Foreword

Abstract

Teaching and learning has an ever more important role in the field of higher education due to several factors. A world movement towards mass higher education has resulted in a changing nature of students who have become more diverse, which in turn requires more attention to teaching and learning that can cater to their needs. The globalization of higher education has led to growing international competition and an increasing demand for quality education from higher education providers across the globe. The different expectations from multiple stakeholders such as employability and entrepreneurship from employers or parents, and the issue of accountability on how public money is spent have given rise to close scrutiny and supervision on how teaching and learning occurs in higher education institutions. All these phenomena are taking place in the context of rapidly changing information and communication technologies which have the possibilities of enhancing teaching and learning in higher education. Especially the last year with its abrupt demand for online or virtual forms of education in times of social distancing regulations and closed campuses around the world has highlighted both the potential and the pitfalls in the interaction between learning and information technology (Goedegebuure and Meek 2021). The focus of this special issue is on learning in the age of information which is also known as the digital or computer age where the economy is primarily based on information technologies. Today there are new forms of commerce, communication, work, research and entertainment. Similarly, educational opportunities can be greatly enhanced because of the wealth of knowledge now placed at the fingertips of any wired individual. The driving force behind much of these changes is none other than the internet. However, it also allows for the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation because the World Wide Web allows everyone to participate in the sharing of information and commentary on a global basis, may this information be true or false. Hence the age of information is also the age of misinformation. To make the most out of these new conditions, we need to understand the various aspects of students’ learning, that is, what students learn, how students learn and for what purposes do students learn in order to teach effectively. Students’ learning in higher education covers a wide range of things which include remembering factual information, understanding abstract concepts and principles, acquiring methods, techniques and skills, reasoning, debating ideas, developing certain attitudes and values. In the literature, the different types of knowledge are declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, schematic knowledge, strategic knowledge (Shavelson, Ruiz-Primo, and Wiley 2005), domain-specific knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman 1986) and others. In the age of mis/information, the internet has become one of the main sources of information for learning. Internet-based learning allows students to learn at their own pace and access the information at a time that is convenient to them. This special issue consists of studies on how students use the internet for their learning which include students’ information use behavior such as strategies for learning, evaluation and selecting online information. The volume also consists of studies on the cognitive processes involved in the learning of specific tasks such as comprehending