The DIY 'pixelsense' like table is planned to be available premade or as a kit, for schools to make themselves as a project.

More Info: http://www.parat.eu/Koffer-Licht-IT/Schule-Schulungen-Medien/Aktuelles/Produktneuheiten/Aktion/PARAPROJECT-Cube-fuer-iPad:::2_15_137_144_388.html

All the photos can be found in our Flickr! group which you are free to join and add to. Just visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/edugeek-bett-2013.

Festo is a leading world-wide supplier of automation technology and the performance leader in industrial training and education programs. Our aim: maximised productivity and competitiveness for our customers.

 

All over the world, education forms the basis for a desirable future. Festo invests consistently in the sustainability of education systems.

 

More Info: http://www.festo.com/

http://www.netgenium.co.uk/

Some info:

The first computer of its kind to have a built-in high powered speaker which delivers superb full range hi-fi quality sounds as well as vintage guitar sounds.

 

The first computer to have a universal input jack enabling users to plug in a multitude of musical instruments (guitar, keyboard etc ) and peripherals such as the iPod, MP3 players, microphones.

 

A unique cooling system to ensure air goes in and exits only after cooling the internal computer

 

The OPC is available with advanced Intel processors. The Intel 2100 is available as a beefy 3.1Ghz dual core CPU with 4 threads. For these wanting more power and a smarter processor, the Intel 2500K quad core offers faster stock speeds of 3.3Ghz and dynamically overclocks itself up to 3.7Ghz depending on the power needed from your applications. The most demanding users will enjoy the i7-2600k quad core which dynamically overclocks up to 3.8Ghz with 8 threads offering a huge amount of power for your creativity.

For more information, visit www.orangeopc.com

Thanks to @Domino for filming the demo.

We shall be there to meet our members and spread the word to those in the US who don’t already know us. As an extra special thank you to our existing members in the States, the first person each day to get to the stand and declare their membership will receive an EduGeek t-shirt/shirt (size permitting of course!) and whatever other goodies we can cram in our suitcases

The exposition will be open from Monday the 25th June to Wednesday the 27th: http://www.isteconference.org/2012/

Come and keep us company, even if it’s just to stop and say hi, as we’d love to meet you. If you’d like to get together with us after the show for a drink and a chat you would be more than welcome.

See you next week

 

The photographs of the EDIT2012 conference are now online at

If you have any photos from the day, please feel free to add them to the group.

For those that were asking, here are the EduGeek EDIT presenter power points from the day.

• Rick Byers - DPA/EU Cookie Directive Update
  Rick Byers - Edugeek Cookie Data Protection.pptx
  
• Frambozenbier: Raspberry PI Play time
  An introduction to the Raspberry Pi.pptx
  An introduction to the Raspberry Pi 2.pptx
  
• Smoothwall: Internet Security Update
  Smoothwall - EGConf12.pptx
  
• Microsoft: Office 365
  Microsoft - Office 365 EduGeek.pptx
  
• Impero: BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices)
  Impero - BYOD.pptx
  
• Epson: Colour printing that doesn't cost the Earth
  Epson - colour that doesn't cost the earth.pptx
  

08:00 EduGeek staff/exhibitors arrive for setup

08:30 Delegates arrive coffee etc.

09:00 Opening address

09:15 - 10:00 Rick Byers: DPA Update

10:00 - 10:45 Raspberry Pi: Pi Playtime

10:45 - 11:00 Break

11:00 - 11:45 Smoothwall: Internet security update

11:45 - 12:30 Microsoft: Windows and Server 8

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 - 14:15 Adobe: CS6

14:15 - 15:00 Impero: BYOD

15:00 - 15:15 Break

15:15 – 16:00 Epson - Colour printing that doesn't cost the Earth

16:00 – 17:00 Ask the admins

17:00 Close

19:00 Meal at the Phantom Winger

If you do have any questions please post them up and we shall try to answer them, but be aware we are very (very) busy today as you can imagine.

