed by students at Lampton School, Hounslow, who are on stand J30 for the duration of BETT:
 
Revision
Year 11 students will be showing visitors how they map revision notes and how they create short film trailers to help them remember all they need for their exams! Impleo will be showcasing solutions such as IPTV, with Lesson Capture that will allow a school to be able to capture videos of lessons.
 
Transition
The move from one stage to the next is something which causes concern for many students, and the Feature aims to demonstrate to teachers how they can instil a sense of enthusiasm in their students for their next step! Year 11s will be working with Year 7s to reflect on other big transitions that they have made in their lives, and there is also the possibility of children being ‘beamed in’ live from Cornwall over Skype, enabling the two groups to interact with one another.

Girls and Science
Year 11 girls are working with some Year 7s to help them get involved in physics, build each others’ confidence and help them realise how great they actually are at it! At school, a physics club has ensured Year 11 girls are at the centre of experiments to help them understand the subject and then explain the theory to others – this has been a starting point for a two day physics project to be held at BETT 2011.

Prof. Stephen Heppell says: “Many children still spend hours copying work directly from the board, an extremely ineffective process that limits opportunity for learners to contextualise topics. Providing images and visuals on the other hand, is a great way for learners to really engage with the learning content and truly think about what it is they are seeing before them.”

Impleo, a consultancy and installations provider within the Education, Wireless and Location Based Solutions sectors, is on hand to demonstrate the concept of Visual Learning through the use of high end innovative AV technologies. Mike Fry, head of AV, says: “Impleo is delighted to be working with Prof. Heppell to deliver the Central Feature at BETT 2011. We are perfectly placed to showcase pioneering solutions to complement the three key areas of discussion.”

Alongside the key themes, scheduled seminars will be held by gaming specialists, discussing how innovative technologies are made and their benefits to education. Look out for announcements on these on the BETT 2011 website: www.bettshow.com.
Debbie French, event director for BETT, comments: “As the world’s largest technology in education event, we work hard to bring the best possible experience to visitors looking for the most innovative technologies and teaching practices. We are therefore fortunate to have such an esteemed figure as Prof. Heppell on board to help create our Central Feature area. Cost effectiveness is also very important in the current climate, and we want to show educators that this kind of teaching can be achieved without a very large budget.
“Alongside Prof. Heppell, Lampton School students have had a real input into the ideas, design and overall concept for the feature. This will give visitors an idea of the areas and challenges that children see technology being of most benefit.”
Visitors can register for FREE Entry at www.bettshow.com