Master of Education students’ experiences and views towards use of WhatsApp platform in lecture deliveries during Covid-19 lockdown at a university in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The subsequent lockdown of schools and universities world over, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has led these institutions to adapt more online modes of teaching so as to mitigate the effects of disruption to learning. Using a qualitative case study design, this research explored and assessed how a class of Master of Curriculum Studies students at a state university in Zimbabwe used the WhatsApp platform in their lectures. Two platforms were at their disposal, that is, Google Classroom and WhatsApp platform but students opted for the WhatsApp platform for its perceived affordability. The students engaged in lectures via the WhatsApp platform for three weeks during the lockdown period and were being guided by their lecturer in two Curriculum Studies modules. The students who had been purposively selected were asked to complete a questionnaire which had unstructured questions on what they liked and disliked about their experiences during the three-week learning conducted on the WhatsApp platform and the improvement thereof.The findings revealed that most students benefited and enjoyed using the WhatsApp platform in their learning. Participants also endorsed the platform indicating that it enabled learners to access the material which was recorded on the platform, something which does not normally happen with the face-to-face mode. It was concluded that if appropriately used, the WhatsApp platform could be a competitive platform for teaching and learning even in higher education. It is recommended that with smartphone affordances such as WhatsApp platform students and lecturers could engage in several interactive learning activities outside the four walls of the lecture room, especially where „social distancing‟ and non-face-to-face contact were to be adhered to.