When John Sutton asked if I would take a flyer and set up blogtheworldcup.net, I was happy to oblige. His idea was a collaborative World Cup site with schools ‘adopting’ a competing nation and developing a blog around that country’s performance in the tournament,  as well as other aspects such as its geography, culture and sporting heritage. The World Cup would present a  great opportunity for teachers and learners to explore and the blogging medium in a purposeful and engaging context.

Momentum in the ‘Wings’

The site was set up using a multi-user WordPress install (pre WordPress 3.0) with the BuddyPress suite of plugins to add some social networking features to the mix. A little competitive spice was added through Ian Haycox’s World Cup Predictor plugin for WordPress. It did not work fully out-of-the -box with multi-user sites but with just hours before the first match, Ian was kind (and talented) enough to hack the code to make it work. It worked perfectly throughout the tournament and provided another common purposeful element to the project. It was really exciting to see teachers pit their wits against students right up until the final match, only to lose out to a young student from New Zealand.

The prediction competition was not crucial to the project’s success but did help to build some momentum in the ‘wings’, providing informal connection points and fun common experience away from the centre-stage. These ‘side-shows’ undoubtedly add to the community feel of any project and can generate a beneficial motivational buzz.

The same principle was demonstrated in the set-up of individual country blogs by teachers. Sites were customised to display engaging multimedia content and widgets showing comparative weather statistics or latest newsfeeds. Designed initially to engage and motivate the local learners, the appeal was not lost on the wider project audience. Effective design ideas and content were emulated by teachers across different blogs, with effective mutual support and encouragement being freely available via blog discussion, using Twitter and on the project’s ‘closed’ teacher’s group.

This ‘window’ into the dynamic preparatory and collaborative processes adopted by teachers in the set-up phase was fascinating and generated a sense of expectation that the project would be well-received. In short, more was accomplished together than could have been reasonably been achieved when setting up in isolation.

Tight-loose Freedom

Despite the tight focus of the project, there was considerable freedom for teachers to engage with the project to fit in with their own context, interests, or curricular constraints and freedoms. Some teachers dropped everything, re-jigged planning and made BTWC a significant curricular focus. Some tied the project to a particular class project, while others took it extra-curricular in ICT Clubs or Study Support sessions. A small number signed up to the project and did not make any significant use of their blog. The ‘tight-loose’ nature of BTWC allowed schools to develop their own space and enjoy the outcomes of their work in its own right – without being reliant on others adopting the same approach or investing the same amount of time. Furthermore, it fostered a ‘light’, collaborative climate without coercing teachers and students to comment across blogs.

The custom use of BuddyPress was also instrumental in this regard, providing students and teachers with an authentic social networking experience for lightweight communication and collaboration. More importantly, BuddyPress provided a real platform and opportunity within school to discuss and engage responsibly with the real life issues that students face using social networking site outside the school gates.

Professional Development Showcase

As a lasting professional development showcase, BTWC demonstrates a whole range of approaches to making effective use of the internet technologies for better learning and teaching. It has a ‘teachmeet’ flavour to it but allows one to ‘poke around’ the processes, outcomes and reflections in a helpfully ongoing way. John Sutton’s seven-minute  Teachmeet introduction to the project was simply an invitation to explore further. The opportunities to easily emulate aspects of this project – in isolation or in their entirety – are amplified by the evaluative and sharing approach of many of the teachers and learners involved.

For example, Simon Widdowson’s Web 2.0 + Interest = Enthusiasm and David Mitchell’s ‘Around the World in 28 Days‘ provide welcome insight into how they practically tackled the project, and a crucial ‘head start’ for others considering the development of  similar ideas in their own contexts. This evaluative willingness-to-share embodies a ‘Teachmeet-style’ ethos, a way of working that is not only crucial to the replicable success of online projects in the 21st century, but also to continuing professional development in general.

The project appears to have been a success from most angles. Statistically, there was a lot of interest and traffic – 645 members, 500,000 hits, 7000 predictions and hundreds of comments. From my perspective, working in the wings, the project was a joy on many levels. However, the learners and teachers must take the most credit for their beautiful efforts centre-stage. It is only fitting that they have the last words, with their own views on the BTWC Reflections blog as to how much they enjoyed the limelight.

David Weinberger’s 2002 ‘Small Pieces Loosely Joined‘ outlined what was important about the web, offering a framework for understanding its far-reaching effects on our lives and societies. The accompanying ‘kids’ version made the ideas accessible to a younger audience. I used it with my students for quite a few years and it was effective in helping them stop and think about something that they were beginning to take for granted.

Seven years later it feels slightly dated although the principles and central message still ring true- for me at least. A collaborative spruce-up with up-to-date examples and links could breathe new life into it and create a contemporary resource for use with young people. 

You have an totally empty Year Six classroom space and want to turn it into an effective learning and teaching space fit for the 21st century (or the next 5 years at least). You’ve got £20,000 to make a start. Everyone in the school is on board with your vision for teaching and learning and you just have to put in the orders for what is required. What’s on your shopping list? What might you acquire with little cost?

Not enough money? Almost certainly. Don’t let that put you off making an effective start.

I’m working on a similar, if slightly more realistic, brief together with Tony Sheppard – aka Grumbledook – at the moment in Northants.  I’ve read case-studies on how existing primary classrooms have been transformed into effective learning spaces but have rarely seen the bill at the end of the process. Sometimes the involvement of interested educational companies, throwing in expertise and products for free, masks the actual costs of emulating such projects. I’m not averse to that kind of corporate involvement but is it possible to change learning spaces on a relative shoestring? Where to start? That’s where you come in… all ideas greatly appreciated.

Image Credit: Lainmoon