Abstract

Disruptions are costly in higher education. They deprive students of the opportunity to engage in different learning opportunities. COVID-19 was a real disruption to teaching and learning in higher education globally and—as this study reports—hindered students from engaging in community projects. The purpose of this research was to explore the views of undergraduate students in the School of Health Care Sciences (SoHCS) and the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) on the use of robotics and technology in educating communities about COVID-19 and to describe their thoughts on the use of robotics and technology in educating communities about COVID-19. Participatory action research (PAR) was used for this study since students from the SoHCS and EBIT were invited to be active participants as future professionals. Twenty-seven students participated in ten interviews. The responses were analyzed using ATLAS.ti for qualitative content. Data reduction, coding, and decoding analytic processes were used to analyze and interpret each of these qualitative data forms. Five themes emerged from this study: COVID-19 and community challenges and behavior; COVID-19 communication; COVID-19 knowledge and understanding; COVID-19 myths; and COVID-19 robotics and technology education. The findings of this research are already being used in the development of multidisciplinary interventions using technologically advanced and relevant tools in educating communities about health.