The Northants BLT – or Better learning using Technologies – officially launched in September 2010 without bacon, lettuce or tomato. Preparations and pilots of various varieties had taken place in the months leading up to the launch. However, it would be the last quarter of 2010 when we would find out whether there was actually any appetite among educators in Northamptonshire for sharing their ideas and experiences of using technologies to make learning better.
I’ve written here about why I think a network with sharing attitude is crucial to educators in Northamptonshire (and beyond) in the era of almost infinite information and innovation in which we find ourselves. It was by no means certain though, that the Northants BLT would be viable. I relished that uncertainty. All too many initiatives from local authority or government are ‘inflicted’ upon schools and teachers. Made to work in the short term, over a longer period these projects often fizzle out due to a lack of ownership and funding. The building where I work is littered with remnants of such escapades.
The BLT would have to be different because there was and is certainly no prospect of longer-term funding of any note. It’s viability and sustainability would rely simply on the value educators placed on building the network through sharing how they were learning, teaching and exploring technologies.
A growing number of UK educators are harnessing the power of internet tools such as Twitter or blogs to network and build professional contact with other educators who are dispersed around the country and wider world. A number of Northamptonshire schools make effective use of ICT for learning but few actively share experiences and know-how with other colleagues or schools.
The traditional council model of cascading ICT expertise to schools from the high priesthood of school improvement services has also become an irrelevance in the world of dispersed knowledge and constantly-emerging new technologies. The Northants BLT would seek to flush out the expertise and inspiration that already exists but that often remains hidden, within the four walls of classrooms around the county.
The TeachMeet movement has been successful in pulling together elements of this dispersed network into area-based events where teachers share their classroom practice but in Northamptonshire we had to cancel our planned TeachMeet last summer due to a lack of interest. We rebranded our ‘show and tell’ meetings ‘BLT-Meets to reflect our network vision outside the events themselves. It also allowed the flexibility to change and develop the format or content of events without contravening any Teach-Meet protocols.
In the three months since the launch, the BLT Network has grown. We have been in contact with all schools in the county with about 90 of them making positive noises about being part of the network. This has translated into good attendance at the 4 BLT Development Days and pre-Christmas BLT-Meet with about 100 educators in total sharing and learning from each other.
The list of NorthantsBLT educators on twitter is up to 22 members, although only a small percentage of those use it with any regularity. The #NorthantsBLT hashtag has also proved a great way to keep up with the latest BLT news. Thirty BLT blogs are being used in various ways by educators to explore and share. The BLTNorthants.net website clicks about 400 hits a week and has recently undergone a refresh to make it easier to navigate. BLT projects have received favourable local news and media coverage. A number of new BLT projects are also ready to launch early this term.
I am under no illusions, these are only small green shoots of network growth in the light of the 300+ schools in the county. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm and attitude of Northants folks that I have met this year, fill me confidence that the BLT Network is in safe and innovative hands in 2011. It an audacious and inexpensive plan but it still just might work…
