Zimbabwe in Covid-19 Lockdown: The Benefits and Shortcomings of Online Learning in Open Distance e-learning Institutions of Zimbabwe

During the lockdown period for Covid-19, online learning has been the best platform to keep learners/lecturers engaged and safe by maintaining social distancing. Through online learning, students often face a number of challengesto their full participation in coursework units. The online environment also presents challenges for many academic staff that increasingly require higher levels of technological competency and proficiency on top of their regular academic workload. This study adopted the qualitative research paradigm in which a case study design was used. The design was considered appropriate because it enabled the researchers to interact with the participants in their natural settings on the phenomenon in its original form. The study was confined to Zimbabwe Open University, Bulawayo Regional Campus students and tutors only and it sought to establish the challenges learners experience in using the online learning platform during the Covid-19 lockdown. The findings show that participants still lack the knowledge on what online learning is all about and the different types of media used and how to use them in different environments.