Technology

Posted on September 3, 2019 by staff

EdTech is crucial part of BBC plans

Technology

A senior BBC executive has said that EdTech is a crucial part of the Corporation going forward.

Christine Bellamy is the head of product for BBC Education and is speaking at BusinessCloud’s ‘EdTech Explained’ event on September 6.

She is responsible for the online side of BBC Education, which includes Bitesize and BBC Teach.

Bitesize is a free online study support resource for school-age students in the UK and has around 2.5 million users a week while BBC Teach is a dedicated teaching resource site and is used by around 50 per cent of all teachers.

Bellamy told BusinessCloud: “Great content and great technology creates great learning.

“We’re not trying to be a substitute parent or substitute teacher. We’re part of the eco-system.

“The end user is the child. We are not coming up with lesson plans. We produce content for U16s that means they’re connecting with the BBC.

“We’ve re-established what education means to the BBC. There’s been a lot of investment in it over the last couple of years.”

Bellamy added: “We are moving toward making our content personalised to the student. Education is fundamental to the BBC.”

The BBC is also working on a pilot scheme in Manchester aimed at improving literacy levels in under-fives.

Bellamy is one of 10 confirmed speakers at BusinessCloud’s ‘EdTech Explained’ event on Friday, which will hear from some of the disrupters that are shaking up an industry.

Other speakers include Michael Brennan, founder and CEO of tootoot, which is the UK’s number one reporting app for children and young people in schools; Daniel Hinkley, co-founder of Manchester-based GoXchange Global, which supports exchange students; and Robin Williams, head of digital at Twinkl.

Twinkl provides schools with an online catalogue of more than 625,000 resources and services and has 4.6m members in over 196 countries and employs 500 people. It has just opened a new 20,000 sq ft office in Sheffield.

Others speakers include Jade Parkinson-Hill, founder, Steam School; Dan Price, co-founder, Supplywell; Andy Kent, founder and CEO, Angel Solutions; Chloe Barrett, founder and CEO of DigiDentistry; Manisha Prabhakar, education manager, Synap; and Alex Alexandrescu, co-founder of Dicey Tech.

The event is free to attend and takes place at UKFast’s campus in Birley Fields, Manchester, from 9am-11.15am. Spaces are limited.

Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edtech-explained-tickets-57167685085