Student wellbeing and technostress: critical learning design factors

Abstract

In higher education, student wellbeing is now the responsibility of all of us. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the pivot by universities to online learning positioned technology as a panacea, and saw students being signposted to digital resources for digital skills and wellbeing support. Our use of the concept, technostress, is derived from the Student Minds report (2021) entitled ’Life in a pandemic’. It refers to the stress experienced by students when using technology within higher education, given the sector's expectations of their technical abilities. Our paper reported on the results of a digital health and wellbeing survey (n=103) with surprising responses from 80 students to the survey question about technostress. The findings indicate students feel let down by teaching staff who struggle with the mediating tools of their online trade – technology – and show little empathy for those they teach. McDougall and Potter (2018) argue that human-centred approaches, prioritising staff and students’ immediate and lifelong wellbeing rather than the mere use of digital tools, are key to success in developing policies for student wellbeing. The findings indicate that the formulaic approaches offered by academic staff to students in response to their digital health and wellbeing challenges will chime with learning developers championing student support as emancipatory practice. Attendees were invited to reflect on their own experience of technostress and share their considerations as to how to widen understanding of this phenomenon. The presentation concluded by recommending an integrated model for framing student wellbeing underpinned with exceptional learning design and considered the optimum on a continuum for the use of technological tools.

Nurturing Minds and Sustainability: An Exploration of Educational Interactions and Their Impact on Student Well-Being and Assessment in a Sustainable University

“…On the positive side, online activities were found to provide students with access to new information, resources, and social relationships that can lead to improved academic performance, enhanced creativity, and increased self-esteem. Furthermore, online activities can provide students with a sense of connection, belonging, and social support, which can help them to cope with stress and anxiety [35]. On the other hand, online activities can also have a negative impact on student well-being, as excessive use of digital technology can lead to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying [36].…”

Exploring college students’ technostress phenomenon in using ed-tech

“…University students' technostress was also detected by Cataldo et al (2023), in which family-related issue (connecting to time management at home between learning and family time) has become a major stressor. Biggins & Holley (2022) have also highlighted that during the pandemic, college students experienced technostress because they viewed that the faculty members were lack of technological competence and exhibited less empathy for their students. Under the same circumstance, a study conducted by Garg et al (2023) indicated that students' gratitude can be a determining factor in the reduction of technostress, implying that they will experience technostress when they do not show positive acceptance towards technology.…”