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Studying at university today is a complex undertaking. Not only have the characteristics of the student cohort changed significantly in recent years, but the exponential growth of technological innovation has also impacted markedly on the study environment. Issues such as student transition and retention are receiving considerable attention, and the quality of learning and teaching has become an important consideration. While support for students from outside the faculty is still seen as useful, it is recognised that contextualised support facilitates deeper learning. This case study aims to focus on a virtual learning environment (VLE) designed through collaboration between the Library, Learning and Teaching Support and the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Southern Queensland.

The implementation of the VLE followed a design‐based research methodology focusing on an iterative approach which responded to student and staff feedback. An analysis of usage data, coupled with student feedback from reference interviews form the core of the information used to shape each evolutionary design cycle.

The results of two‐and‐a‐half years of usage data indicate that students from all disciplines within the Faculty of Business and Law used the screencasts embedded in the VLE as self‐directed, “just‐in‐time” learning resources. The qualitative comments reflect the advantages of presenting research skills tutorials in a visual format, with many commenting on a feeling of greater understanding and confidence with the research process.

The use of discipline‐specific screencasts offers location‐independent asynchronous learning support that can be dynamically created in response to student needs. Furthermore, it suggests that this type of reference support is more successful when produced through cross‐faculty and divisional collaboration. This VLE is accessible to all USQ Faculty of Business and Law students, but it represents a transferable, achievable model for other institutions with distance learning cohorts.

This paper seeks to report the initial phase of a cross‐institutional screencasting project designed to provide digital, multimedia support for referencing skills. Use of screencasting software, with strong educational design, has the potential to reach all learners asynchronously, regardless of mode of study, and this paper focuses on the transferability of the principles and skills in this project to other contexts and institutions.

The referencing tutorial makes use of dual coding theory to provide an aligned visual and auditory learning experience and is discussed in reference to the current literature. The foundation of the project was collaboration between the academic libraries and lecturers in the field of academic learning skills. The pedagogical and technical design and challenges are discussed, with a view to incorporating feedback into further iterative development stages.

This paper finds that screencasting has been used to effectively support the development of referencing skills across a diverse student cohort, but recognises that further, in‐depth analysis will be required to determine the impact of the project. It also provides an example of a low‐cost project which could be replicated by other institutions to positively frame referencing within the context of broader academic writing.

The paper provides an overview of a short project to collaboratively develop a screencast and add value to existing referencing resources (which are predominantly text‐based). The design approach situates referencing within an academic writing continuum seeking to explicitly provide a rationale for the mechanics of referencing, whilst also acknowledging the challenges presented by a rapidly changing information environment.