By Ritika
Dubai, Sept 28, 2026: Learning platforms are being asked to do more than host content. Universities want tools that adapt to each learner, flag students at risk early and produce evidence of what has been learned. Lecture capture and virtual collaboration have become a standard part of course delivery.
Artificial intelligence is at the centre of the change. A recent survey by The Higher Education Policy Institute found that 95% of UK undergraduates use AI in some form and 94% use generative AI to help with assessed work. That puts new questions around how learning is supported and assessed.
Jad Najjar, Chief Executive Officer of Eummena, an edtech advisory firm, says the new academic year “is arriving at a real inflection point in digital learning.” The first shift is AI that generates content and adapts it to the learner. “Adaptive learning, where the system adjusts difficulty, format and pacing based on learner behaviour in real time, is no longer a nice-to-have. It is increasingly a baseline expectation from both faculty and students,” he says.
Engagement is the second shift. “Learner expectations have been fundamentally reset by the content they consume outside the classroom – short-form video, scenario-based interaction, gamified experiences,” says Najjar. “Engagement is no longer a pedagogical afterthought; it has become an infrastructure question.”
Learning analytics are maturing too, moving “from descriptive reporting (‘here is what happened’) to predictive, actionable insight” so that advisors can spot at-risk learners earlier. Najjar argues that the most structural shift is competency-based learning, driven by quality assurance departments and accreditation bodies. “They need evidence, not just metrics,” he says.
Digital tools
Universities describe platforms that are already deeply embedded. At American University of Sharjah (AUS), iLearn, built on Blackboard Ultra, “serves as the core AUS Learning Management System (LMS), facilitating digitised course management, online courses, and assessments,” says Ali Al Suwaidi, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. Panopto is the main lecture-capture and video platform. It is “fully integrated into the LMS to satisfy regulatory storage mandates and allow students asynchronous review anytime.”
Zoom and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra run virtual classes at AUS. AppsAnywhere, an app-store-style platform, “allows students to securely access all academic software from a unified application on any machine.” Respondus supports secure online proctoring, and polling software is used in class for real-time engagement. “100% of faculty have completed hands-on training to handle these platforms,” says Al Suwaidi.
