In response to the compulsory closure of institutions of learning as part of measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, efforts were made to keep students busy with academic activities during the lockdown. Thus, schools, especially privately owned universities, engaged students in different kinds of online learning approaches. This was limited to private schools because the government owned universities were on strike. Anchor University was one of the private tertiary institutions in Nigeria that took the initiative to respond to the challenge. Lecturers went the extra mile to ensure that students had meaningful learning experiences. They engaged students with materials varying from text notes and voice notes, to animated videos. They also used different online tools and platforms like Google classroom, Google meet, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The results showed that students were not in favour of online teaching and learning. Researchers found that students had a preference for face-to-face learning and wished the practice would not be retained, post COVID-19. Over 60% of the participants did not find it fun learning through uploaded videos and other online learning channels. For example, majority of the students say they concentrate more with a teacher in the class than when watching a video online. Some students said they are not learning more content from online teaching than they would have in a face-to-face approach. Others said they would rather all the online lectures be repeated in the classroom after the lockdown.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION