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 introduced a 'hot-seat' where invited colleagues field questions over a four week period. Our guest in the 'hot-seat' will either answer online at specific times, or at pre-arranged regular intervals. We look forward to hearing from you!

Naace has been invited to offer two briefing sessions in the Local Authority Lounge. These cover ICT CPD experiences for ICT advisors and the use of web-conferencing to support transition and MFL. Naace will be making four contributions to the Seminar Programme covering collaborative tools in teaching and learning, personalised learning, transforming learning and a report on the 'Let's Play Project'.

Here you will find both the inputs and the outputs from this successful and timely event.

Naace celebrated twenty-three years of advancing education through ICT, and its recognition as the key professional association for ICT practitioners at all levels, including school leaders, subject managers, teachers, advisers and consultants. Anyone with an interest in ICT in any aspect of education can now join Naace and the Association encourages an inclusive and creative approach to the development of effective teaching and learning of ICT and promotion of e-learning strategies.

This one one-day conference to appraise developments in the use of electronic data and implications for institutional and multi-agency planning enabled colleagues to get together for the purpose of updates, advice, guidance, hints and tips, presentations and hands-on sessions.

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.

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.

Mick Waters, Director of Curriculum for QCA, is the 'hotseat' guest in March.

Julie Cooper is the Chair of Governors at Gloucester Road Primary School in Cheltenham. Her role was primarily a mother and parent governor until the school went into Special Measures when she decided that rather than take her children out of school she would take action to help get the school out of trouble.