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All about the BETT Show

So for those of you who have been following our social media (or dropped us an email and got our out of office reply), you’ll have noticed that last week we attended the BETT Show which this year merged with the Education Show.

The BETT Show is the largest event in education (and after attending I’m inclined to agree… it was a huge event) and brings together educators, leaders, companies, investors, distributors and many more people who are interested in education.

According to Wikipedia it stands for  ‘British Educational Training and Technology Show’ although at the event we heard people say it stood for ‘Better Education Through Technology’,  ‘British Educational Technology for Teachers’ and a variety of other names. So who knows?!

Either way, it was clear it was about education, and there was a lot of tech!

You get everyone and anyone there who wants to become inspired! There were a large number of international teachers, a large number of tech companies (obviously) and of course smaller Start-ups that have different offerings for schools.

We were exhibiting promoting Tutor In A Box and the benefits of it and we had a blast! We spoke to some awesome people including a mixture of corporate companies and owners as well as teachers, tutors and parents!

For us, it was reassuring to hear lots of really positive feedback. Everyone we spoke to loved the concept, they thought it was a great idea and they were keen to know more about how it could help their students.

Some of the key questions we got asked are below – we thought we’d share them for your information (and amusement):

  • What is Tutor In A Box? Tutor In A Box is an award winning educational subscription box helping students reach their potential by providing a new topic each month, based on the national curriculum. It improves confidence, increases motivation and results in better grades.
  • Who’s it for? We have versions available in Maths and English for students all the way from Year 1 up to Year 11.
  • Why have you got balloons everywhere? We think learning should be fun, engaging and interactive, so we use lots of bright colours and fun items to engage students. We want people to feel good about education, so everything we do (such as decorating the stands with balloons or giving out stickers) reflects this.
  • Does it come in an actual, real box? Yes! Whilst we have online resources and webinars to support the materials, the emphasis of Tutor In A Box is receiving a real, physical box through the post each month! We think everyone likes receiving post so this is an important part for us!
  • Where’s the high tech gadgets? Think of this as unplugged learning. We get students off devices and learning the old-fashioned way! Whilst we have online resources and webinars to support the materials we firmly believe in playing physical games, writing things down and exploring through manipulatives*.
  • I’m a teacher, how can I use it? We work with lots of different schools, providing a number of boxes to support specific students – such as pupil premium students or intervention students. The tuition works best when it is one student per box as they take ownership of their learning and they receive a new topic each month.
  • I’m a tutor, how can I use it? We work with many tutors who buy our resources to use with their students. Because each box contains all the resources a tutor needs – including physical activities as well as tasks, answers and materials, it can save tutors time and money. Tutors can buy individual boxes at any time, based on any topic. Please drop us a line (info@tutorinabox.co.uk) and we will sort this out for you.
  • I’m a parent, how can I use it? You can help your child by subscribing directly on the website. Just select the primary or secondary version of Tutor In A Box and choose their year group. You will get your next box dispatched within a few weeks, depending on the date you order it.
  • I’m a distributor and want to re-sell it in my country. We’d be delighted to chat – please email us (info@tutorinabox.co.uk) and we’ll provide more information.
  • Can I have one of your yellow mugs? Afraid not – they are for display purposes (and really awesome teachers only). We’ve got chocolates instead though you can have!

*Manipulatives is just a fancy word for physical maths aids / objects.

 

So that’s it – a snapshot from our time at BETT! We had lots of fun and met some great people. It wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the awesome people that were on stands around us though … These were: Drumba, Teach All About It, Hey Girls, DDMIX for Schools, Comic Relief and Happy Teeth Education. These people were the ones we drank coffee with at 8am in the morning, and prosecco with at 6pm on the Friday evening! Please do take a look at their websites – they all offer awesome things!