To view the stream on your Android/iOS device, simply download the app from the Google Play or AppStore and enter the meeting URL when prompted. Using a PC/Mac simply visit the meeting URL.

Kindly provided by Adobe.

The meeting URL is:

http://eseminars.adobeconnect.com/edugeek-edit2012/

Dos_Box

Thursday June 7th 2012

In association with



 

It's that time of year again when we at EduGeek in association with Smoothwall, who have kindly sponsored this years event, ask you once more to make you way up, down and across to Preston in Lancashire, for a day of informed talks from companies specialising in education and other areas, networking and meeting the site sponsors as well as being pampered by us and our event sponsor Smoothwall.

This year we shall once more be holding the event in the beautiful environs of the University of Central Lancashire’s Westleigh Conference Centre, located in a fully modernised 19^th century manor house on the outskirts of Preston. The venue is just a 5 minute drive from the Ibis hotel it means attendees who choose to overnight get to spend less time traveling and more time socialising. As always, the conference is free as we shall keep you up to date on speakers as and when we can confirm them.

Confirmed speakers are:

• Microsoft - Windows and Server 8
  
• Frambozenbier - An introduction to the Raspberry Pi
  
• Rick Byers - The EU Cookie Law
  
• Adobe - Adobe CS6
  
• Impero - BYOD
  
• SmoothWall - Current internet security issues
  
• Epson - Subject TBC
  

We shall also have tables exhibiting products and services from our speakers and other companies. These include:

ICT-Direct

SmoothWall

Meru

Net-Ctrl

Adobe

Impero

Epson

Follett

Schools Broadband

Travel and hotels

As usual we recommend that you stay at the Ibis Preston North which is comfortable, cheap and a mere 5 minute drive from the venue: http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-31...rth/index.shtm

The venue is easy to get to and you can get the location and directions from this site here:

http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/s...ces/travel.php

And for those of you using sat-nav you can use this address to find your way:

Westleigh Conference Centre

Lea Road

Preston

PR4 0RB

For those that cannot attend

We will be streaming the conference online courtesy of Adobe and Adobe Connect. More details are to follow about the streaming service.

If you have a ticket but cannot attend after all

Please please contact us ASAP as we can usually allocate your space to another member, the sooner you let us know the faster we can fill the vacant slot.

BETT had 30,372* visitors over the 4 days which made it the highest attended BETT so far. This was an increase of 3.84% from last year.

Next years BETT is at the ExCel exhibition centre which I am told provides extra space and also is now at the end of January (30th - 2nd Feb) which hopefully will mean more can attend rather than having it in the first week of term for many. They also say current bookings for next years show are at 104% percent of Olympia's capacity already.

As usual EduGeek will be attending so make sure you come along to the new stand.

*Subject to ABC Audit

Here is a snippet from their PR release:

30,372* visitors make BETT 2012 the highest attended show ever!

 

Despite significant changes within the UK education sector, BETT 2012, the world’s largest technology in education show saw a 3.84 per cent increase in visitor numbers.

According to official figures, a record breaking 30,372* educators, teachers, and leaders from across the world gathered together at Olympia, London, over four days from 11-14 January 2012.

 

Reinforcing its position as the largest, most impressive show of its kind, BETT pulled out all the stops to bring visitors the latest innovations in education and the best Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities available.

All exhibitors interviewed confirmed that the show had been the most successful ever, demonstrating that despite changes in schools’ funding, there is a still plenty of money available for the right products and services.

 

Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for education visited Olympia on the 11^th January to open BETT and to confirm his absolute belief in the importance of technology in education. HRH the Duke of York visited the Show to close the Education World Forum, an annual international event for international education ministers.

 

Debbie French, exhibition director of BETT organiser Emap, commented: “Once again educators proved their infallible passion in supporting learning through technology. BETT also attracted an increasing number of international visitors, wanting to learn from the leaders in the adoption of learning technologies, the UK.”

