Browsing by Author "Nyinondi, Onesmo S"

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    Whatsapp platform a remedy for covid-19 classroom learning restrictions: Students’, teachers’, and parents’ perspectives in Tanzania
    (G-Card, 2023) Nyinondi, Onesmo S; Mwakapina, Job W
    This paper investigates the use of WhatsApp as an alternative platform for classroom learning during the Covid-19 pandemic in Tanzania. In particular, it examines the effectiveness of using WhatsApp as a platform for classroom learning and surveys parents’, students’, and teachers’ perceptions of its use. The paper is based on a survey of 125 volunteered parents, students, and teachers from four schools in Tanzania. Data were collected through telephone interviews, online group discussions, and an online questionnaire. The results revealed that most participants found WhatsApp an effective platform for classroom learning. However, there were some concerns about the security of the platform and potential distractions for students. Also, the majority of participants felt that the use of WhatsApp enabled them to stay connected to their school community during the pandemic, although there were some concerns about privacy and data-sharing. Generally, the study found that the Covid- 19-adopted remedy was effective in several ways, including increasing parents’ participation in students’ learning, improving students’ inquiry and searching skills, and mastering the subject matter. The study concludes that WhatsApp effectively creates a collaborative community learning environment as an alternative platform. Thus, WhatsApp is recommended first to be mainstreamed through the curriculum as an online mobile learning tool and, second, to be combined with other digital platforms during teaching and learning to ensure a comprehensive learning experience as a way to student-directed learning in schools.