The Mediating Classroom: How Digital Learning Ecosystems Shape Students’ Lived Experiences in Tertiary Online Education

Abstract

This study was premised on the notion that the success of any educational program depends not only on institutional backing but on its capacity to resonate with, and be shaped by, the narratives of learners. This is because, the rapid shift to online learning has moved the digital learning ecosystem—the integrated matrix of platforms, tools, pedagogies, and institutional supports—from a passive backdrop to the active environment of tertiary education. This ecosystem does not merely deliver content; it fundamentally mediates, constrains, and transforms students lived educational experiences. This study centers explicitly on this critical interaction, with the question: How do digital learning ecosystems impact the lived experiences of tertiary education students? Grounded in the systemic-structural theory of activity, which frames learning as a contextualized work activity, this research employs a cross-sectional quantitative design. Data was collected via questionnaire from six hundred and sixty-eight graduate students at the University of Ghana Business School, measuring perceptions of their digital ecosystem and its effects on their daily academic reality. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings showed significant relationships between digital learning ecosystem and the facets of the students lived experience. it is concluded that positive enhancement of the pedagogical learning environment will positively enhance the student-system interaction, thus enriching their lived experiences in the digital learning ecosystem. This understanding is crucial for intentionally designing ecosystems that acknowledge and support diverse student lives, moving beyond technical implementation to foster genuinely human-centric online education.