And just like the learners we serve, the responses reflected different experiences and perspectives.

One comment stood out for its bluntness:

This response reflects a real frustration many people feel when digital learning environments are poorly designed. However, simply telling learners to “learn a different way” is not always an option. For many people, building digital literacy skills is now essential for participating fully in education, work, and everyday life.

When systems assume confidence, access, and fluency that learners do not yet have, everyone feels the strain. Learners disengage, and educators and course designers feel stuck or overwhelmed.

This is where the idea of the hidden learning gap becomes useful, and why we have spent time exploring it more deeply in our work here at Moodle HQ. The hidden learning gap is not about an individual’s effort or ability — it’s about the invisible differences learners bring with them, including access to technology, prior experience, confidence using digital tools, and available support.

When courses aren’t designed with those differences in mind, even well-intentioned learning can become exclusionary. Closing the gap doesn’t mean lowering expectations or avoiding digital learning altogether. It starts with recognising where learners are and making thoughtful design choices that welcome them and support their success.

If you’d like to explore this idea further, we dig into it in more depth on the Moodle Podcast in The invisible barrier: Liz Starbuck Greer on the power of digital capital, where Moodle’s Director of Global Sales & Partnerships, Liz Starbuck Greer, unpacks why digital capital matters — and what it means for how we design learning that works for all learners.

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