The author, a senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University in Australia, discusses the literature used to teach macroappraisal of electronic records through distance education techniques within an environment rooted in the Australian records continuum. In this context, students are given a sound grounding in systems analysis and design, as well as functional appraisal and the importance of metadata. A key teaching element is the International Standards Organization’s Information and Documentation – Records Management (ISO 15489), which she demonstrates has strong parallels to the principles of systems analysis and design.