 

Ray Barker, director of show partner, British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) added: “Government policy now gives schools and teachers the autonomy to make their own decisions about which solutions suit their student’s specific learning needs. With the desire to invest wisely BETT attracted the largest number of visitors wanting to review and evaluate all products available to them.”

The continued success of BETT has resulted in the show moving to the larger state-of-the-art premises of the ExCel exhibition centre in 2013.

 

Debbie French explains: “Olympia has been a wonderful venue for BETT for many years but the show’s success means it has outgrown these limited premises. As the world’s largest technology in education show, ExCel not only provides the space we need, it also has the appropriate 21^st century facilities.”

 

Floor space rebooked during BETT 2012 already totals 104 per cent of the Olympia venue, suggesting that the move to the larger ExCel comes at exactly the right time.

Weekday Alterations:

DISTRICT LINE: No service on the Kensington Olympia section until 1015 when a special events service will run. Elsiegee40 has made an excellent post here explaining the changes.

Those driving may want to avoid the A4 Hammersmith Flyover as it is closed until further notice due to structural faults.

There are no other planned alterations on the Tube or National Rail services.

Weekend Alterations

OVERGROUND No service between Richmond and Willesden Junction (this is not the Olympia branch).

NORTHERN LINE: No service between Camden Town and Kennington via Bank. Use the Charing Cross branch to head into Central London.

SOUTHERN TRAINS: Engineering work on the Balham section of line causing diversions and cancellations (of most note the service that would call at Olympia from Croydon now starts and terminates at Clapham Junction). See the quote below for details:

- Trains between London Victoria and Dorking will not run

- Trains between London Victoria and Epsom will be extended to / from Dorking / Horsham

- Trains between Milton Keynes Central and South Croydon will start / terminate at Clapham Junction

- Trains between London Victoria and East Grinstead will call additionally at Selhurst

- Trains between London Victoria and Caterham will not run

- Trains between London Victoria and Sutton via Selhurst will not run

Gatwick Express services are also affected and the following services will not run:

- 15 and 45 minutes past the hour between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport

- 05 and 35 minutes past the hour between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

SOUTH-WEST TRAINS: Engineering work will take place between London Waterloo and Kingston/Woking but this will have a knock-on effect on services further south. See the quote below for further information:

- Trains in the Hounslow Loop Line, will run between London Waterloo and Twickenham via Hounslow only. Alternative train services are to be used between Twickenham and Barnes via Richmond.

 

- Trains between London Waterloo and Weybridge (via Brentford) will not run. Passengers are advised to travel on alternative trains between London Waterloo and Virginia Water. Buses replace trains between Virginia Water and Weybridge, calling at Chertsey and Addlestone.

 

- Trains between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside will call additionally at Queenstown Road, Wandsworth Town, Barnes, Mortlake, North Sheen and St Margarets.

 

- Trains between London Waterloo and Chessington South will run from London Waterloo at 3 and 33 minutes past each hour and from Chessington South at 21 and 51 minutes past each hour.

 

- Trains between London Waterloo and Hampton Court will not run. Alternative services are to be used between London Waterloo and Tolworth and buses will run between Tolworth and Hampton Court calling at Surbiton and Thames Ditton

 

- Trains between London Waterloo and Woking will not run. Alternative services are to be used between London Waterloo and Tolworth and buses will run between Tolworth and Weybridge / Woking

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Basingstoke which normally leave at 12 and 42 minutes past each hour will be retimed to start 30 minutes earlier. These trains are diverted and will not stop at Surbiton, Walton-on-Thames or Weybridge. Buses replace trains between Surbiton and Woking calling at Tolworth, Esher, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge, Byfleet & New Haw and West Byfleet and between Kingston and Woking, calling at Surbiton, Esher, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour which normally leave on the hour will be retimed to start 30 minutes earlier and will be diverted calling additionally at Clapham Junction, Farncombe, Godalming, Liphook, Liss, Rowlands Castle, Bedhampton and Hilsea.

