I love coming to BETT. As overwhelming as it can be with so many exhibitors, theatres, speakers and crowds, having everything under one roof means that I can do the kind of research and CPD that would normally take me months, all in two days. Today’s been my second day at BETT this year, meaning I've moved on from the initial reconnaissance lap of the ExCel Centre and could get down to business from the moment I arrived.

I started the day in the BETT Arena, with the keynote from Eric Sheninger (@e_sheninger). His talk on bringing awe back to learning was, well, awesome. He’s left me with a whole range of things to ponder, particularly around why we want to use technology, and not just how to use it. Not a new idea, but certainly something to mull over on the train home.

Following Eric’s session, and a little wander around, I went back to the BETT Arena for Ministry of Science Live (@MinistryScience). What can I say? They blew stuff up and they had a homemade hovercraft. These are my people. There was obviously a bit more to it than just that, but hearing the announcers tell the crowds that yes, that was a planned explosion, so don’t panic, will remain a highlight of my day.

Straight after the Ministry of Science was a discussion between Polly Russell (@PollyRussell1) and Heston Blumenthal (@Heston_Live), who’s had a hand in the creation of the OCR Food Preparation and Nutrition specification. I’m not going to lie, it took every ounce of self-restraint to not have a fan girl moment. Thankfully I was able to catch up with Laura Braun (@Braunteaches), who kept me in check! It was a fantastic discussion about why food should be at the heart of our curriculum, given that it’s at the heart of our society. Honestly, I could have listened to him all day.

Roaming around the hall has been useful today. Some of the highlights have been finally meeting Henry from Pobble (@HenryPobble), and learning not only about Pobble but Pobble 365, and how useful it will be in my KS3 lessons. I’ve learned about Airserver, who are apparently the answer to our problems of mirroring devices in the classroom. I’m very much looking forward to getting that set up when I get back to work. I also really like the look of ClickView (https://www.clickview.co.uk/) - I already do something similar, albeit on a very cut down version, using a Chrome extension, but their assessment for learning feedback means using videos in lessons in an active, rather than passive way

If you're visting BETT this Saturday, make sure you grab your copy of Innovate My School's printed Guide and see their awesome stand (G80)!