This paper reports on a study of how academic development units facilitate the online learning of their academic staff. Flexible learning opportunities for the professional development of academic staff have become possible because of changes in the workplace, higher education and technology. These online learning environments are designed to enable university teachers to reflect on their teaching practice. They aim to clarify academic staff’s understanding of effective teaching and learning in their particular context and share these insights and experience with colleagues within and across disciplines.

As new technologies become more widely used in academic staff development there is a need to identify and explore ways in which the interaction by academic staff can be made more effective. This study reviews a number of online learning programs within Australia and in the UK to determine whether these practices meet the varied aims of academic staff development. The paper considers which contexts demonstrated the World Wide Web as a useful means of professional development and the quality of the participants' learning in those contexts.