The following post was published for the original launch of WordPress at the University of Lincoln and is preserved here for posterity but the contacts and departments mentioned are no longer active.

Welcome to the new University of Lincoln blogs. We’ve been experimenting with blogs in the Centre for Educational Research and Development since May 2008 and are now pleased to offer blogs to departments, staff and students to support their research, teaching and learning.

Here’s a few things you should know about the blogs:

• This is a ‘beta’ service provided by the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD). We’ll do our best to support you but you should try to support yourself, as you would with many other services on the Internet.
• The blogs are provided to support research, teaching and learning. We have some Community Guidelines, which you must abide by.
• The blogs use the popular and cutting-edge WordPress software. Using WordPress competently is increasingly a skill required by employers.
• Blogs are publicly visible by default but can be made private if you wish.
• Anyone with a university email address can join and participate in our social network and have their own blog.
• Blogs can be set up for departmental, team, project, group or individual use.
• You can connect your university blog to other services such as Blackboard, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• The blogs can be used to support a variety of tasks, such as textual analysis, or an on-going project or reflective journal.
• They are an excellent method of communicating with colleagues and peers both inside and outside the university and are designed to help get your message across.

Together with LLR and the Research Office, CERD offer staff training on the use of blogs and other web services. Training is announced via the Portal on a montly basis and available on all campuses. In addition, we’re also keen to work with teaching staff who wish to incorporate the blogs into their courses and can visit classes to discuss the blogs with students, too.

For more information, contact Joss Winn in CERD.