In May, the country’s first ever, grand-scale education exhibition, Future Ed, will be staged. A meeting point for everyone concerned about education, the show brings together educators, curriculum advisors and developers, governing bodies, special needs educators and parents together under one roof for the first time.
Future Ed is also a platform for showcasing the latest in learning resources and services from early learning level right through to secondary education and beyond. Future Ed will carry the best-known and trusted local and international brands, providing you with an opportunity to touch, test and experience their solutions in an informal and unintimidating setting.
If you care about the future of education in South Africa, want to know what’s available to you for enhancing children’s learning, or just want a glimpse of what lies ahead, you should be at the show. It’s your opportunity to talk to experts, attend informative workshops and network with other educators.
Enlightening
There are a number of informative and interactive seminars planned for the duration of Future Ed. These will be held in the six interactive theatres. Each theatre is dedicated to a specific area of education namely Early Learning, Primary, Secondary/FET, Special Education Needs, Leadership and Management and Parenting. Attending these enlightening seminars is free. Check the schedule of workshops on www.future-ed.co.za to look for topics that interest you, closer to the show date.
Empowering
Future Ed will be running various programmes aimed at empowering educators and schools.
Support a Teacher Campaign:
One lucky educator can win R100 000 worth of support from event sponsors and exhibitors. To enter the competition, you must complete an entry form by securing a stamp from each of the five top prize sponsors of this competition. Completed entry forms must be dropped in the competition box at the show exit. Five finalists will be chosen on each show day and notified telephonically. You can enter on all days of the show to better your chances of winning. Support a School Campaign
R200 000 worth of educational resources from Future Ed exhibitors will be given away to a school. To enter this competition, schools must enter at the show. Entry forms will be completed and stamped by the five top prize sponsors. Finalists will be notified telephonically, as finalists are chosen daily.
Schools Wish List
Future Ed’s sponsors and exhibitors will be extending a helping hand to schools through the Schools Wish List. All schools with representatives attending the show are invited to submit their top three wishes for products and services being showcased at the exhibition. Schools found eligible against a strict set of criteria could have these wishes fulfilled. Your school’s top three wishes can be submitted at the exhibition.
IT Administrator Zone
This zone will accommodate for IT administrators and those involved in IT purchases and management. There will be a focus places on one on one planning and procurement for your school while taking a look at the diverse range of products which can be valuable in building your IT infrastructure step by step.
Futuristic
One of the main highlights of Future Ed — The Education Show — is the futuristic “Classroom of the Future” exhibit sponsored by SMART Technologies and supported by VastraTech, Southern African distributor of the world-leading SMART™ board interactive whiteboard and other digital learning resources.
This special 140m² exhibit will comprise four classrooms featuring SMART™ Technologies and other products that extend beyond the traditional, to offer you a chance to explore the SMART™ Classroom of the Future.
For instance, you can experience the dynamic SMART Board interactive whiteboard first hand. The SMART Board is a large touch-sensitive screen that works with a computer and a data projector to provide immediate access to a wide range of digital materials. Using a finger or a pen on the screen, educators and learners can access and control any computer application, file or multimedia platform, including the Internet, CD-ROMs and DVDs. These whiteboards are used by more than 1,5-million educators and more than 30-million students in 8% of the world’s classrooms. There are currently more than 4 000 SMART Board interactive whiteboards at play in South African classrooms.
The SMART Classroom of the Future is divided in four quadrants, each one with a different level of futuristic resources. This allows the schools to experience the futuristic classroom, whether it’s at intermediate level or fully advanced.