Digital learning, online or blended learning is not a new phenomenon, the origins of such lay within historical correspondence courses or distance education by the open university in the 1960’s or education broadcasting offered to remote communities in the Australian outback by television broadcasts (Sherbersky et al., 2021). This learning environment was traditional in its approach, having little focus upon socialisation, interaction with resources offered, or individual need (Satyam & Aithal, 2022).The advent of internet and the exponential growth of the World Wide Web for education within schools and universities has changed the attitudes once held towards distance education (Kentnor, 2015; Maurer, 2018; Sherbersky et al., 2021).

Technological developments and student engagement are intricately linked when considering the perceived value of learning in the digital arena. With the suggestion by some that the immaturity of digital learning and the inequality of the learning experienced creates challenges to achieving the desired learning outcomes (Dahleez et al., 2021). Such inequality can be attributed to a lack of regulation within the field, with educators not applying the same rigor within the digital arena that they apply to textbooks, research or other areas of teaching (Matthan & Finn, 2020).