Between gesture and interface: A cyclical model for attention in digital ecologies

Digital learning environments reshape how learners perceive, act, and sustain at-tention across networks of bodies, gestures, interfaces, and material configurations. While online formats expand access, they also reveal persistent difficulties in maintaining attention where cognitive demands, technological affordances, and embodied rhythms misalign. This contribution proposes a conceptual framework grounded in cognitive neuroscience, multi-media learning, and ecological–embodied cognition, conceiving attention as a distributed property of human–technology systems rather than an internal resource. The framework informs a cyclic model linking digital environments, attentional challenges, evidence-based strategies, and cognitive outcomes. To operationalize the model, a pilot MOOC will be de-veloped as a testbed for attentional scaffolding, integrating segmented micro-lessons, struc-tured pauses, micro-feedback, lightweight gamification, and guidance on managing the physical study setting. Its effectiveness will be examined through behavioural traces, brief questionnaires, performance measures, and qualitative feedback. The goal is to refine design principles for cognitively sustainable and ecologically grounded digital learning