Jan #Edu resources - part 2?

Happy Saturday lovely people, and of course, I hope you have all had a fab week. Mine has definitely been a back to work with a "bump" week, a really busy schedule with most of it planning and prep for upcoming events. It's been nice to have a fairly quiet school inbox other than a few new staff starter's risk assessments to sign off.

Spring Events definitely seem to be hogging my time right now, which is both something I really look forwards to, but that also reminds me that on occasions I probably should say no ;)

Anywhoo....here are some of the events either on my personal radar or ones that I have seen are happening and wanted to take the opportunity to help share and promote. As always just in case you have to ask, no I don't get paid to promote any events and would signpost if that was the case.

#Events

?? The Abu Dhabi Teaching Conference , 2nd March - top man Olly Lewis has been sharing more and more info about this free teacher CPD event in the UAE, run by educators, for educators. Find out more here.

?? Tony Staneff and the lovely folks at White Rose Education are holding their "24 Hours for Good" worldwide conference, 29th Feb - 1st March. Running continuously for 24-hours, they plan to offer unparalleled professional development sessions directly to teachers and leaders all over the world. Find out more here.

?? The folks at Twinkl Educational Publishing have an online session "Using Ai and Digital Technology to raise attainment and reduce workload in schools" on the 17th Jan - I'm going to be a guest on this alongside the brilliant Caroline Allams from the equally brilliant Natterhub and Jon Park - you can register for free here.

?? The Meta Shapers Web3 and AI 2023 Summit, 21st -22nd Feb - Sharad Agarwal has been sharing lots about the content for this event and it looks excellent if it's your area of interest, so I'm happy to do a shoutout and signpost you to his post and links to the event, right here.

?? There is the #DisruptEd un-conference happening on 25th Jan, this is a great disruptive community of educators, venture builders and thinkers. You can grab a ticket here, and i'm annoyed I am going to be at Bett and miss this one.

?? For any #Edu Vendors who are looking to grow and export then this is a good event to sign up for, it's the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) "Export Masterclass" on 15th Feb online - I'm going to be sharing some insights alongside a host of guests and it should be a great kickstart for those looking to grow. Sign up here.

Also don't forget the two upcoming LearnED 2024: Education in Action Conferences organised by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) one at Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust on 28th Feb and the other at Trinity Academy on 18th March. Find out more here. ( it is being supported by Hachette Learning / John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning which is lovely as they publish all of my books).

?? Jodie Lopez is running 8 free #EdTech CPD sessions over the coming weeks, some for schools and some for vendors. The fab Baasit Siddiqui will also be joining her on a few of them. Find out more here.

?? Matthew Wemyss has organised the A.I.DUCATION ‘24 conference, featuring some great folks including Darren Coxon and Dan Fitzpatrick on March 2nd find out more here.

?? There is always an overload of #CPD at the World Education Summit - The Legacy (18-21st March) and this year is shaping up to be bigger than ever with over 400 speakers. You can find out more here, and i'll be delivering a session on all things #DigitalStrategy #EdTech and moving your plans forwards.

?? One of my favourite US events is the Future of Education Technology Conference organised by the fab Jennifer Womble ( 23-26th Jan) - always a great event, sadly unlike last year, I can't attend this year with my commitments at bett, but for those who can I highly recommend. Find out more here. You can also find the NetSupport team right here. (booth #2516)

?? Ok well, of course, the biggie from my perspective, at least, is the Bett Global #Bett2024 show at the London Excel in just under 2 weeks' time (24th - 26th Jan). We can do the easy bit first, there is still time to register and come and join the fun from this link here. If you want to get a flavour of some of the sessions at the show then watch this "Almost Bett" session I recorded with Louisa Hunter featuring a number of the presenters for the event (you can also get a very handy free guide to the show, sessions to watch out for and more handy tips from this link).