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour which normally leave at 30 minutes past each hour will be retimed to start 30 minutes earlier and will be diverted calling additionally at Clapham Junction

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Haslemere which normally leave at 15 minutes past each hour will start from Woking and call additionally at Worplesdon

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth & Southsea which normally leave at 45 minutes past each hour will not run

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Weymouth which normally leave at 5 minutes past each hour will be retimed to start at 35 minutes past each hour and will be diverted calling additionally at Clapham Junction, Woking, Farnborough, Basingstoke and Winchester

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Weymouth which normally leave at 35 minutes past each hour will be retimed to start at 5 minutes past each hour and will be diverted calling additionally at Clapham Junction, Woking, Basingstoke, Winchester and Eastleigh

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Poole which normally leave at 39 minutes past each hour will start from Winchester. Alternative services are to be used between London Waterloo and Winchester

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour (via Eastleigh) which normally leave at 9 minutes past each hour will start from Basingstoke. Alternative services are to be used between London Waterloo and Basingstoke

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Salisbury will start from Basingstoke. Passengers are advised to travel on earlier services from London Waterloo to Basingstoke and change

 

- Trains from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids will be retimed to leave at 50 minutes past each hour and will be diverted calling additionally at Clapham Junction

FIRST CAPITAL CONNECT: The usual closures on the Thameslink section between Herne Hill/London Bridge and St. Pancras will be in force for the engineering project at Blackfriars.

Links:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.html

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/tube/default.html

Update: Slides from the event are available here http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/blogs/schools/ita-summit-2011-slides.aspx

Myself (@TheScarfedOne), and James (@EduTech) are attending - and keeping the Twitter feed up to date. If you want to see what is going on anf get involved - the hash tag to follow is #ITASUM11. We are keeping an eye on the feed - so if you have any questions, please send them across. Our direct twitter names are @TheScarfedOne and @EduTech90.

The agenda is as follows...

9.00 Welcome

9.30 Introduction: Greg Pearson - MSFT UK Lead

9.40 Keynote: Karen Price - CEO e-Skils, Steven Uden - Head of Skill & Economic Affairs MSFT

10.10 ITA Benefits and Update: Greg Pearson - MSFT UK Lead

10.40 Product Development: Simon Garratt - QCA

11.10 Microsoft Lync: Ewan Dalton - MSFT

11.40 BREAK

12.10 Product Development: Ken Gaines - City and Guilds

12.40 ITA in Practice: Alan Stevens - Sawtry College, Julian Brunger - Walsall College, Richard Seaton - Open University

13.40 LUNCH

14.10 Microsoft in Teaching and Learning: Lee Stott - MSFT

15.30 Academic Service Partners - Prodigy and IT Skills Company

Stuart Wilkie

With our second ISTE show under our belt we are now sat in international departures at Philly airport and we finally have time to get down in words how awesome this week has been. Awesome weather, awesome people, awesome (bordering on dangerous) food and an unbelievably awesomely large workload (I think I’ll stop there. I’m beginning to sound like Steve Jobs).

It would be fair to say that I don’t think Shaun and I have worked as hard as we have this week at any exhibition or event we have ever done or organised.

We arrived on a hot and humid Friday afternoon, only just missing some torrential rainstorms a few hours before, and booked into our ‘affordable’ hotel, complete with random room service. Unmade beds, absent towels, lift doors that opened whist the lift was still moving and a bar that shut at 10pm were some of the joyous facilities we endured during our stay but after a good night's sleep on Friday evening we awoke, still jet lagged, on Saturday morning to ventured out into the city via the train from the airport, a trip of some 7 miles.

After a brief stop to pick up exhibitor badges at the conference centre and check on the stand's location, we then had to locate coffee with some urgency (I have discovered that Shaun is actually some kind of artificial life form powered by high strength caffeine!). From there we enjoyed a leisurely ‘donder’ (as Shaun put it) around Philly city center to try and alleviate our jet lag. We saw plenty of the magnificent Victorian and early 20th century architecture as well as the Liberty Bell where we found we didn’t have to join the huge queue as there are viewing windows at the end of the building housing it to allow you to see it from the outside!

