A new approach to university-wide learning resources: rapid course development using a blog platform for delivery

Teaching students about academic integrity and how to avoid it is a central part of the learning developer role. When our University needed to replace the existing learning package on this subject, we explored various options and decided to use the CoursePress Pro plugin for Edublogs. This had not previously been used for course delivery at the University. CoursePress enabled us to deliver a concise, interactive and flexible module, open to all students, which was launched in September 2017. Using Edublogs to develop and manage the module presented us with many new opportunities to improve our existing approach, and produce a standalone, cross-curricula learning package that suited the requirements of both students and the University. In the creation of the package we used a rapid-production model, worked with colleagues across the university, and utilised many of the inbuilt features of the platform for interactivity and assessment. It is proving to be a valuable delivery method, as student registration and progress can be monitored and it is easy to maintain and update. The majority of challenges to date have been technical, including initial problems with enrolling and completing students. Since the launch, feedback from staff and students has been positive, with students appreciating the attractive, visual format with immediate feedback on their progress. This presentation will be of interest to other learning developers as we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using a blogging platform for delivering learning across an institution, and potential future innovations in this area.