Student Experiences of ICTs in Online Learning during COVID-19 in Pakistan: Challenges and Prospects

Outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic altered the traditional model of face-to-face teaching and learning into remote learning through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This paper investigates the experiences of students using these ICTs for online learning. Interviews were conducted with them to understand prospects and challenges of using ICTs when it comes to remote learning. The findings illustrated that most students were satisfied with the online mode as living in a technology-oriented era adoption is relatively easy. However, electricity outages and connectivity problems were faced by some of the students belonging to underprivileged and remote areas. The study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of ICTs on the one hand, but on the other certain prospects are not abundantly realistic and pervasive for all. Policy dialogue is recommended to adopt and practice blended technology-based learning methodologies at all levels of education to meet the current challenges of the education system.