We then promptly proceeded to get lost in a city that is laid out in easy to navigate blocks before stumbling upon McGillin’s Old Ale House. And what a fine place it is, located down an ally, it is, apparently, the oldest pub in the city. It contained a great selection of local beers and stouts as well as food for the weary traveller and, as we definitely fell into this category, we decided to try their wares. An hour or so later we were ‘saved’ from potential ruination by a friendly local. I have to be frank here; all of the people we met in Philly were great. To eryone they were friendly, polite and generous. He told us about the Wanamaker organ, located within Macy’s department store just a block away, and about how today was its hundredth birthday and they were having a free concert that afternoon to celebrate the occasion, so along we went, and once we’d secured a spot on the third floor in the ‘ladies intimates’ department amongst the bras and knickers we had a prime spot to watch not only the organ (some 300 tons of it!!) but the full choir and accompanying brass section they had as well. It was an amazing experience. Apparently it is the world’s largest musical instrument and the sound it made was simply amazing.

The Wanamaker Organ in Macy's Department Store

On the Sunday we once again journeyed to the Pennsylvania Convention Centre and endured an 8 hour setup day with SmoothWall, with who we shared the stand (sorry, it’s ‘booth’ in the states). Mainly this was because we had to use the local labour to put up the stand and we were forbidden to do it ourselves. We therefore had to pay to watch someone else to do it whilst directing them every step of the way.

After a time it became clear that some of our stand was ‘missing’. A magnetic strip that held up part of our backdrop was absent and if it wasn’t for the kind efforts of a foreman named Joe who had promised us he’d have our stand ready for the morning we’d have been in trouble. And to his total credit (and our undying thanks) he did!

From there we all went for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for Monday’s early start.

On Monday morning, with the stand fully complete, we took it all in. It was a sight to behold (see pictures) and played no small part in generating the interest our stand received. Pauls Heather’s stunning design was large, eye catching, funny and relevant. All of which stopped attendees in their tracks, made them read the message, digest it and then approach Shaun and I to find out more. It could be said Paul was the invisible third member of the team on the stand thanks to his amazing design skills. There was just one teensy problem with the display though and totally in keeping in the highest traditions of EduGeek exhibitions everywhere. See if you can spot it.

Shaun explaining EduGeek to a visitor. Many just kept him talking to hear his accent I think

The actual show itself was a joy and a real step up for us from last year's in Denver. Over the two and a half days we spoke to almost 200 people at great length about EduGeek, how we work, what our ethos is about why we can keep the site free to use without selling people’s details, charging subscriptions and otherwise being underhanded in the treatment of our members. We also had the huge pleasure of having quite a few of our US members pop over to the stand and say thank you for all of the help they have received from you, our members, in solving the problems they encounter day to day, it was a real highlight for us. In fact, out of all the people we met, only one didn’t believe what we were saying and she ran off! Or perhaps that was just me.

You also have to take in the fact that the ISTE show is not like BETT in that the main focus is on lectures and training sessions with the main exhibition almost being secondary to the proceedings. As a result many attendees are there not to see the manufacturers and stands but to attend meetings and break-out sessions... and at a cost of over $300 per person to attend it keeps visitor numbers down to about a 5th of that you see at BETT in London.

It was also a bizarre situation to see some familiar faces from a Capita delegation stumble across the stand and stop for a chat as well as a friendly face from Promethean who we knew from the Learning Without Frontiers conference, who climbed out of a taxi outside our hotel at 11:30pm to be faced with Shaun and myself sitting on a bench having a drink outside before bed. The phrase ‘double take’ does not quite cover it! In fact we heard from several companies and individuals that they were very happy to see EduGeek now participating regularly in the ISTE show and focussing more of our attention on US schools. It really makes the effort and expense worthwhile.

