According to its website Didacta is “the largest trade fair for teachers from all education sectors within Europe and the most important continuing education event for the sector.”  It could be that BETT would dispute that, although BETT is purely focused on educational technology.  It probably comes down to how you define largest.

There’s no mistaking however, that Didacta is a very important show, at least in the German-speaking area of Europe.  It rotates round three venues – Hanover, Cologne and Stuttgart – and if you are involved in teaching, then you really should plan at least a day there to catch up on what’s new as a lot of publishers and manufacturers time the releases of new products to coincide with Didacta.

One thing you notice immediately about Didacta is that this is clearly the only trade fair that many teachers ever attend.  Stopping in the middle of gangways to chat with friends is not particularly nice to the 500 people that get held up by this action.  Dragging suitcases large enough for a round the world trip is also not particularly practical when 10,000 people are trying to get from stand to stand, and don’t get me started on the teachers who bring children in pushchairs!  Please, I can promise you, those kids get nothing from the experience, and I’m sure a teacher must be capable of organising child-care for 1 day a year (Especially a day when the teacher should be in school anyway – or do they take their kids to school too?) Continue reading »

I know this isn't the current logo, but it's my favourite!

There are times when I consider myself very lucky to do the job I’m in.  I love technology and have the chance to teach it, but my main role is that of English coach and every now and again I get the chance to combine the two.  This week is Cebit in Hanover which, according to the organisers, is the largest IT trade fair in the world.  Of course, the linguist in me wants to know if largest refers to area, exhibitors, or visitors, but hey, who cares?  It’s a big show and there is more than enough to keep you occupied for a day.

Now some of my colleagues are a bit suspicious of my motives for taking my English class to the show.  In the eyes of many of them I’m a geek, so it smacks of self-interest.  (OK, I know half a dozen command line orders in Linux, and I’ve got a fluffy Tux on my desk. If that makes me a geek… )

The real reason I take the English class to Cebit is that it gives them the chance to practice their English skills in a real-world environment – something which isn’t all that easy to simulate in the middle of Germany!   Continue reading »

You know the old joke…  I saw a light at the end of the tunnel – but it was just some bastard with a torch, bringing me more work. I feel a bit like that when it comes to trade fairs.  You see all these wonderful new ideas, but implementing them is going to cost you time and money.  And the most important of those two is not the money, it’s the time.

Either the money is available or it’s not and mostly the question is quickly resolved, but time is often ignored.  Just think of this.  You see a DVD with interactive animations that could be useful for a subject you teach.  It doesn’t cost much so you buy it immediately.  And now the clock’s ticking.  You have to look through the contents, work out how to integrate it, and then adapt your lesson materials.  OK, maybe you will save yourself time later, or maybe it’s a simple improvement in the quality of your teaching, but all of this has taken time.  Add in the time that your colleagues use when they decide to adopt your ideas and the end result is a lot of man hours.

And then you go to a trade fair like BETT at Olympia in London and maybe you come away with a dozen ideas.  At that point you need to start serious planning about how you are going to introduce all these wonderful new things to your teaching.  That’s the guy with the torch at the end of your tunnel! Continue reading »