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The purpose of this study is to highlight the challenges and opportunities for the well-being of older migrants and refugees in rural Australia by learning from the example of the Bhutanese community in Albury, New South Wales.

This viewpoint focusses on health and aged care barriers that affect the well-being of older migrants and refugees in Australia. It also demonstrates how these can be intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Engagement though agriculture, and a sense of “belonging” strengthen the cultural well-being of the Bhutanese older adults in Albury. However, major issues remain as health-related resources and information are lacking in rural Australia. How this group’s meaningful activities in Albury enabled collaborations to be built is shown in this working example and can provide lessons for other communities that experience similar problems of disconnection as they get older.

The information regarding the Bhutanese older adults in Albury is primarily based on the authors’ personal communication with the General Secretary of the Bhutanese Australian Community Support Group in Albury Wodonga Inc.

Australia’s older population is growing rapidly, and older adults from culturally and linguistically diverse migrant and refugee backgrounds face numerous barriers such as limited linguistic, health and digital literacy. The authors describe common health and aged care issues that affect the well-being of older adults in rural Australia. They particularly emphasize those that occurred or intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This novel information is now especially relevant to the health and aged care sectors in changing and diverse communities not only in Australia but also overseas.

Following the rapid shift to online learning due to COVID-19, this paper aims to compare the relative efficacy of face-to-face and online university teaching methods.

A scoping review was conducted to examine the learning outcomes within and between online and face-to-face (F2F) university teaching programmes.

Although previous research has supported a “no significant difference” position, the review of 91 comparative studies during 2000–2020 identified 37 (41%) which found online teaching was associated with better learning outcomes, 17 (18%) which favoured F2F and 37 (41%) reporting no significant difference. Purpose-developed online content which supports “student-led” enquiry and cognitive challenge were cited as factors supporting better learning outcomes.

This study adopts a pre-defined methodology in reviewing literature which ensures rigour in identifying relevant studies. The large sample of studies (n = 91) supported the comparison of discrete learning modes although high variability in key concepts and outcome variables made it difficult to directly compare some studies. A lack of methodological rigour was observed in some studies.

As a result of COVID-19, online university teaching has become the “new normal” but also re-focussed questions regarding its efficacy. The weight of evidence from this review is that online learning is at least as effective and often better than, F2F modalities in supporting learning outcomes, albeit these differences are often modest. The findings raise questions about the presumed benefits of F2F learning and complicate the case for a return to physical classrooms during the pandemic and beyond.

This scoping review article aimed to systematically search the literature on the use, purpose and barriers of information and communication technology (ICT) for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older adults in the host country. The review also conducted a search for literature on programs that aim to develop digital literacy skills for CALD older adults.

A scoping review approach was utilized to identify and search the available literature, and to map the key concepts. A total of 23 relevant articles were included following a systematic search across seven databases.

The review suggests that CALD older adults use ICT for various purposes, including social interaction, health management, information gathering, immigration, everyday routines and leisure. The barriers faced by these older adults in using ICT encompass fear and limited knowledge, language issues, lack of interest, limited access to technology and health concerns. The existing training programs focus on enhancing self-efficacy and confidence and promoting attitudinal changes toward ICT.

Despite the presence of empirical studies, few scoping or systematic reviews have focused on CALD older adults and technology. Research developments related to the technology use of CALD older adults and associated training programs have been fragmented and sporadic, resulting in gaps in the evidence base. This review fills such a gap to better understand the research status connected to CALD older people’s technology adoption and use.