You can watch this week's episode above or click/download on the audio-only version below.
While talking about BETT 2026 on Zoom is not half as much fun as in a pub or London Heathrow’s Terminal 5, it’s always great to get the skinny from players in the edtech field. And who better than Liz Crawford to lay out the details.
Unlike previous years when companies rushed to rebrand themselves as "AI companies," BETT 2026 featured more substantive discussions about practical integration. Says Liz: "AI was definitely a hot topic. It was everywhere as part of every conversation. But I think the conversations are getting a little bit more thoughtful about AI and how we support teaching and learning with AI, and keep some of the fundamentals like reading and math and obviously the teacher-student relationships intact."
The conference drew ministerial delegations from around the world, creating what Liz describes as a "high energy" atmosphere with "people speaking multiple languages, cultures," and booths "packed pretty much all day, every day, three people deep trying to get demos."
One notable difference from U.S.-centric conferences such as ISTE: LMS adoption patterns vary significantly by region. "I hosted some sessions in the booth and asked if the educators were using LMS as an example, and sometimes they weren't really," Liz observes. "So I think from that perspective, the U.S. is a little bit ahead on the LMS usage."
However, Kahoot is experiencing "viral growth" in markets including Germany, France, Indonesia, and Japan—driven not by top-down government mandates but by teacher adoption. "I think it's just driven by teacher adoption of tools that are a good user experience, that provide value, that impact learning outcomes," Liz explains.
Two other topics generating significant buzz at BETT: future-ready skills (formerly called "21st century skills") and formative assessment. The latter received particular attention, appearing in stage keynotes, concurrent sessions, and booth demonstrations.
Discussions also centered on how technology supports soft skill development and how edtech platforms can work together more seamlessly. "Partnerships is still a big conversation around amongst edtech tools and amongst the platforms that are used every day in education, and how do we work together to make sure that we're trying to be seamless and help educators connect the dots across all the platforms they're using," she says.
In the snippet below, Liz discusses the evolution of AI in education:
