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Friday 15^th January - day three, and what is regarded as the busiest day at BETT saw Dell sponsor a Networking Breakfast for over ninety education leaders from across the UK and Europe. Hosted by Dell Public Sector's Education division and attended by Headteachers and Directors of Children's Services from prominent UK governing bodies, the forum provided a platform to exchange success stories around ICT implementation.

Dell has a long history of partnership with practitioners in the UK, and in the founding spirit of BSF has continuously strived to create custom ICT solutions for education aimed to improve teaching, learning and administration. So it was particularly fitting that we had the opportunity to invite Heather Mcllory, Headteacher of Mountbatten School in Hampshire, Clifford French, Head of ICT for Camden School for Girls in London and Steve Moss, Strategic Director of ICT for Partnerships for Schools, to share their leadership vision on why we should be championing ICT inclusion and deployment in Education.

Heather Mcllory inspired us all by providing examples of how Mountbatten School has utilised ICT in an unconventional setting to link learning communities together. The unique application of virtual technology in the context of a Year 8 Art project brought together Aboriginal artists from Alice Springs in Australia with learners in Hampshire. This exceptional collaboration not only enhanced the student experience, but allowed the two communities to build real-world ties through the culmination of a sold-out joint art exhibition. Heather also talked about the virtues of ICT and how it can be an aid to increase interest in less popular classes that may seem "old-world" within a digital-age. Whether this means inviting a Holocaust survivor to give a personal account of History over a webcam, or provoking a Religious Studies class into online research and debate around controversial subject matter like abortion or euthanasia, integrating various forms of technology into classes can breathe a new lease of life for many teachers and learners.

Clifford French gave an interesting perspective on how the pervasive use of ICT by the tech-savvy student body can be built it into a school's education methodology to improve learning.  As part of this framework, Camden School for Girls began an e-champion programme whereby students and teachers can test new technologies and share these within a collaborative workspace. E-champions go some way to increase the use of technology in lessons, as more teachers grow aware of what resources are available. Likewise, there has been an enthusiastic response from the student body in creating and sharing podcasts as class revision materials for themselves and peers. Both staff and students agree that secure remote access to learning tools is key to continuing the learning process outside of school hours.

From a strategic planning perspective, Steve Moss summed up the current state of technology in education stating that it should be an integral part of the design of any school. As learning takes place in the classroom and beyond, compelling learning environments that can be accessed outside of the school are key to the continuum of learning. The biggest challenges around the transition remain in updating existing infrastructures and engaging staff and teachers in the new technology for early adoption and integration into the curriculum.

As many of you know, BETT was where we officially announced the EMEA launch of our flagship solution for schools - the Connected Classroom. Having listened to several of the insights from our education leaders through-out the Breakfast, I'm proud of the solution we've delivered. The Connected Classroom does answer the needs of schools and offers flexible solutions around how to extend the learning process well beyond physical confinements. It will continue to evolve with the generous insights shared by the education community. We look forward to maintaining the dialogue established at BETT, as we continue to serve educators and learners with relevant ICT solutions.

View the Flickr set of photos from the event.

 As a first-time visitor, I discovered there's nothing quite like the BETT experience. Frequently billed as the "largest Education Technology event in the world", not even January snow storms could hold back the throng of 30,000 visitors at London's Kensington Olympia from getting a first-hand view at the latest and greatest in ICT solutions. (View the Dell Flickr set for BETT 2010.)

2010 marked BETT's 26^th anniversary - an event that has fast become the premiere platform for organisations, practitioners, IT professionals, policy-makers and associations to advance a dialogue on how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can support innovations in teaching, assessments and engagement in the classroom.  Over 750 exhibitors from across the globe joined Dell in showcasing some of today's latest trends in Education ICT.  We saw strong representation across Green IT solutions, interactive learning software, state-of-the-art smartboards and projection devices as well as what we predict will be future BETT themes around virtual and remote learning, telepresence and 3D Technologies.

This year BETT was particularly focal for Dell, as we officially announced the UK launch of our flagship solution for schools - the Connected Classroom. Integrating capabilities that blend Dell hardware, software and services within a purpose-built ICT solution for education, the Connected Classroom provides anytime, anywhere access to interactive technologies. Through inclusion of ICT into the classroom, students have the ability to learn more effectively, and develop real-world skills around critical thinking and collaborative working as they explore new possibilities that exist in a digital realm. Check out this great preview on agent4change, which includes some of the pilot work we did around the Connected Classroom with the American School of Milan.

During the event Josh Claman and I also had the opportunity to speak with representatives from the media including national newspapers and the trade press.  Nicole Kobie from IT Pro posted a great video of the Connected Classroom live from the Dell stand, which showcases some of the varied functionality from remote learning capabilities via the Virtual Classroom tool, to the Student Response System and Activity Monitoring Lights that have all been integrated into the solution.

Another highlight from the conference was the opening speech from Vernon Coarker, UK MP and Minister of State for Schools and Learners.  Coarker reinforced the critical role that technology will play in jobs of the future, stating that by 2017, there will be three million more jobs in the mathematical sciences - a specialism that will heavily rely on technology integration within the workplace. Coarker stressed the importance of connected homes, as children only spend roughly 15% of their time at school, and the learning process must continue outside of school hours. Also announced was The Home Access Scheme, allowing 270,000 low-income families to apply for grants to buy computers and broadband connections. The £300 million project is aimed to enhance the level of information parents can access about their child's progression through the UK school system, showing further strides are being made to bridge the digital divide.  That's in addition to the commitment the government has made to its Building Schools of the Future (BSF) programme to upgrade the physical infrastructure and ICT of thousands of schools across the country over the next ten years.

