In this paper we discuss outcomes and research into the roles and relationships that have developed in an International Masters programme and the concerns, tensions and difficulties that arise as illustrated through a number of 'critical incidents' and the analysis of student 'reflections'. This paper focuses on the learner's viewpoint in the Digital Multimedia Application module and builds on ongoing research (Hudson, Hudson and Steel, 2002) by using data collected from a variety of sources which include end of module questionnaires, focus groups and the analysis of critical incidents. In designing and planning the module considerable emphasis has been placed on enabling collaborative activity in multinational teams. In relation to this aspect we share the general perspective offered and the distinction between co-operation and collaboration made by Lehtinen et al. (1999). The module enables the students to gain a critical appreciation of the development process and also a better understanding of the potential and limitations of Digital Media Applications. Student activity includes working online in international project teams to produce a DMA prototype. The activity is used as the basis for personal reflection, the outcomes from which are compiled into a digital portfolio for assessment. The context for this study is the International Masters Programme in E-Learning Multimedia and Consultancy http://www.shu.ac.uk/msce-learning/. The Programme involves an active partnership between Arnhem-Nijmegen University of Professional Education in the Netherlands and Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. The programme is embedded in professional practice and seeks to develop the profile of the 'problem solver'/team coordinator at the interface of pedagogical, technological and cultural dimensions of development. The framework for the programme is founded on a socio-constructivist perspective of teaching and learning that places emphasis on communication, interaction and collaboration. The theoretical framework as a whole owes its influence to the ideas of Vygostsky (1962 and 1978) and Lave and Wenger (1991). This framework has also influenced the approach taken to associated research which is underpinned by an emphasis on the social aspects of computer mediated learning and the affordance of technology. The programme as a whole is framed within a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has an international student cohort and a tutor team from partner universities. It is designed to integrate online learning, local studies and independent learning and emphasises the importance of peer and formative assessment practices. The paper draws on current thinking associated with on-line communities of learning and emphasises the role that virtual learning environments can play to support, facilitate and encourage communal aspects of study. It explores the relationships that develop around an 'orchestrated' online project-based activity and the role of the tutor in dealing with negotiation of meaning and the clarification of goals. This aspect of the tutor's role has been found to have a direct bearing on student satisfaction and experience of learning. Finally it presents some reflections on the way that pedagogical practice can be enhanced to achieve the optimum environment for collaborative learning and teaching. References Hudson, B., Hudson, A. and Steel, J. (2002) Orchestrating interdependence in a multinational virtual learning community ECER 2002 - European Conference on Educational Research, University of Lisbon, 11-14 September 2002, Education-line, Brotherton Library, University of Leeds, Leeds. Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press. Lehtinen, E., Hakkarainen, K., Lipponen, L., Rahikaianen, M. and Muukkonen, M. (1999) Computer Supported Collaborative Learning: A Review Vygotsky L. (1962) Thought and language. Cambridge: MIT Press. Vygotsky L. (1978) Mind in Society. The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Mass.