On the downside, we were so busy we had almost zero chance of actually seeing any other stands or having a walk around the show to take it all in as we were so inundated with visitors, but as the show is smaller in scale for both attendees and stand size than BETT we don’t think we missed anything new and the demand for our attention more than made up for it. This also meant that the camera we usually set up for you to see the stand live did not get used. Even though it was in position Shaun didn’t have the required amount of time to configure it after our internet connection didn’t work correctly and we were delayed in getting a new router on the opening day.

But it was worthwhile... We now have a better understanding of how the US education system works in regards to IT and the challenges they face. As well as how we can accommodate them within the EduGeek community but, given the sheer scale, variety and regional differences in the American educational IT sector we still have a way to go before we get all of the information we need.

After the show had finished at 2:30 on the Wednesday, it saw SmoothWall and ourselves waiting for packing crates, labour and other assorted pieces of bureaucracy that required completing. This meant that it took a full 6 hours to pack up and leave the searing heat of the convention center (they turn off the air conditioning the minute the show finishes), so if any of our BETT volunteers think that an hour to take down the stand is frustrating you should come to the US. In fact, SmoothWall had to run off and catch their plane back to Charlotte before we’d finished it took that long! And at 7:30 we staggered out of the place for the last time and went to look for a drink…or 6.

I think it would be safe to say that, just like BETT, we learn something new about ISTE, and the way of doing things, each year. I just hope that next year does not spring any nasty surprises on us at ISTE 2012 in San Diego

All that now remains is to thank the many people and companies who made this trip tolerable and a little less like the burden it was. So in no particular order:

• SmoothWall US – For sharing a booth with us and keeping our costs down. As well as for dinner and assorted taxi rides. Thanks George, Claire and Bill. We’ll see you next year in San Diego.
  
• 
  
• Paul ‘SYSMAN’ Heather – For designing our stand displays and making them so eye catching people were taking photos of it!
  
• 
  
• All of the EduGeek members from the US who sought us out for a chat, and those who have just found out about us. We hope to see you on the forums soon.
  
• 
  
• Joe the foreman from the Carpenters Union – For getting our stand up by the morning. Magnets!!!
  
• 
  
• CIPAFilter – For taking us out to a Brazilian steak house for a meal. A human being should not be capable of eating that much meat!
  
• 
  
• The city and people of Philadelphia - For being polite, kind, generous and helpful each and every one and for having amazing history and architecture and making me want to buy a Gershwin album. It was a genuine pleasure.
  

Philadelphia City Hall

• 
  
• McGillin’s Old Ale House – For affordable food, excellent beer and great service. If you’re ever in Philly look this place up. It’s well worth the effort.
  

McGillin's Old Ale House

• 
  
• The Wanamaker Organ – 28,543 pipes of wind driven awesomeness!!!!!
  
• 
  
• Philly cheesesteak sandwiches – The kebab of the city. And just like a kebab, you promise yourself that after your first you’ll never have another again……
  
• 
  

And just like a kebab it looks a lot worse in daylight!

This year we also have a change of venue as we have now adopted the University of Central Lancashire's Westleigh Conference Centre as our new venue location this year. Just a 5 minutes’ drive from the Ibis hotel it means no more trekking to Chorley and booking coaches. As always, the conference is free as we shall keep you up to date on speakers as and when we can confirm them. Please note we have booked 80 seats, so it's first come first served and booking is being handled via EventBright.

