The central focus of this paper is the authors'experiences developing an online program to assist students improve their academic writing and referencing skills in response to increasingly poor levels of student expression and quality of submitted work. The ten modules provide students with access to theory on the process and skills required in preparing tertiary level assignments and then the opportunity to practice these skills. Sociocultural and constructivist theory underpin the structure of the online program. As writers and developers familiar with academic processes we engaged with a discourse with each other and more capable others to learn new skills particularly with respect to WebCT. This was a complex process characterised by role switching so that there was not an ongoing distinct demarcation of novice and expert.