The Naace Annual Strategic Conference and Exhibition opened in Torquay in early March 2008. This is the definitive ICT Conference in the UK for all those involved in advancing education through the use of modern technologies in learning and teaching.

Naace has already responded to questions in Chapter 3 of the DCSF Staying Safe consultation. In that response we stated: While we recognise that vulnerable children and young people need to be protected and need to learn how they can protect themselves, it is our view that good practice in the safe use of communication technologies should apply to all children in all educational settings. In the context of the Byron Review, we would extend this statement to include the home and other places where children use technology. In our submission to the Byron Review we have focussed on specific questions which most closely match the experience and expertise of our members.

Naace will be responding in due course to the Byron Review following consultation with Members. At this stage we are pleased to relay the Association's views in response to questions in Chapter 3 of Staying Safe. While we recognise that vulnerable children and young people need to be protected and need to learn how they can protect themselves, it is our view that good practice in the safe use of communication technologies should apply to all children in all educational settings.

In 2006 Naace and QCA held a joint Think tank to try to get to grips with what we really mean by the term 'e-learning'. Like quite a few other e-words that have sprung up in the last year or so, we cannot assume that everyone will use the term in the same way. Does the 'e' just mean electronic, as in 'email', or something more profound?

Going to BETT is always an exciting prospect. Will there be new interesting technologies that can enhance the teaching learning process? It is impossible to see everything at BETT, in fact sometimes I think it is impossible to find anything at BETT, it's so huge but I always hope to make new discoveries.

Waiting outside in the weak winter sun I talked to the people around me to understand who was coming to the exhibition. I talked to South Africans, Australians and I could see from the badges that this was a truly international exhibition. We should be proud and realise how lucky we are this event has such a draw.

This article is a personal view of some of the things that caught my eye and it is not meant to be representative of the whole exhibition.

This Article is taken from a paper which suggests that the advantages of social networking may stimulate stronger and more influential collaborative knowledge building for professional communities of educators. It poses the question 'What is braided learning?' in the context of online communities of practice (C0P) with particular reference to the MirandaNet experience.

This Article is taken from a paper which suggests that the advantages of social networking may stimulate stronger and more influential collaborative knowledge building for professional communities of educators. It develops the question 'What is braided learning?' into a study of collaborative online professional practice. The research considered rhythms and phases of debate, roles of members and barriers to braided learning in the context of a professional community of practice (CoP). The focus of the detailed analysis was a discussion on e-portfolios in NaaceTalk.

This Article is taken from a paper which suggests that the advantages of social networking may stimulate stronger and more influential collaborative knowledge building for professional communities of educators. It presents a summary analysis of the findings including a list of suggested social networking benefits for professionals, recommendations, conclusions and ideas for further research.

Our first 'hot-seat' guest is Phia le Roux. She will be answering your questions from 9 January 2008. Phia has kindly agreed to share an hour per week 'live' at 4-5pm every Wednesday and will pick up and answer any other questions at 8.30am Mondays and Fridays. Please fire all your questions on what podacasting is about, why podcast, how to get started, what you need to get started, potential difficulties, problems encountered etc.