Register Here

Confirmed speakers are:

• Dell (courtesy of Joskos) - Demonstrating the Dell Kace automation system
  
• Lancaster University Network Services - Schools and independent internet connections
  
• Rick Byers - The Data Protection Act - Myths and Musts
  
• Adobe - Adobe products and support
  
• AEG - UPS and power management
  
• SmoothWall - Netcap
  

We shall also have tables exhibiting products and services from our speakers and other companies. These include:

ICT-Direct

SmoothWall

Joskos/Dell

Meru

Net-Ctrl

LUNS

Adobe

Invictus Technology/Zybert Computing

Travel and hotels

As usual we recommend that you stay at the Ibis Preston North which is comfortable, cheap and a mere 5 minute drive from the venue: http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-3162-ibis-preston-north/index.shtm

The venue is easy to get to and you can get the location and directions from this site here:

http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/services/fm/services/conferences/travel.php

And for those of you using sat-nav you can use this address to find your way:

Westleigh Conference Centre

Lea Road

PR4 0RB Preston

For those that cannot attend

We will be streaming the conference online courtesy of Adobe and Adobe Connect. More details are to follow about the streaming service.

If you have a ticket but cannot attend after all

Please please contact us ASAP as we can usually allocate your space to another member, the sooner you let us know the faster we can fill the vacant slot.

The conf will be held on the 2nd June 2011 at the Westleigh Conference Centre Preston, a mere 5 minutes’ drive from the Preston North Ibis Hotel, negating the need to hire coaches this year. Please note we will not be opening bookings for this event for a couple of weeks yet, so please don't send us PM's or emails asking to be added to the list as we shall be using Eventbrite to handle the bookings. As usual the event will be free for all of our members to attend, and we shall have several sponsors with stands around the hall with new products for you to browse and play with. We are so far limited to 80 places but can fit more in dependent on demand, and have a raft of confirmed speakers (please note that these may change) including:

• Adobe - Adobe products and advice
  
• AEG UPS - Power requirements and UPS talk.
  
• One Planet Computing - Green power and technologies in schools
  
• CTI Group - The DPA, Myths and Musts
  
• Lancaster University Network Services - School Internet Connectivity
  
• Dell - The KACE Systems Management Appliance
  

I hope this is enough to wet your whistles, and remember, please don't contact us directly as we will be keeping you informed via the forums and bookings will be via Eventbrite.

• Office 365
  
• The new schools' licensing scheme
  
• SCCM
  
• Cool stuff from the Microsoft labs
  
• Primary schools (this will most likely be a break out session where you can meet the 'right' Microsoft people and discuss your issues)
  
• Sneak peek of upcoming Microsoft technologies
  
• And an EduGeek 'Ask the admins session' to round off the day
  

The timings will be as follows:

08:30 - Registration and coffee at Microsoft

09:00 - Introduction and start

10:30 - Coffee

12:30 - Lunch

13:30 - Afternoon sessions to start

15:30 - Coffee

17:00 - Close

We have not yet worked out the program of talks i.e. who talks when, so please bear with us on this. The conference is strictly limited to 55 places and will be on a first come, first served basis, and of course, attendance is free. If you wish to register please send an email to the address below with the heading 'EduGeek/Microsoft conf registration' and give me the following details:

conference@edugeek.net

• Full name
  
• School
  
• School address
  
• Will you be staying in a hotel and for how many nights. Also if you are planning to join the EduGeek admins in the evening (23rd-24th Feb) for drinks and discussion.
  
• EduGeek Username
  

The relevant details will be passed onto Microsoft for registration purposes.

Accomodation

Just a quick note to let any of you who are planning to stay the night know that if you can't streatch to Novotel prices, there is an Ibis Hotel right next door to the Novotel Reading and you can get a room for about £44 per night (http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-5431-ibis-reading-centre/index.shtml), and we'll get you a beer (and possibly food) or two in the evening of the event.

We look forwards to seeing you there for what promises to be an interseting day.

http://thebeamz.com/ - a light based sample controller.

http://www.skoogmusic.com/ - an instrument aimed at allowing SEN students to control sounds with a large expressive range.

You can download it for Mac OSX and Windows now from: http://sankore-program.org/

Linux version will be live soon.

