[senit] BETT, Becta, SENIT SEN (& any other acronyms)

It's a frustrating, exciting and tiring time of the annual calendar,  
full of information and contacts you might want to make time to  
follow up, and probably as with every other year, peppered with  
political developments that we all have to react to in one way or  
another.

Picking up on David Wilson's message about making his own way down,  
but finding the provision of SEN seminars and showcasing to be weaker  
than earlier in the week, fair comment. I guess that for the people  
funding the Fringe, they have to take into account the shorter run of  
the day on Saturday (ending at 4pm rather than 6pm), so perhaps  
feeling that funding a whole day would be less effective and trying  
to concentrate their costs. I do know that the costs of stands at  
BETT are phenomenal, and I think that was part of the reason behind  
the move to the Fringe.
I did gather from quite a few people that I spoke to that they were  
using their PPA time as a lever to getting the rest of the day given  
over to them to attend the show. Clearly this wasn't possible for  
David, but it's a useful argument that works for some. I'm sure many  
old hand like myself have progressed over time from years of doing  
exactly what David describes, paying our own travel costs and using  
our own time,through to gradually getting the travel paid, to  
eventually getting the school to see it as a valid INSET activity.  
That's not to say that that is acceptable, and I think David would  
perhaps also agree that Govt should be setting expectations that at  
the very least an ICT coordinator should be given time and costs to  
go to the show.

Following Richard Walter's comments about the meeting with the Becta  
team, and that perhaps we are now 'on our own', I think that's a very  
interesting position now. People may or may not know that Christine  
Vincent has left Becta (timing being coincidental) and Neil McLean is  
taking the lead Director's role that will oversee the people working  
on issues relating to inclusion. It remains to be seen how the change  
of Director may affect the existing reorganisation, and of course  
with a new CEO (Stephen Crowne) there may yet be new management  
structures to emerge in the near future to further compound the  
changes. But probably far more relevant than any of that, is that as  
Chris Stevens emphasised, the Govt have transformed Becta's job  
anyway. So a lot of the work we are used to them being involved in  
simply isn't an option for them any more. What we have to identify  
for ourselves, is exactly what we want to be happening that supports  
our work across the SEN spectrum, that the new role of Becta leaves  
out. Looks like we could have a lot of interesting postings on the  
site over the coming year, it leaves on the one hand potentially with  
less support, but on the other, with more control to direct our own  
needs and seek our own solutions.

Claire Barnes reported back on an extensive set of interesting things  
she had 'seen at BETT', responding to David Fettes' original query.  
For my pennyworth, I thought Assistiveware's astounding one click  
control of the entire Mac OS interface was mindblowing. I had come  
across this a few months ago, but passed it by as something aimed at  
people who had to grapple with enormous physical impairment such as  
paralysis whilst having full intellectual ability. However, it was  
well worth a closer look, and I'm sure there are at least two or  
three children in my school who could make good use of some of the  
programmes this company have developed (SLD and Complex needs). Take  
a look here, and if you're thinking "Ah, but that's only for Mac",  
then you should also be thinking "Does Windows allow 3rd party  
developers to create tools like this?" Hopefully the answer would be  
yes, but do look at the case studies, some amazing and inspiring  
people here (by the way, they are all adults because the developers  
felt it wass easier than dealing with the issues around permissions  
for children):
http://www.assistiveware.com/community.php
Soundbeam. I'm sure every special school in the country is aware of  
this, but if, like us, you got in on the first wave and have an  
ageing machine wired up to one of the early Midi capable keyboards,  
then it's well worth a fresh look. I was particularly taken by the  
ability to use the power of a sound module but control it via the  
Soundbeam 'box' along with the much more compact footprint this  
creates, along with the ability to blend multiple users including  
some working with switches.
http://www.soundbeam.co.uk/
Soft (neoprene?) Bluetooth keyboard. This was at the edge of the SEN  
area within BETT, Barry Bennett Ltd. It is apparently so new to them  
that it's not listed in their catalogue, but may be on their website  
very soon. It has a flat and easily rolled up slab of tin neoprene  
with keys clearly marked out, with a 'sender' unit of hard plastic on  
the left side. No idea on how good it is but it looked like a very  
useable tool. We're currently using Apple's own bluetooth keyboards  
and mice with our touchscreen plasmas, but this might be a good option.
http://www.barrybennett.co.uk/enable.php
Reactive Colours. I didn't get time to see them during the week, but  
thankfully have already got involved in their project, and it's  
excellent! They are aiming it at exploring the impact on users on the  
autistic spectrum, but that doesn't mean that everyone else is  
excluded. Brilliant well thought out ideas with stunning graphics  
that can be used by children or adults, with or without all sorts of  
disabilities.
http://www.reactivecolours.org/
Govt. I picked up quite a few publications from Becta amongst others,  
and my New Year's resolution is to actually go ahead and complete the  
self-review framework within our school. I took a look at this or  
something like it a few years ago, but never got back to complete  
where I'd got to, so here's the chance to start afresh. I know that's  
not a sexy bit of kit, or a bit of software the children will love,  
but in the longer term I'm hoping it would be something that will  
help us make fundamental decisions that take our work with pupils  
into the future, and embed the idea of ICT being an integral part of  
the School Development Plan.
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=srf
BBC Jam. Spoke to Johnathan Hassell and he demonstrated some of  
waht's been developed so far aimed at users with SLD. Very persuasive  
stuff - when I took a look earlier this year it frustrated me, but  
looking again and also seeing some of the areas about to be released  
(such as resources aimed at deaf children) it looked really good. For  
some reason they haven't produced leaflets or publicity about it for  
schools to pass on to parents. It's aimed at home use, though lots of  
it would be good if not better in school, but I'm not sure how they  
plan to get parents alerted to what's there.
Cleveratom. What I saw of their work up on the Create at BETT area  
looked really good, but their website tells you pretty much nothing.  
What I can tell you is that Matthew, who is behind all this, used to  
work with Ultralab and brings with him some excellent experience and  
ideas:
http://www.cleveratom.co.uk/
Lastly, a blog that is well worth looking at even if you only do it  
to see some things you might not have had time to see at BETT. Leon  
Cych is a bit or a whirlwind in terms of tracking modern technology,  
and he's got 5 entries direct from BETT not to mention BlipTV  
preceding them. Whilst this and Cleveratom are not SEN directly, they  
both represent inspiring examples that we and everyone else in  
education should be aiming at. As an illustration of this to sign  
off, if you were trying to design a mobile phone that might suit many  
users with SLD, and could start from scratch, what might you come up  
with?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Enjoy the forthcoming year!

Sean O'Sullivan
sean.frankwise at easynet.co.uk
Deputy Headteacher
Frank Wise School, Banbury
http://www.frankwise.oxon.sch.uk

http://www.parkroadict.co.uk