Twenty-ninth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Higher education has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of the lockdown level five brought all educational institutions to close all their campuses. Traditional pedagogy became a challenge and caused lecturers to seek alternative teaching approaches. The innovation of social media has revolutionized the communication process through digital communication. This innovation, more specifically WhatsApp made it easy to connect with students to share teaching and learning content. WhatsApp offers its users a quick engagement process for instant messaging, many lecturers use it to connect with their students. However, WhatsApp was not designed as a learning app but for online social interaction. The study, therefore, focused on the merits and drawbacks of students receiving lectures through WhatsApp during the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, the study looked at whether teaching and learning were achieved effectively by using WhatsApp. The paper adopted a qualitative and quantitative approach and questionnaires were used to gather data from students from the Department of Communication Science. The study was conceptualized using Two-way Communication, the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) and Connectivism. Findings revealed that WhatsApp used for lectures has been effective in assisting students with remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, the major challenge faced by students was the issue of connectivity and internet data usage within rural areas that lack proper infrastructure.