It's those schemes and its expansive commitment to student achievement that have helped the UK gain recognition as a world leader in preparing its children for the 21^st century.   At Dell we share the same dedication to advancing education through the application of relevant technologies which improve how students learn, increase teacher productivity and enhance administrative effectiveness.  BETT therefore is, and will continue to be, a significant annual forum for us to vividly depict how we will deliver upon those aims with  real solutions while learning from the countless other exhibitors experimenting at the exciting crossroads of education and technology...

Recently, Shanghai Huangpu Education Information Center purchased 350 units of Latitude^TM E6400 and 50 units of Latitude^TM E4300 laptops for the teachers in the district.

According to Xi Lihao, Director of the center, they think Dell’s Latitude E-family meets their demands in three aspects. The high performance of the notebooks makes it easy for teachers to adopt multi-media, i.e. video, audio and picture, in the classroom, which dramatically improves the teaching quality. The long battery life allows the laptops run for three courses continuously without charging. Last, the light weight and stylish design make these laptops much more welcomed by female teachers who take the majority of the teacher population.

Huangpu Education has been a long time customer of Dell. They start their relationship with Dell from Dell’s desktops. Now the journey has moved to server and storage. The center built its education resource network and information network on Dell’s server and storage. The education resource network has integrated all relevant teaching sources, which makes it easy to share among teachers. The information network is not only a portal to publish information like recruiting, teaching and research etc., but also serves as an interactive teaching and learning platform between the teachers and the students.

“We have been very pleased with the overall performance of Dell servers. Dell products have great performance, are reliable, easy to manage, and well support our network application needs. In addition, the high value of the Dell products help us mange our IT budget better.” said Xi Lihao.

Empowered by Dell’s technologies, teachers in Huangpu District are saying farewell to “blackboard + chalk”. The education level of Huangpu District is moving to a completely new stage, with more interactive and rich classroom, teaching resources easy to share and an optimized IT management.

  This week Dell is exhibiting at BETT 2010, the world's largest conference for education technology suppliers, held at Olympia in London. There's over 700 suppliers of all shapes and sizes at the event and in total, the show aims to draw around 40,000 visitors through the doors - it should be a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with not only teachers, administrators and bursars, but also with a number of industry bodies and associations. It's not often you get the chance to hear from such a concentrated pool of education professionals and we're really looking forward to learning more from the conversations that take place with those at the forefront of education.

Dell is using the conference as a launch pad for a new initiative in education called Dell Connected Classroom a learning platform for UK schools that we hope will set a trend in transforming the classroom from a static and one dimensional place that students shrink from, to an integrated and interactive environment that suits the modern digital age. You may think this is an altruistic endeavour that schools will never be able to truly realise, but the truth is that it's already happening out there and we must look towards institutions such as the American School of Milan to help us spread the word of the benefits not just for teachers and pupils but to parents as well.

In the Connected Classroom pupils can connect, collaborate and learn with the teacher and each other using a multitude of devices and systems. Importantly it also lets schools remain flexible by tailoring lessons to the individual learning styles of students. With government policies soon to be more focused on ensuring schools leave no pupils behind, this level of flexibility becomes absolutely vital in meeting every level of need.

The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) suggests that in the UK, there is an average of as many as seven pupils per computer in primary schools and 2.9 pupils per computer in secondary schools with just 34 per cent of primary and 36 per cent of secondary schools saying that they are well-equipped with laptops. This dissatisfaction with technology is what we want to overcome and visitors to BETT can come and get a glimpse of what is possible by visiting our live demonstrations - ask at stand B20 near the Grand Hall Entrance for more information.

On Friday 15th Dell is holding a network breakfast briefing event at BETT and has invited over 200 education professionals to hear from schools, industry bodies and Dell's public sector executive team.

The education sector has many unique demands and issues often, quite rightly, become an emotive subject. At BETT, Dell is looking forward to showcasing our capability to meet these challenges head on alongside our peers.

Dell Australia has just awarded three Connected Classrooms - each worth $40,000 - to the winners of our national Get Sklogged Competition.

We are proud to announce that Cannon Hill Anglican College, Brisbane; Covenant Christian School, Belrose, Sydney and MacKillop College, Werribee, Victoria have each won a Connected Classroom. Site Assessments are underway, and installations are scheduled to complete by early 2010.

The competition involved a challenge to local school children to predict the future of 21^st Century education, particularly the impact technology will have on learning processes. There certainly were some interesting innovations including the use of holographic helmets, enabling students to interact with 3D environments and trace the steps of historical figures such as the fearsome Attila the Hun. Students predicted real-time communication and collaboration will be commonplace. While connectivity with each other and teachers, both inside and outside classroom, is high on their list of demands. Classrooms will bear little resemblance to those of today with mood walls and touch surface computer tables transforming the learning process.

The competition to win the Connected Classrooms proved very popular with more than 880 sklogs - a school blog incorporating words, illustrations, pictures and video - received from across Australia. We invite you to go to www.getsklogged.com.au to view the winning sklogs.

Read the story that has been picked up by a local daily featuring the Covenant Christian School, Sydney. Please stay tuned for student vlogs in the coming weeks.

Dell is very proud to able to share and promote this technology with local schools and help young people connect with a new era in learning.