DiscoG goes to the Bett Show 2027, Issue 2
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
This is Issue #2 — February 2026
At the end of January, we made the decision to exhibit at the Bett Show in 2027.
This is the second issue from our new monthly blog series we are calling DiscoG goes to Bett 2027.
February has been a month of deep architectural work and pedagogical refinement. As a family-run academy, our focus remains on creating meaningful educational experiences that support teachers and school leaders, rather than aiming to replace them.
HelloDiscoG is designed to extend our face-to-face lessons, not substitute them. That principle has shaped everything we have worked on this month.
Building our Lesson Builder
We started February by finalising the design of our Lesson Builder. This is the internal environment where we, as subject matter experts and instructional designers, build the actual lessons.
Over the past nine years, we have refined our classroom content through direct teaching. The challenge now is structuring that content into small, interactive, digestible lessons that work effectively in an online environment.
Before building at scale, we created functional components and began testing them with our own students. We worked with:
Year 9 to 11 students currently studying GCSE Computer Science
Year 12 and 13 students who have already completed GCSE or IGCSE Computer Science with us or through their schools
These were not polished demonstrations. They were working drafts. Students interacted with lessons while we observed what felt intuitive, where friction appeared, and how clearly the concepts translated into this new format.
Based on each round of feedback, we adjusted layouts, interaction types, and pacing. Then we tested again. February became a cycle of build, observe, refine, repeat.
Mapping to the Specification
Alongside lesson design, we began working on the Course Viewer.
Our aim is to make learning transparent. Students should be able to see what topic they are studying, what subtopic it belongs to, and how it fits within the overall GCSE Computer Science specification.
To support this, we began breaking down the specification into clearly structured components and building the foundations that will allow lessons to align directly with formal curriculum requirements.
This work is still in progress, but the groundwork is now in place. Clarity around curriculum structure matters. It helps students understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters within the wider subject.
Pedagogy and Quality Control
February was also a month of documentation and reflection.
We drafted and iterated on several internal frameworks that will guide how every lesson is built. These include:
Our Learning-First Instructional Design Framework
Our Microlesson Creation Blueprint
Together, these documents define how lessons are structured, how interactions are used, and what counts as meaningful progress. A key principle running through them is that each lesson should have one clearly defined primary learning goal.
We have also formalised how we think about interaction frequency, feedback, and cognitive load, ensuring that learning is active rather than passive.
Alongside this internal work, Kat began a series of online courses in Learning Experience Design. The purpose is simple: to challenge our assumptions early and ensure that our digital design decisions are grounded in educational research as well as classroom experience.
Infrastructure and Visual Language
In parallel with pedagogy, we began designing a consistent visual language for the platform. We are establishing clear rules for icons, diagrams, and illustrations so that visuals actively support understanding rather than decorate the screen.
Behind the scenes, we have also been building the technical foundations required for the platform to function reliably. Databases, lesson structures, course frameworks, and staff editing environments are being developed carefully and methodically.
This work is less visible, but essential.
What's coming next as we continue to prepare for the Bett Show 2027?
February has been about building carefully rather than quickly.
As we move into March, we will begin testing full topic sequences with students in the target age range to see how the structure works in practice.
Preparing for Bett 2027 is not about rushing towards a showcase moment. It is about ensuring that what we eventually present is thoughtful, robust, and genuinely useful to teachers and students.
See you next month 😎
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