Janet Macdonald is Learning and Teaching Coordinator (elearning) for the Open University in Scotland. She has a doctorate in online course design and assessment and has published extensively on online course design, online tutoring and the use of online communities for professional development, including the popular textbook Blended Learning and Online Tutoring which has recently been published in a Second Edition. She has first hand experience of being both a distance student and tutor, and now provides staff development for others.