ABSTRACT

Digital technology provides access to resources extending beyond the boundaries of the classroom, while offering opportunities for personalised and collaborative learning and innovation and creativity. Off-campus online learning has become a dominant trend in the higher education sector in response to rapid advances in digital technology and increased pressures of rising costs, reduced government support and fierce competition in the global education market. Universities worldwide face the challenge of reinventing themselves to survive the challenges of a changing educational environment in the digital age. However, if digital technologies, redesigned classrooms and off-campus online learning environments are to offer students the opportunity to reach their potential, we need to attain a thorough understanding of the strengths and challenges of digital technologies as pedagogical tools. This chapter presents the initial findings from an ongoing project that aims to enhance the quality of learning outcomes in online teaching and learning situations in tertiary education, by developing and trialling a web-based application for encouraging and mapping student engagement with online content through 360 degree video annotation and data analytics.