One of the difficulties in organising a national conference and exhibition, with more than pound;80,000 invested in it by the Scottish Executive, is how to make it truly national. This year the SETT show is reaching out to bring its high-tech festival in Glasgow to parts of the countrry other computer shows cannot reach.
The SETT show, now in its third year, has established a sterling reputation for providing free in-service training for all teachers, whatever their subject. Even teachers in far-flung areas who cannot travel to the central belt can benefit now.
With more than 100 seminars catering for early years, primary, secondary and further education and now communities too, and the biggest education technology exhibition in Scotland, SETT provides “an invaluable staff development opportunity”, as Mike Baughan, chief executive of Learning and Teaching Scotland, puts it.
Whether you are in Highland, Shetland, Orkney or the Western Isles, it promises to have something for you too.
In an important pilot, a “mini SETT” will run simultaneously at a site in Highland, with its own seminars and computer exhibition, plus keynote speakers and events relayed live from Glasgow. If this works well, the plan is to extend it to the island authorities next year.
For everyone who wishes to tap into what is going on, SETT TV will relay highlights on the Internet at www.sett-tv.org.uk.
So, if you want to catch what David Thornburg, a member of the American team that invented the first PC, has to say on the future of work in the telematic age (you might even hear him sing The Bill Gates Blues on his electric guitar), if you want to listen in to a Masterclass debate on the changes required in education to ensure the investment in ICT has an impact on the curriculum or hear what Education Minister Peter Peacock has to say to an audience of the great and the good, then tune in.
If you can make it to Glasgow, it’s more than worth the effort. If you can’t, there is no need to feel excluded.
And incidentally, bookings for next year’s show start in March.
* SETT 2003 is at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow on September 24-25. The event is organised by Learning and Teaching Scotland, sponsored by NGfL Scotland and supported by TES Scotland. The exhibition is organised by Emap Education.
For more information, see www.settshow.com or call the hotline, 0870 429 4490. Teachers who have not pre-registered can drop in and check availability of tickets for the talks at the seminar desk.
