No, this is not a rock concert
Walking into the BETT arena, you had to pause and wonder whether you were about to witness the grand entrance of a storied musician—or maybe a Hollywood superstar. But no. It was something even better. Hundreds of educators, EdTech companies, publishers, and just as many parents (like me) still trying to wrap their heads around “new math” were buzzing with excitement for Sal Khan—speaking in person.
That’s the magic of BETT.
The everyday work of educators and EdTech professionals is elevated into something genuinely exciting, inspiring, and forward-looking. Sal Khan was one of many standout speakers at the BETT 2026 conference in London, held January 21–23. During his session, attendees learned about Khan Academy’s new AI writing coach, powered by Google’s Gemini, which provides real-time feedback to help improve literacy skills.
Over at the Microsoft booth, crowds of educators and EdTech leaders gathered as Mike Tholfsen unveiled a wide range of Microsoft EDU updates. One announcement was particularly close to EdGate’s heart: the ability for Microsoft EDU users to align instructional materials to standards. EdGate is thrilled to be supplying Microsoft with thousands of education standards from 50 countries—with even more on the way. Using EdGate-supplied standards, Microsoft EDU users can leverage the Align to Standards tool to rewrite lesson instructions so they reflect the intent of a selected standard, focusing on what learners should understand or be able to do, without copying the standard’s wording.
At the Kahoot! stand, it quickly became clear that it’s not just the adorable capes driving teacher and student enthusiasm. Kahoot! announced the addition of U.S. curriculum standards—also powered by EdGate. These include standards for all 50 states, Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and ISTE standards across Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. Educators with a Kahoot EDU! school or district license can now assign relevant standards directly to their kahoots.
Seesaw Learning’s booth was equally buzzy, with educators from around the world sharing how they support inclusive education through adaptive teaching and multimodal tools. And of course, educators can align learning using Seesaw’s standards and curriculum alignment tools, supported by EdGate.
Finally, one of the most valuable aspects of BETT is the strong presence of Ministries of Education from around the globe. This year, we met with standards experts from Qatar, the UAE, Italy, France, India, Hungary, Korea, Spain, Ukraine, and Lebanon. Access to up-to-date international learning standards is critical for our clients, and BETT offers something no web search can replicate: direct conversations with the experts shaping those standards.