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Lockdowns, social distancing, and COVID safe hygiene practices have rendered the usual face-to-face course delivery options all but impossible for many higher education institutions worldwide. A forced transition to online learning has been the only viable option for preventing a wholesale closure of many institutions. The aim of this study is to identify the role of educational technologies in the transition from face-to-face to online teaching and learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper identified five challenges to transitioning to online education experienced by higher education institutions: synchronous/asynchronous learning tool integration, access to technology, faculty and student online competence, academic dishonesty, and privacy and confidentiality. From the studies examined in this literature review, strategies for successful online implementation were also noted. These included: providing e-learning training support for faculty and students, fostering online learning communities, and expanding traditional face-to-face course delivery to incorporate more elements of blended learning. A Technology Enhanced Learning Hub that encapsulates the learning process within a modality-neutral learning space is presented as a suggested framework for delivering higher education programs in this challenging environment.

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Despite extensive proliferation of social media in different domains, higher education academics' use of social media remains unclear. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by providing a scoping review, covering the last five years of extant literature. It compiles and analyses previous empirical studies concerning academics' usage of social media, the benefits of social media for academics, and the challenges and barriers that academics face when using or considering using social media. The review of twenty-four published articles shows that not all academics currently use social media and those who do, tend to use it for research dissemination and personal reasons, mostly career and network development. Many academics do not use social media for teaching, mostly due to a lack of awareness, skill and confidence in using this emerging technology. Despite this limited use of social media by academics, social media provides clear benefits for career development, research and teaching, including: improved communication with various stakeholders, increased opportunities and contacts, and increased student learning and satisfaction. This review is intended as a timely introduction to current thinking about the usage of social media by higher education academics globally. By outlining the status quo in this underresearched field, it informs and becomes a useful basis for further research and highlights the need for academics to become more aware of, and accustomed to, using social media in their professional lives, not only for research and career development purposes, butmost importantlyalso for learning and teaching.

This study sought academic staff and students’ views of electronic exams (e-exams) system and the benefits and challenges of e-exams in general. The respondents provided useful feedback for future adoption of e-exams at an Australian university and elsewhere too. The key findings show that students and academic staff are optimistic about the future adoption of e-exams if the e-exams system is sufficiently improved. They are fully aware of the benefits the technology could offer in supporting learning and education in general and see e-exams as an innovation for learning and teaching in higher education.