??? For the last few weeks, in an effort to help some of the smaller or newer vendors and suppliers in the sector I have been giving away some free tickets for the show, courtesy of the lovely folks at Bett. Today I am pleased to announce the last two, they are Ravi Patel and Victoria Merrick , who I will message offline with their code for a free ticket. Congrats, folks, and as I like to plagiarise and use regularly, "Every little helps". I'm really sorry I couldn't offer more.

??? If you are a vendor or supplier in the #Edu sector then do also remember to stop by and meet the team at British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) including Caroline Wright , Julia Garvey and Dave Smith to find out more on how they can help you grow in the Uk and overseas. You are, of course, welcome to catch me and I will happily share my experiences.

??? I'm going to be doing some book signings (get me??) and generally causing a kerfuffle on the stand with the lovely folks at Kami on stand SF20 - I will confirm the time nearer to the show but of course do come over and join in the fun ;) You can find out more about Kami from this link too.

??? On Thursday 25th at 15:15 you'll find me on the Teaching & Learning stage hosting a session on "Why multi-school groups need a robust digital strategy to grow" i will be joined by the fantastic lineup of Dr Neelam Parmar FCCT , Laura Knight ? , Janice Ross and Adam Rastrick - so it's likely to be a cracker. You can find details from my bett profile here and add it to your calendar.

??? I'll also be moderating the Bett Futures Exhibitor Showcase, from 13:30 to 14:30 on the 25th too, always really interesting and a great session to join to discover new solutions.

??? On Wednesday 25th from 8.30 - 9.30 I am going to be with the good folks from Education Week for a breakfast briefing "How to Navigate the U.S. Education Market" sharing insights on exporting and growing in the US. You can find out more and sign up here.

??? Supremo of the Airwaves Russell Prue will be hosting #BettRadio for Bett Global this year, you can find him broadcasting live each day on stand SK80 and you can get a sneak peak of what he will be sharing from here.

??? This year, the whole #Bett2024 experience starts a day earlier as I will be joining a panel and speaking at the "ISTE at bett Education Leadership Programme" on 23rd Jan, which should really help schools get the most out of the Bett week. I'll be speaking alongside other speakers including Laurie Forcier , Richard Culatta , David Monis-Weston , Laura Knight ? , Julia Garvey and many more. You can find out more (and still sign up) from here.

You can catch me on stand SD50 most of the time at #Bett2024 with my fab team at NetSupport - I'll be doing insights recordings with loads of cool folks from across education, sharing free resources and of course showcasing some really cool new apps for schools ;) Come and have a chat.

I think it's fair to say lots happening over the next few months and plenty to really boost all of our #CPD schedules.

I think at this stage and looking at the clock, I may well have to keep the news fairly brief this week or we won't be going out on time this morning. So let's dive in quickly.

#Edu

??Some great news, one of my favourite Podcasts, the Edufuturists with Ben Whitaker and Steven Hope is back with a new series due soon. Sadly Dan Fitzpatrick won't be joining them for a while..something to do with travelling 10 billion miles this year and speaking at a few thousand events or something ;) It's definitely one podcast to have on your subscribed playlist so make sure you check them out here.

??A really interesting post by Nick Dennis highlighting an article in Harvard Business Review on "The Reactive Management Framework" by Nitin Nohria and how leaders react (or should) to unfolding events. it's a really interesting read and worth taking a look.

??A great listen from Dr Neil Hopkin last week alongside his "Voice of Education Podcast" where he spoke with Helen Farmer and shared advice on what parents can do to help their child become a great reader. Really interesting listen.

??A few weeks old now but a great article from Governors for Schools on "The differences between equality and equity". One of the reasons many governors volunteer their time to local schools is to help make the educational landscape a fairer and more inclusive place. However, for all pupils to thrive, governors have to appreciate the diverse and complex ways in which some members of the school community face a disproportionate number of educational obstacles compared to their peers. This is a great conversation starter for your next Governing body meeting. Read here.

