Online Teaching and Learning Experiences of Higher Education Lecturers and Students in the COVID-19 Era: A Leap to Digital Pedagogies?

Abstract

The swift transition from face-to-face contact to online learning due to coronavirus (COVID-19) in teaching and learning is unprecedented on the globe, fraught with a myriad of challenges, and many developing economies being hardest hit. However, several efforts have been made, albeit at different levels in the various parts of the world to adjust and to continue with tuition under the difficult circumstances. The study intends to determine the potential of online teaching and learning in a developing country to propose a more applicable and sustainable integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning in crises and unforeseen circumstances. The study was conducted as a survey based on a case study of a tertiary institution. The objective was to find out lecturers’ and students’ experiences of online instruction since the beginning of lockdown periods due to COVID-19 in early 2020 so as to map future trajectories. The major findings include a lack of digital literacy among both lecturers and students; inadequate data and properly functioning gadgets; resistance to change revealed in limited adoption on the part of both lecturers and students despite efforts to provide training being made; a lack of systematisation of integration of ITCs in teaching and learning making commitment to transition to online modes difficult; a lack of commitment to attending online sessions and plagiarism in assignments by students. However, adequate commitment to online instruction is crucial to embrace the fourth industrial revolution.