B!te: Big Ideas - Technical Education

Introduction

HMIE and LTS organised a conference which took place on Wednesday 24 June 2009 at Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline.

The main purpose of the conference was to highlight and share good practice. The conference was intended to act as a catalyst for identifying good practice from across Scotland to share through a national database on Glow and other relevant sites. The 'big ideas' of sustainability, citizenship and health and wellbeing permeated the keynote speeches, seminars and showcases.

The target audience was teachers and education authority staff with responsibility for technical education in schools. An innovative 'outreach' model widened the audience to include practitioners from across Scotland, through live video streaming via the National Technologies Glow site.

The format of the day included keynote presentations on:

• ‘Big Ideas for a Troubled Planet' from David Hayman
• ‘Quantum of Excellence’ from Frank Crawford
• ‘Learning for the new economy’ from Paul McKelvie
• ‘Vision for technical education’ from Peter Kormylo and Mark Brownrigg.

A range of seminars and showcases provided opportunities for delegates to explore good practice in learning and teaching in technical education.