The two-day event will be jam-packed with inspiring keynote speakers, panel discussions, interactive breakout sessions, and the prestigious Naace Impact Award Ceremony. There will be plenty of opportunities to network, browse the innovation-packed exhibition as well as meet and share ideas with like-minded colleagues at a ‘NaaceShare’.
The theme of the conference this year is Failing to Succeed – we all learn by our mistakes, and this year’s conference will showcase highly successful individuals who have overcome failure to succeed in their profession.
We are all aware of the positive impact that technology can have on learning, and the Naace conference will share experiences of how technology has been used in various ways. It will provide you with useful tips and ideas to take away as well as motivate and encourage you to try something new.
Conference programme
The conference will offer an exciting programme of keynote speakers including representatives from Google, Passion Capital, Microsoft, Lightspeed Systems, the YHGfL Foundation, the University of Warwick, Technology Will Save Us, the Nominet Trust and the BBC. There will be panel discussions on topics such as the media’s role in education, as well as a choice of breakout sessions.
Keynote sessions
Here is just a flavour of some our keynote speakers’ themes:
✥Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital, the leading early-stage technology venture capital investment firm in Europe, will be discussing the current state of the technology industry, start-ups, entrepreneurship and digital and technology innovation. She will be exploring why the computing curriculum is so critical to our success and economic growth.
✥Hemmy Edge from Google will be speaking on the theme: How technology will change learning.
Some of the topics she will cover include:
✥Google Knowledge vs. Understanding
✥Online Classrooms vs. Physical classrooms
✥Augmented reality and wearable tech
✥Paul Beech, Director at Pimoroni Ltd will be exploring the theme: Stop Standing Still. He says: “Fear will stop you learning. Fear of trying. Fear of breaking something. Fear of offending someone. Fear of being thought stupid. We’re going to talk about how to break your silence. By doing things, asking questions and the great things that can happen when you do.”
✥The Nominet Trust’s Dan Sutch’s keynote speech is called: ‘Looking at the Intersection’. He will share what he has learnt about the design, development and use of digital technologies in other social areas, and what it might mean for how we can develop better uses of technology for education and learning.
✥Lightspeed Systems’ keynote session will cover the opportunities technology creates for anywhere, any time learning, collaboration and community.
Breakout sessions
At each of our breakout sessions there will be a choice of six workshops to attend. Themes over the two days will include:
✥Leading the way on the assessment of computing
✥Risk ITweek.com
✥Take the multimedia, app-smashing iPad challenge
✥The importance of an 802.11ac infrastructure to mobile learning
✥E-security, what every school needs to know
✥CAS Hubs and Quickstart projects
✥Taking the risk out of trying something new with ICT
✥Realsmart – how to deliver outstanding lessons with Google Apps and Realsmartcloud
✥Introducing the new programme of Study for Computing
✥Use of IT in the classroom
✥Baseline testing
✥Using animation to bring the curriculum to life.
Exhibition
In addition to the main conference, we will also be hosting an innovation-packed exhibition where delegates find out the latest from cutting-edge, education-based technologies.
“The Naace Annual Strategic Conference is, without doubt, a highlight in the professional development calendar. The Board of Management have always considered the conference to be one of the most effective ways to engage with a diverse range of partners. The conference is always a hub for those essential professional conversations that are so vital in the rapidly changing educational landscape in which advances in technology provide a constant backdrop of opportunity and challenge. As an education professional who recognises the power of technology to enhance learning and as Chair of the Naace Board of Management, my life would be significantly poorer without the conference.” Dughall McCormic, Chair of the Naace Board of Management
The conference takes place on 25-26 March 2015, at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham.
