The five stages of initiating students into the online environment advocated by Salmon (2000) provide a support through which students can be initiated into the new environment. As the students grow in technical accomplishment and confidence in the use of online provision, together with support from the moderator, Salmon suggests that at stage five students can achieve wholehearted engagement, becoming fully responsible for their learning using their personal experience in developing their exploration of a topic or area being studied. It is at this point that Salmon suggests the moderator leave the discussion. However, despite Salmon’s and others’ models for learning online, the potential for radical change in the learning is often undermined by summative assessments, designed to meet learning outcomes rather than focus on the processual and discursive aspects of learning such as the discussion and development of ideas. The resulting prioritization of assessment reduces the scope of learning online. Openness challenges the institution and threatens the privileged status of the textbook or study guide.