角色扮演在面對面的情境下對各階段的教育來說都是一種有用的教學設計。e-Learning時代的來臨讓參與不同型態的角色扮演變得更容易，例如：跨國或跨機構的合作、混合線上或是面對面的角色扮演、混合同步或非同步的媒體包含錄影，以及在遠距學習中進行角色扮演。現在已經可以在線上進行闡述性或回應性的角色扮演活動。在這些活動中，參與者的身分並非直接透露，而是使用虛擬角色或在3D的虛擬世界中活動來進行角色扮演。本文分析20年來澳洲角色扮演的e-learning，包含使用簡單的e-learning工具像是電子郵件和線上討論區，並與美國、英國和亞洲採行的最新發展的e-learning工具相互比較。

Role play in face-to-face contexts has been shown to be a powerful teaching design at all levels of education. The arrival of e-learning makes it possible to engage with different types of role play, for example: inter-national and inter-institutional collaborations, role plays blending online and face-to-face interaction, role plays blending synchronous and asynchronous media including recordings of the sessions, and role play within distance learning contexts. It is now possible to conduct elaborate and responsive role play activities where the identity of the participants is not immediately apparent, where they may use avatars or inhabit 3D virtual worlds as part of the role play. This paper charts the development of role-based e-learning over the past 20 years in Australia using simple e-learning technologies such as email and online discussion forums and compares this with emerging forms of the e-learning design which are adopting newer technologies in America, Britain and Asia.