1. Robots and drones take over
classrooms
Classrooms are noticeably more hi-tech these days - interactive boards,
laptops and online learning plans proliferate, but has the curriculum actually
changed or are children simply learning the same thing on different devices?
Some argue that the education this generation of children is receiving is little
different from that their parents or even their grandparents had.
But, in a world where artificial intelligence and robots threaten jobs, the skills
that this generation of children need to learn are likely to be radically different
to the three Rs that have for so long been the mainstay of education.
The BBC went along to the Bett conference in London in search of different
ways of teaching and learning.
School robots
A stone's throw from the Excel, where Bett is held, stands a new school that is,
according to its head Geoffrey Fowler, currently little more than a Portakabin.
Despite this, the London Design and Engineering university technical college
- which caters for 14- to 19-year-olds - was massively oversubscribed when it
opened its doors for the first time in September.
The 180 pupils lucky enough to have got a place have had a very different
experience of the curriculum in the 12 weeks since they joined.
One group have designed from scratch a virtual reality environment that takes
viewers on a journey around an Ethiopian village as part of a project to
highlight the work of the charity Water Aid.
2. Another has spent the term teaching Pepper - the school has two of
SoftBank's human-looking robots - how to make a variety of moves, including
the dab currently beloved of children around the country.
A third group are heading off this weekend on an unusual skiing trip.
Travelling with them will be 11 Nao robots, which the pupils plan to teach
how to ski.
The school - which sets no homework, relying instead on pupils wanting to get
on with their projects in their own time - is, according to Mr Fowler,
"inspiring children to be part of a new type of learning".
While other schools may see the projects listed above as fun "add-ons" to the
core curriculum, Mr Fowler thinks it has to be embedded within it.
Sixth-formers work on what is called an extended project qualification, which
is the equivalent of half an A-level.
The school works with a range of industry sponsors, including the University
of East London, Thames Water and Fujitsu, all of which offer input into the
types of skills they would like to see children learn to equip them for the
workplace as well as offering apprenticeships.
There are 48 university technical colleges (UTC) in England currently - and
the scheme has proved controversial.
One set up in East London in 2012 closed after just two years, having failed to
attract enough pupils, while another in Bedfordshire was branded inadequate
by Ofsted.
Some head teachers seem to be resisting the idea of the vocational style of
education, barring UTCs from recruiting pupils from their schools.
But statistics suggest that pupils attending UTCs have just as good results if
not better than those in more conventional schools.
It is something James Culley, head of computer science at the school, sees for
himself every day.
3. "I have never seen students learn so quickly," he told the BBC.
Lots of primary schools are now convinced of the importance of learning to
code.
As well as lessons devoted to it, after-school code clubs proliferate as do DIY
computers such as the BBC's Micro Bit and the Raspberry Pi.
Tynker, a company that has already brought its coding-through-games
philosophy to 60,000 schools in the US, recently launched a new project -
teaching coding through drone lessons.
Hundreds of schools in the US have taken up the idea and it is now preparing
to launch in the UK.
Schools typically buy between six and 12 drones via Tynker's partnership with
drone maker Parrot and can then download Tynker's free set of drone lessons.
Children learn to make drones do back-flips, as well as more complex idea
such as drones working together as a team.
It would take, you may think, a rather brave teacher to commit to flying
drones in the classroom, but Josie McKay, a Fourth Grade teacher at Towne
Meadow Elementary School in Indiana has no such qualms.
"Over the last month, I have seen their confidence build as they went from
coding their drone to hover off of the floor to flying their drone around the
room without crashing into any obstacles," she says.
"Each week these students develop new and more challenging goals for
themselves, work together, and code their drone accordingly.
"The excitement on their faces when they achieve their goal, especially when
it is completed in a short amount of time, is infectious."
The drones come with a range of safety features, including a "classroom
mode" that means they take off extra slowly.
4. Children cannot take command of each other's drones, and there is an
automatic stop button if inquisitive fingers come in proximity with the drone's
blades.
Tynker founder and chief executive Krishna Vedati told the BBC: "Our goal is
not to create programmers but to offer coding as a life skill."
Picture a classroom where, instead of handouts or text books, all pupils learn
from their own headset - entering a virtual reality world to learn about the
French revolution, or interacting with a hologram of the solar system to learn
about space.
According to Lenovo's global education specialist, Sam Morris, there are huge
benefits from learning this way.
"We see AR and VR as the next frontier," he says.
"Early usage has suggested the devices engage pupils intently in tasks,
improve group interactions and the ability to adapt to multiple disciplines."
Microsoft was at Bett showing off HoloLens - its recently released "mixed
reality" headset.
It has worked in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University to
develop a hologram of the human body that can be dissected and bones,
organs and veins viewed in detail.
It is also working with education provider Pearson to develop other
educational resources for the device.
The developer edition of HoloLens currently sells for 2,719 which makes even
buying one headset out of the reach for most cash-strapped schools.
