Digital Tools for Enhancing Oral Presentation Skills in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

With the rapid development of digital technology, oral presentation skills in higher education have changed dramatically. There have been many attempts to develop digital tools to support learners' presentation skills, but the literature is still scattered in terms of the technologies developed, pedagogical strategies, and learning environments. This systematic literature review (SLR) brings together the existing research pertaining to the use of digital tools for the development of oral presentation skills in higher education. A systematic search was conducted in the Scopus and WOS database following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After the identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion processes, 41 empirical studies were selected and analysed from 2016 to 2026. Six criteria were established to assess the methodological rigour of the included studies, which were then subject to a quality assessment. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) AI-supported, automated and mobile support of oral communication; (2) video-, audio- and multimodal-based oral presentation learning; (3) Web 2.0, social, hybrid and collaborative learning environments; and (4) new technologies and contextual factors affecting the development of oral presentation. The results show that the use of digital tools overall has a positive impact on the oral presentation performance, communication confidence, learner autonomy, engagement and opportunities for self and peer feedback of learners. In the area of personalised feedback, as well as repeated practice, AI-enabled apps and multimodal technologies stood out. Yet issues of digital literacy, ethics in AI applications, access, teacher workload and sustainability of technology integration are all underdeveloped. This review summarises recent research trends, pinpoints gaps in the literature, and brings practical implications for higher education educators, curriculum designers, and researchers who want to incorporate digital technologies into the teaching and learning of oral presentations