Higher Education in Digital Phenomenon

Abstract

Over the centuries, the concept of ‘higher education’ has evolved through socio-cultural, political and economic dynamics with pre-determined goals to offer advanced knowledge acquisition. Out of the value chain of ‘higher education’ is the University structure with its attendant developmental objectives and global competitiveness. However, within the pace of recent centuries, ‘digital transformation’ of higher education has dominated academic discourse, and a key approach is the rethinking of the learning process, enabled mostly by technology with a view to achieving a ‘digital learning’. Accentuated by the fall outs of COVID-19, educational institutions applied different digital platforms with varying capabilities and strategies to facilitate learning which made digital technology a primary medium of education. Consequently, this research-article examined the principal objectives of digital institutions in higher education, its innovation, factors promoting the use of digital technologies in education, the variant of digital technologies in education, and related studies with technology beliefs, attitudes and barriers in education.

This study adopted a comprehensive literature review approach; critically evaluates and synthesizes existing research findings and theories related to the specific study objectives which include: enhancing the learning environment for the students; raising the programme operational effectiveness; boosting computer capacity for cutting-edge research, and promote educational innovation. As a Desktop research (secondary research), the study identifies patterns, trends, gaps, and inconsistencies in the existing body of knowledge in the digital concept of higher education; proposing a new pattern of digital phenomenon.

Ultimately, among other findings, the research-article identified digital technologies in education to include: Learning Management Systems (LMS); Publish and Share tools; Collaborative Systems; Social Networking; Interpersonal Communication Tools;  Content Aggregation Tools; 3D Virtual Worlds; Assessment and Feedback systems; Mobile Tools (mobile applications internet based), and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) -software or applications internet based. It also highlighted factors that tend to promote the use of digital technologies in education as: digital skills and literacy, infrastructural investment, digital technologies transformation and evolution, and digital technologies for learning in urban–rural context. It was also researched that digital technology drives innovation in higher education in the last five years, and formed the basis of the strategic response of Ministries of Higher Education.

Conclusively, the rapid advances in technology are reshaping our society, social institutions and schools. Modern technologies have vastly increased capacity to communicate and collaborate with others. They allow transmission of information quickly and widely, linking distant places and diverse areas of endeavor in productive new ways. These advances allow us to form and sustain communities for work, play and learning within a decade ago. Invariably, today’s students have a wide range of new technology open and available to them. This information changes the relationship between people and knowledge. Applied technology affects learner’s lives positively, and by adapting it, education stakeholders derive positive improvements in different categories such as: academic performance, motivation, critical thinking skills, literacy, attitudes and real life work skills.