ABSTRACT
E-learning will mean many different things to different people, and there are many different definitions of the term. Most universities will have either an e-learning policy or strategy, which academic staff will be expected to engage with. Such a policy may well include a set of minimum standards, which staff will be required to meet in regards to their e-learning provision, as well as the capacity for exceeding those standards. Learners however rarely fit wholly within one category, as A. Pritchard confirms: The four basic types of learner, as characterised by preference for active, reflective, theoretical or practical learning, are clearly different one from the other, but most learners are not extreme examples of just one preference. Many virtual learning environments will have staff development areas within them, with modules or programmes aimed at assisting academic and other staff to get the most out of e-learning tools.
