Technological advances to help ‘shape the future of education’ on spotlight at GESS Dubai
Education-related IT spend could reach $150billion in the next five years
Leading global technology stalwarts are converging in GESS Dubai to showcase the very latest advances in the education sector, as experts estimate technology spend in the region could reach $150 billion in the next five years.
Among those that have confirmed participation in the leading regional education exhibition and conference include Benq, Bosch, Brother, Casio, Edutech, Epson, Google, Hitachi, Intel Education, LEGO Education, LG, MacGraw-Hill, Microsoft, Panasonic, Pearson, Promethean, Samsung, Sharp Middle East, SMART Technologies, Sony and VEX Robotics.
As the leading regional business platform for connecting suppliers of educational supplies and solutions with key decision-makers in schools throughout the region, GESS Dubai has paved the way for schools in the Gulf to keep up with technological advances that make teaching and learning more engaging and effective.
“In gathering the world’s technology superpowers and connecting them with teachers and school decision-makers in the GCC, we hope we can contribute to the advancement of the education sector in this part of the world, and raise quality standards to a level that is at par with the best in the world,” said Matt Thompson, Project Director, F&E Group, organisers of GESS Dubai. “Our theme this year is Shaping the Future of Education, and we have a distinct opportunity to do that by helping schools adopt the technologies that will make them effective learning hubs of the future.”
The Gulf region is at the forefront of technology-driven education initiatives in the Middle East with such programmes as the UAE’s Smart Learning Initiative, which aims to provide personal tablets to all K-12 government schools by 2017; and Qatar’s Supreme Education Council’s e-Bag project, which provides students and teachers with tablets to enhance learning and reduce school bag weight. Already, over 90% of GCC educational institutions use laptops and tablets, while 60% have Bring Your Own Device policies for students, according to IDC.
New technologies for advanced learning
Google’s Head of Education in the EMEA Region, Liz Sproat will share the company’s vision of what technology in learning could look like, and how to encourage innovation in teaching and learning practices. “Google’s technology solutions are supporting teachers in making learning more accessible, measurable and motivating to millions of students. In this session, I’ll share Google’s vision for education with practical examples from schools in the Middle East and beyond!” she added.
Microsoft sees GESS Dubai as a good opportunity to reach out to the educational community and connect them with the latest technologies that they can use to achieve a more engaging and interactive learning environment. They will be showcasing digital notebooks for teachers and students which can substitute the presence of physical notebooks while serving as an ‘anytime anywhere’ content repository of all class notes, content, homework and assignments. All of these collaborative endeavours between students, their peers and teachers enable real time feedback through Microsoft’s OneNote Class Notebook.
LG’s participation at GESS will revolve on the theme of showcasing the ‘Future Classroom’ along with the innovative ‘Cloud Collaboration’ solutions that will enable to change the way students and teachers interact and collaborate in a classroom. Among the product showcase, the highlights will include Ultra-HD 84” ten-point touch interactive white board, the 55” display with Overlay Touch and the new 86” Ultra Stretched signage. We will also be showcasing LG’s webOS platform and many more innovations that will contribute to creating a better learning experience for today’s tech-savvy students.
Edutech Middle East, a founding sponsor of GESS, will showcase a mini D&T workshop space where participants can attend hands-on workshops and learn how to convert ideas into prototypes. A number of cutting edge technologies & tools will be used by students to learn, tinker, make and experience. Students experts will present design software usage and showcase their projects from Autodesk. “We are looking forward to inculcating STEM skills through Design & Technology, Engineering Lab Solutions and Active Learning Platform, as part of our commitment to innovation in education” said Shameema Parveen, CEO, Edutech.
Meanwhile, Robert Speed, Head of Middle East Region, Promethean said, “GESS Dubai is the only event in the Middle East region which gives us the opportunity to showcase our most innovative teaching technologies whilst enabling educators to experience how Promethean solutions create a Modern Classroom environment. As part of the Promethean Modern Classroom, we are expecting the ActivPanel to attract significant attention. This interactive flat panel is already widely adopted by Middle East regional and UK schools and is proving its worth as a highly effective and collaborative front-of-class solution. On stand visitors will be able to learn more about how we are continually evolving the ActivPanel range to keep pace with changing classroom demands and why ActivInspire provides a powerful accompanying software tool packed full of proven curriculum tools and resources.”
LEGO® Education, meanwhile, will launch their latest innovation in science and coding for primary schools – LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0! The unique combination of the LEGO® brick, classroom-friendly software and standards-based projects make science come to life by putting discovery directly in the hands of students.
Technology’s impact on teaching and learning experience
In addition to cutting-edge showcase of educational products and solutions, GESS Dubai has also gathered some of the world’s leading education experts on technology and digital education.
A noted global innovator in education and technology, Hall Davidson will lead a session on how digital tools can ignite minds to enable engagement and a more intense learning experience that will prepare them for career paths of tomorrow. “When the classroom goes digital, the whole game changes. Through highly interactive workshops, we hope to provide participants with the skills and experiences to adopt new technologies that will make teaching more engaging and learning more fun and effective,” added Davidson.
Stephen Heppell makes a highly anticipated return to GESS Dubai, leading a session on classroom innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). “Phones, tablets and other mobile devices which have built-in cameras have made possible the viral spread of writeable surfaces in schools: windows, walls, desks, everywhere. Personal cameras have enabled children to capture their work on writeable surfaces and the advantages include significantly better remembering of work, better awareness of peer performance and more widespread celebration of excellence. This is some of the engaging experiences which we hope to share with teachers who will be attending GESS Dubai, specifically in our STEAM Classroom Challenge.”
A dynamic combination of exhibition and conference, the 9th edition of GESS Dubai, taking place at the New Zabeel Halls (4, 5 and 6) of the Dubai World Trade Centre, is the region’s premier showcase for educational supplies and solutions; and also includes an extensive, world-class educational, CPD certified programme to help teachers, educators and academics of all levels develop their skills and gain insight from international experts. Education professionals are free to register with online registration now open at www.gessdubai.com.
- GESS Dubai 2016
