EducationDaily is back at EduTech for the second day of EduTech 2024 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
EduTech is Australia’s largest conference and exhibition for educators and EdTech providers.
Throughout the day we are talking to attendees and speakers for the EducationDaily podcast, while adding other thoughts and insights from the event.
EducationDaily editor Claire Halliday interviews Peter Abt about robotics company Sphero
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Claire Halliday speaks with Janet Galimi from Sora
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Claire Halliday speaks with Nick Morgan from Toddle
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Claire Halliday speaks with Sally Wagnon from Academy for Enterprising Girls
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EduTech is home to a lot of robots
There are a lot of really cool robots on display at EduTech. This one quite literally caught my eye:
This fella’s name is fable and he is hanging out at The Brainary. What I liked about this is that it is a modular robot with a really intuitive click and ‘play’ mechanism.
– Dan Barrett
Check out the ‘Activefloor’
Hidden amongst the maze of software salesmen and AI stalls on Day 2, I was happy to stumble across the ‘Activefloor’ – a decently fun interactive game projected onto the floor.
Offering up a simple capture-the-flag style lesson coated in pirate-themed paint, I was able to take the high seas and sink my rival swashbucklers with a simple foot stomp on the correct answers for first-grade maths questions.
If you saw me get 11×3 wrong, no you didn’t.
The sales team tells me that there’s a whole slew of games on offer for the Activefloor, each one focused on different subjects for students from primary all the way through to grade 12.
Definitely one to keep an eye on if you’re looking to get your students up, active and interacting with the content.
– Jarrod Brown
Who doesn’t love some swag?
We’ve met some amazing people at EduTech this year, but it’s clear the real winner here is the swag. Check out this line…
From water bottles and custom footy cards to our very own squishy stress ball ‘brains’, everyone from EduTech has seemingly lined their pockets with some quality prizes.
These guys even let me cheat the system and walk away with my very own Frank Green coffee cup. Score!
– Jarrod Brown
Check out these LEGO legends
Apparently made in the classroom by primary students, these little robot gym junkies have been hard at work hitting the weights every time I’ve walked past in the last two days.
– Jarrod Brown
Apparently Gen AI is a big deal?
While there’s been a lot of insightful speakers hit the stage this year tackling challenges from all over the industry, the question that seems to be on everyone lips is how Gen AI is going to be used both in and out of the classroom going forward.
Talks from big names like Gronk and Google (alongside the never-ending stalls of AI-led teaching products) have me convinced that AI is going to play a big part in shaping not only how teachers approach lesson planning, but shakeup the core assessment modules that have remained largely unchanged over the last 15 years.
The vibe here at EduTech seems to be either learn to embrace AI in some way, or run the risk of being left behind by modern day students.
– Jarrod Brown
Dan Barrett speaks with James Sheridan from Igloo Vision
Before you listen, check out the Igloo Vision showreel – you need to see the product to understand it properly.
Find out more about the product by listening to Dan chatting with James Sheridan:
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And that’s a wrap for EduTech 2024
It was a fantastic two days at EduTech 2024. From the EducationDaily booth and from getting around on the exhibitor floor and talking to exhibitors and attendees alike, the general vibe was that everyone had a great time. Everyone was energised and excited to talk about the opportunities being afforded to the education sector right now.
AI was a key buzzword and there was no shortage of vendors talking about AI integrations into their platform. Another positive trend we noticed was a heightened interest in safety for students and staff alike.
We’re looking forward to EduTech 2025, which will be located at the ICC Sydney. We’ll see you there.
