Introducing edevelopers to support a university’s blended learning developments

Introducing technology in higher education raises questions about staff roles and the organisation of development practices. This article presents the findings from a case study that was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing three centrally supported e‐developers to work with academic teams to provide specialist support. The e‐developer role is explained, and related to existing literature about learning technologists. The case illustrates how the e‐developers worked collaboratively with academic staff and the perceptions of the academic staff, e‐developers and educational technology leaders of the e‐developer model used in a university in southwest London. The findings offer an opportunity to understand this kind of role, and the value of a model of staff development that does not involve taking academic staff out of the teaching area to become e‐developers. The model supports ‘situative’ professional development, which helps promote technology integration into teaching and suggests that e‐developers provided cost‐effective mentorship which participants believed would have a positive impact on student learning