Abstract

Online learning has transformed education, yet its implementation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) remains challenging because vocational programmes require practical, hands-on learning. In the BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible) context, literature on Malaysian vocational colleges points to digital inequality, limited infrastructure, reduced motivation, and uncertainty that may affect students’ ability to adapt and succeed. This conceptual paper uses a targeted narrative review with thematic synthesis and integrates Connectivism and Resilience Theory to explain how digital learning connections and adaptive capacities shape students’ online-learning experiences. Twenty-eight core sources from Malaysian TVET, adjacent education, and international contexts were analysed, revealing five themes: digital divide and technological barriers; challenges in practical skill-based learning; psychological and motivational obstacles; resilience and adaptability strategies; and pedagogical and institutional readiness. The integration offers a connection-disruption-reconnection pathway: BANI pressures may weaken digital, social, and practical learning connections and intensify psychological strain, while personal, relational, pedagogical, and institutional resilience resources may support reconnection and learning continuity. This explanation extends beyond cataloguing established barriers by linking disruption mechanisms to multilevel resilience resources. The framework is conceptually derived and requires empirical validation in Malaysian vocational-college contexts.