Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic: Students’ Experiences, Perceptions and Lessons for Higher Education Institutes

Abstract

A sudden shift to complete online teaching and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for educational institutes, their administrators, teachers and students. This study investigated students’ online teaching experiences with the intention to shape higher education institutes’ (HEI) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration policies and practices. A mixed-method research approach was used to collect data. The quantitative data were collected using a survey questionnaire and focus group discussion method was used to gather qualitative data. The students’ views of their instructors’ online instructional and assessment strategies revealed that teachers confined themselves to the university guidelines and used the recommended learning management system (LMS) and digital tools but lacked the training to utilise many of the features available in the recommended LMS and digital tools that could be integrated with the LMS due to poor knowledge and ICT skills. This study suggests that HEIs should invest in research to understand students’ choices of digital tools and train teachers to maximise the use of the LMS.