Last week I was fortunate enough to attend part of the GESS (Global Education Supplies & Solutions) conference in Dubai.  I was beaming with excitement as I witnessed the new ideas, systems and technology making it’s way into education. Below is a screenshot of some notes I took as I wandered through the exhibition hall.  I witnessed three recurring themes of the exhibition, namely flexible learning spaces,  school data management systems and classroom coding technologies (Makey Makey, Raspberry Pi, Lego Mindstorms etc).

As a classroom teacher, I felt overwhelmed with the amount of new resources and ideas and spent most of my time sifting through the stalls to find age and contextually appropriate digital solutions and technologies I could use in my classroom.

I realised how imperative leadership is in determining the direction and implementation of digital learning and technology. If it is not considered a priority, then it won’t become an ingrained part of daily practice. School leaders not only need to invest time in curriculum development and resources but also supporting everyday classroom teachers become critical users of technology in their classroom.