SIMO Network presents the contents for the new SIMO EDUCATION sector

SIMO Network, International ICT Services and Solutions Trade Fair for Companies, which will be held from 15 to 17 October 2013 at FERIA DE MADRID, will have a new area this year, SIMO Educación, which will show the latest technologies applied to education and good ICT teaching practices, and the experts and gurus in this field will provide their opinions and experiences.

Jointly organised by IFEMA and Educación 3.0, SIMO Educación will include several activities, conferences, round tables, communications and practical workshops, and analyse the most interesting and useful educational apps.

The SIMO Educación Awards will also take place within this context; these prizes are aimed at acknowledging the work of the professionals and entities that foster the development and implementation of ICT solutions. The SIMO Educación Awards are classified into two areas: the Best Classroom Technologies and Resources, and the Best ICT Experiences, which, in turn, have 11 categories.

In the conference area, among other issues, several augmented reality educational apps as well as different types of tools will be shown thanks to Raúl Reinoso, the driving force behind the aumenta.me project and the TecnoTIC website, and Esteban Anguita, the Innovation Manager at LabHuman. Rafael Robles, a professor in Spain and other countries (including the US, Iran, Haiti and China), will provide a critical view of the educational ICT, showing the key factors that will enable ICT teachers to make their teaching effective, despite the dizzy heights of the technological evolution.

In the round table area, there will be in-depth discussions about some of the hot educational issues, such as "Online resources and the pending textbook revolution", "Present and future of ICT implementation in Spain" and "Teacher training: present and future".

SIMO Educación will also have a presentations area, where, among others, Lara Romero, coordinator of ICT teacher training and digital technology teacher, will show her practical experience in gamification of primary students using Minecraft. Toni Solano, teacher and head of the language and literature department at the Bovalar secondary school in Castellón de la Plana, will discuss media literacy, a fundamental classroom task that must include all the communication areas, even literature and its codes. The SEK will talk about its good results using the flipped classroom and Baltasar Fernández Manjón, director of the e-learning research group at e-UCM, will provide a practical experience in theatre and educational games at the Salesianos School in Madrid. Here is an example: Estefanía Martín will present and show the DEDOS Project, by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Fundación Síndrome de Down: a free software program which creates educational activities that can be used on different devices (PCs, interactive whiteboards and multi-touch tables).

Teachers will also be able to learn how to use some ICT tools in the practical workshop area. Here, Juan Carlos Guerra, ICT coordinator and promoter and teacher of teaching courses, will focus on the social learning platform Edmodo, and Marta Cervera, an educational consultant and English teacher, will deal with project work using "Learning Boxes for languages" in her workshop. Other practical workshops will enable teachers to know how to build a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) and make the most of classroom robots.

Educational apps will also play centre stage at the Apps Corner, where developers and teachers can share experiences. SIMO Educación will thus provide a context of presentations to the technological companies, publishers, etc. that are interested in showing their ICT products and solutions to the education sector. Diego García and Ezequiel García, from the Granada Teacher Training Centre (CEP) will show their experience with the EDUTABLETS. Pilar Soro will also hold a workshop on "How to create, publish and share educational apps with students" and Manel Rives on "21st century method x digital devices = Education of the future".

About SIMO Network
SIMO Network, organised by IFEMA, is a benchmark event for companies and professionals interested in learning about the opportunities that ICTs can offer their businesses. Intended to provide information and analysis, the fair is rich in content and professional meetings and networking opportunities geared towards working relationships and approaching new technological trends.

Also, given its commitment to promoting technology in the professional world, every year SIMO Network highlights the importance of the Distribution Channel as a fundamental connection platform between manufacturers and the business world in Spain.