Digital technology has become a central aspect of higher education, inherently affecting all aspects of the student experience. It has also been linked to an increase in behavioural, affective and cognitive student engagement, the facilitation of which is a central concern of educators. In order to delineate the complex nexus of technology and student engagement, this article systematically maps research from 243 studies published between 2007 and 2016. Research within the corpus was predominantly undertaken within the United States and the United Kingdom, with only limited research undertaken in the Global South, and largely focused on the fields of Arts & Humanities, Education, and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Studies most often used quantitative methods, followed by mixed methods, with little qualitative research methods employed. Few studies provided a definition of student engagement, and less than half were guided by a theoretical framework. The courses investigated used blended learning and text-based tools (e.g. discussion forums) most often, with undergraduate students as the primary target group. Stemming from the use of educational technology, behavioural engagement was by far the most often identified dimension, followed by affective and cognitive engagement. This mapping article provides the grounds for further exploration into discipline-specific use of technology to foster student engagement.

Understanding how educational technology can enhance student engagement is becoming increasingly necessary in higher education, and particularly so in arts and humanities, given the communicative nature of courses. This narrative systematic review synthesises 42 peer-reviewed arts and humanities articles published between 2007-2016, indexed in four international databases. The results indicate that the majority of research has been undertaken in language learning, predominantly in East Asian countries, with limited grounding of research in theory. This review found that educational technology supports student engagement, with behavioural engagement by far the most prevalent dimension. Affective engagement was the lowest observed dimension, with affective disengagement the most prevalent negative dimension. Blogs, mobile learning, and assessment tools were the most effective at promoting engagement. However, caution and education in how to use technology are needed, as any use not underpinned by effective and informed pedagogy can also lead to students feeling overwhelmed and disengaging from learning. Further research is needed on online collaboration, as well as international courses that offer cross-cultural opportunities for language use, and the increased use of qualitative methods is also advised.

Background: Previous studies on augmented reality-enriched learning and training indicated conflicting results regarding the cognitive load involved: some authors report that AR can reduce cognitive load, others have shown that AR is perceived as cognitively demanding and can lead to poorer performance. Objectives:The aim of this study is to systematically analyse previous research on AR and cognitive load, including performance, and thus to be able to contribute to answering the question of the impact of AR on cognitive load when used in learning environments.Methods: This study applied the systematic review method. A total of 58 studies were identified and analysed using rigorously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria.The results are now reported as a synthesis.Results and Conclusions: Compared to other technologies, AR seems to be less cognitively demanding and also leads to higher performance. However, these results are based on media comparison studies that have been criticized for years. The spatial AR type is better compared to see-through AR. However, the latter can be improved by visual cues and the addition of learning activities, such as value-added studies have revealed.Major takeaways: The essential findings of this study are that the technology used, for example, AR glasses, can unnecessarily increase cognitive load and that still many studies focus on the comparison of AR with more traditional media. Less studies applied alternative research designs, for example, value-added comparisons. However, such designs are better suited to investigate design principles for AR-enriched learning environments, which can then in turn reduce cognitive load as well as positively affect performance.

The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) changed its editorial policy in 2013, to focus on higher education research and on improving journal submissions. This study analyses all articles (n = 256) in AJET from 2013-2017 to determine if there has been any change in research topics, methodologies, citations, and authorship since this editorial change, and compares findings to the analysis by Hadlock et al. (2014). The present analysis revealed that the percentage of combined methods research has doubled, although the top 10 most cited articles continue to be predominantly interpretative and inferential. Research has become more student-centred and focused particularly on online collaborative learning environments, and teacher skill and knowledge development, although research gaps exist in mobile learning and gamification. The results also highlight a lack of international collaboration amongst authors, and this is an area for future research.

Drawing on an example of a large systematic review that was conducted on the use of educational technology and student engagement in higher education, we provide practical insights into how we proceeded throughout the review phases. Readers and researchers embarking on a systematic review themselves might find the contents of this chapter useful, in order to better prepare themselves for issues that can arise when undertaking such an endeavour.