ABSTRACT
The growth in online activity means that the potential communities and support available to current doctoral researchers is arguably very different to the experiences of most research degree supervisors when doing their own doctoral study. The challenge for many supervisors is in identifying, understanding and navigating these online resources to support their own supervisory practice and their doctoral researchers. This chapter reflects on experiences with a model of supervisor development based on a Community of Practice ethos. The structure of conversations raised awareness as supervisors shared their knowledge of online resources and communities during conversations. This revealed familiarity and the enthusiasts, as well as creating space for concerns to be raised and reluctance to engage to be explored. The chapter concludes by identifying the potential and the importance of linking online and offline in enabling research degree supervisors to recognise supervision as an academic practice and the support available to them through communities of practice both local and global.