??A nice share from Angela Ee De Silva on "Differentiation in the classroom made simple" supported by a nice visual summary shaped by motivation and ability. Have a look here.

??Another nice share and a very visual one from Vince W. He wondered how pop art style art might be used to capture a historical moment. Key to this activity would be students writing prompts that discern key ideas, concepts, symbols, and imagery associated with a topic and then synthesising these with a suitable art style. Have a read and look at his post here, really innovative.

#Ai

??I saw this great guide being shared by Teresa Menton FCCT and Doha College an "Artificial Intelligence Companion Guide" and having taken a quick look it has some excellent resources for students and parents alongside popular #Ai tools. Take a look here.

??Not a surprise to see Dan Fitzpatrick in my #AI news once again, thsi week he shared a great research linked resource "26 tips paired with the PREPARE framework will make you the best AI prompter" take a look at his post here.

I also watched a great Teach Middle East Magazine podcast featuring Dan and Leisa Grace Wilson "Supercharging Teaching: How AI Can Boost Educator Productivity" - excellent episode and well worth a watch here.

??A very handy #AERTS Alert from the fab Carla Aerts with "Answers to Educators’ Most Frequently Asked Questions About Artificial Intelligence" on educationweek.org a good article to help prompt discussions in your school. Take a look here.

?? Sharad Agarwal and a few others shared the news "Apple releases Ferret 7B multimodal large language model". This article is on Geeky Gadgets and highlights some key strengths including its multimodal capabilities, which allow it to interpret and create content that combines images and text. Have a read here.

??Top man Daren White has made a short course on "Using Ai to enhance your performance" it's free and if it's from Daren you can rest assured it will be top quality. You can sign up here.

??This one from Barbara Anna Zielonka caught my eye, and realistically the only way i might consider getting into the olympics ;) "International Olympiad?in Artificial?Intelligence". The IOAI is a prestigious annual competition designed for high school students who are passionate about the exciting world of artificial intelligence. Definitely one to explore and find out how your schools could participate. Take a look here.

??She also shared "Exploring The Future: 5 Cutting-Edge Generative AI Trends In 2024" from Forbes . No huge surprises but some interesting thoughts to absorb. Take a peak here.

Finally, and I think Barbara Anna Zielonka has earned this from all her sharing, is a request she has made; she would like to build a map of high schools worldwide that have established AI advisory boards or are going to do it this year. Have a read here and reach out to her if you can help.

#EdTech

??Ever get a bit lost in the complexities of #Sharepoint ? Fortunately, Tony Phillips has created a very handy guide on how to "Improve workflow efficiency with SharePoint shortcuts in OneDrive" - take a look here.

??Mr.Microsoft Edu Mike Tholfsen shared a handy update with "12 new features for Microsoft teams" which include: ?? Annotate PDF?? Send reminder to students?? Reflect updates?? Noise suppression in Reading Progress???????? Parent & School Connection?? New turn-in celebrations? and lots more. Check out his YouTube video covering all the new features here.

??My Secret #EdTech Diary...have you not discovered it yet? Well, I think it's about time you did ?? so head over to Amazon and read the reviews. I'd love to hear your feedback. Book on Amazon.

??For a plethora of #EdTech solutions, including Online Safety, Classroom Instructional Tech, school IT management tools and loads more then check out this summary of what you can discover from NetSupport at #Bett2024

???? Don't forget, if you find my weekly newsletter helpful, please take two seconds to give my post a share across your personal channels, it's lovely to see the audience grow each week. ????

Well, that's quite an event-heavy summary this week, but it's nice to share what's coming up as well as what has just happened, so hopefully, you will all find something of interest for the weeks ahead. I'm heading out for a coffee with an old friend so enjoy your weekend and see you again next week.

Al.

??2023 EduFuturist of the Year

??2023 Outstanding Achievement winner - Educational Resources Awards (ERA) Awards

??2023 Inspiring Leader winner - British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Awards