Slight issues with noise on the floor - but you should be able to hear the very quiet demo we got ;-)

1. Live standcam from the, well, stand, curtesy of the Mobotix camera which will displayed on the homepage so you can follow the action live, with a shoutbox beneath for you to send us messages in real time
    
   
2. Manning the BETT Technical Help Point, where you can get information and advice on where to look for the products and companies you are seeking, or just to get answers to any IT problems you are experiencing.
    
   
3. Two podcasts a day on our YouTube channel (YouTube) to show off the latest technologies as we see them.
    
   
4. A large selction of mobile devices for you to play with. From iPads, Windows and Android tablets to Kindles and Sony e-book readers.
    
   
5. Roaming reporters tweeting live from the most interesting stands.
    
   
6. Free pizza at lunch (between 12:00 and 12:30) on the stand (G89).
    
   
7. Loads of freebies and the (very) limited edition posters.
    
   
8. Free wireless access for our members (details to be available on the stand) via Ruckus Wireless and the Server-Room-In-A-Box.
    
   
9. Server-Room-In-A-Box. Come and see the wonder of miniturisation of a full LAN backbone in a portable box!
   

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Was the ISTE Exhibition a success for EduGeek? Very much so, to be honest I was concerned that Shaun and I would spend all day manning a stand with no visitors, but this, happily was not the case. Over the 2 and a half days of ISTE we must have met over 100 network managers, district administrators (they lead teams of techies), IT teachers and other IT related education staff, and once we had broken down that everything on EduGeek is free, as in really free for our members and that we would not be selling their details followed by a swift look at the live map on Woopra to give a scale of our coverage. Oh! And a big thank you to all those that left messages on the shoutbox, it was nice to hear from you all.

Hopefully we should see a better take up of IT staff from the US in the next few months, and once word spreads, well. Let’s just see.

The ISTE show is a strange affair. It runs just over 2 and a half days and attracts 13,000 visitors, compared to BETTs 4 days and 60,000 visitors. However at ISTE the visitors must pay $300 to attend and $125 more if they want to take a guest compared to BETTs free admission, and at ISTE the manufacturers stands don’t have as much ‘bling’. There were no real new technologies or products on display, and they concentrated more on sales and awareness of their products and services, that said though, a vast bulk of the companies here also do BETT, which, in my opinion is where they produce the ‘goodies’.

As for Denver? Well, the people couldn’t be friendlier, the city cleaner, the air hotter and the oxygen more lacking (83% that of sea level). It’s taken us about 4 days to just be able to sleep properly and having a glass of water with each beer you get takes a little getting used to. Denver has zero humidity at the moment and you have to constantly replace missing fluids. Even walking down the street will leave your mouth dry and in need of more fluids. There are free buses that travel the length of 16th street (a pedestrianized shopping\eating street that stretches for the best part of a mile). In short, Denver is very pleasant indeed.

We now have 2 days off before flying back on Saturday, so time for a little sightseeing, which as of yet we have not had time to do, and letting our feet recover (next year we get chairs on the stand!).

Before I finish we’d just like to say a few thank-you’s to people and companies etc. who have helped make this trip the success it was:

SmoothWall – For dragging us over here in the first place and letting us share their stand and resources (and half the steak)

CIPAFilter – For the their half of the steak

Ken Royal – For the chat. We’ll be in touch (worth gate crashing SmoothWalls award ceremony for)

All the visitors to the stand who though EduGeek was a cool name

British Airways – For bumping us up to first class with a customer service second to none

The Brown Palace Hotel – For being the best hotel in Denver and having the friendliest staff

The companies at ISTE who popped over to say how nice it was to see EduGeek finally in the US

Our US and Scandinavian members who popped over to say ‘Hi’ – You made our day

Coffee and Ink – For providing us with the healthiest breakfast option, and I never used to like bagels!

American fire engines for being loud and impressive

Anyone who used the shoutbox – You kept us smiling.

US Buskers – You’ve got talent. (vid coming soon)

Our families - For letting us go for 10 days and understanding that it's important. We'll be home soon