In a world driven by constant change and innovation, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are undergoing a rapid transformation, often driven by external factors such as emerging technologies. One of the key drivers affecting the design and development of educational delivery mechanisms in HEIs is the fast pace of educational technology development which not only impacts an institution’s technical capacity to infuse hardware and software solutions into existing learning infrastructure but also has implications for pedagogical practice, stakeholder acceptance of new technology, and HEI administrative structures. However, little is known about the implementation of contemporary educational technology in HEI environments, particularly as they relate to competing stakeholder perceptions of technology effectiveness in course delivery and knowledge acquisition. This review fills that gap by exploring the evidence and analyses of 46 empirical research studies focussing on technology implementation issues in a diverse range of institutional contexts, subject areas, technologies, and stakeholder profiles. This study found that the dynamic interplay of educational technology characteristics, stakeholder perceptions on the effectiveness of technology integration decisions, theoretical frameworks and models relevant to technology integration in pedagogical practices, and metrics to gauge post-implementation success are critical dimensions to creating viable pathways to effective educational technology implementation. To that end, this study proposes a framework to guide the development of sound implementation strategies that incorporates five dimensions: technology, stakeholder perceptions, academic discipline, success metrics, and theoretical frameworks. This study will benefit HEI decision-makers responsible for re-engineering complex course delivery systems to accommodate the infusion of new technologies and pedagogies in ways that will maximise their utility to students and faculty.
To review the available evidence on the use and effectiveness of mobile applications to assist nursing students in comprehending, utilising, and applying specialised language and knowledge terminologies when learning the language of biosciences. A scoping review. The databases CINAHL Complete, ERIC, EMCare, MEDLINE, PubMed, the OVID scholarly interface and the web search engine Google Scholar were searched. Peer-reviewed literature published in English during the period 2010-2023 was reviewed. Snowballing methods saw the reference lists of all included articles searched, and a secondary search of the Scopus ranked top ten nursing journals. Articles were included if they reported on any app or digital resource used when teaching undergraduate nursing students biosciences/science language skills, concepts, or terminology. Studies were excluded if the participants were non-nursing student cohorts or content did not meet the inclusion criteria. Mobile applications generally contribute positively to nursing students' education. These applications are deemed valuable tools, offering structured content in easily digestible formats. Some applications also foster teamwork and collaboration during clinical placements, promoting peer learning, and a sense of community. User internet access and preparation for learning were the only noted barriers. A range of science-based concepts were taught using applications, including diabetes mellitus, medical terminology, asthma, and cardiac conditions. Despite the promise shown by using mobile applications to teach nurse sciences, few are dedicated to bioscience language and scientific terminology. Recognising the challenging nature of teaching these concepts, developing specialised applications could substantially improve the educational experience for nursing students. Nurse educators are encouraged to teach with applications given their reported effectiveness in knowledge gains for students learning science concepts. Rigorous interventional study designs are warranted to extend suggestions that using applications enhances student understanding of challenging scientific concepts and support quality in clinical learning.
There is a growing acknowledgment of the relationship between students' psychological well-being and educational success. However, relatively few studies have focused on a connection between the psychological well-being of students who have high abilities and their school ecology. School-based experiences associated with interactions involving students, individual characteristics, contextual aspects and time-related factors are explored as they relate to the psychological well-being of students with high abilities. Psychological well-being in this article refers to students' motivation, ability to cope with stressors, their expectations for the future, their involvement in the community, and their sense of life satisfaction. This position paper invites researchers, educators, and other school-based stakeholders to consider the importance of the interplay between students' psychological well-being and the ecology in which they work.
1 December 2025 in Higher Education Research & Development