* In a study conducted by Jessie, et al.

(2021) found that the least challenge was on tech-

nological literacy and competency, particularly on knowledge and training in the use of
technology, technological intimidation, and resistance to learning technologies. Other areas that
students experienced the least challenge are Internet access under TSC and procrastination
under SRC.

* In a recent study, Internet access is a huge challenge. In urban areas, instructors can give
lessons over video conferencing platforms, or Facebook Live, but 52.6% of the Philippines’ 110
million people live in rural areas with unreliable connectivity. It doesn’t come cheap either:
research from cybersecurity firm SurfShark found that the internet in the Philippines is among
the least stable and slowest, yet the most expensive, of 79 countries surveyed. Internet access
assumes, of course, that the user has a device, but in the Philippines that’s not a given. Private
polling firm Social Weather Stations found that just over 40% of students did not have any
device to help them in distance learning. Of the rest, some 27% were using a device they
already owned, and 10% were able to borrow one, but 12% had to buy one, with families
spending an average of $172 per learner. To put it into perspective, that’s more than half the
average monthly salary in the Philippines.

* A study by Cabual, R.A the technical issues challenged the students to a great extent. They
were not knowledgeable about fixing their computers, laptops, gadget used, and the like.
Further, if service providers are not located in their hometown, they need to travel to the city or
malls to have their things fixed. Slow internet connection challenged students greatly because
they used data only to attend to their online learning. Some students dropped off their
connections while in their online classes. When they tried to reconnect, they usually found it
difficult to re-join the class.

* According to a study conducted by Polytechnic University of the Philippines, different

difficulties are experienced by college students during online schooling. These difficulties are
technology and Internet connectivity, mental health issues, financial problems, and time and
space management. According to Adnan and Anwar (2020), some difficulties of students during
online classes are adaptability struggle, technological problems, time issues, and self-motivation
which areclose to the results of this study. With that said, the problems and difficulties
experienced before are still happening today. Also, these difficulties can be connected such
as mental health can be caused by technology and Internet problems with that, students can
experience two or more difficulties at the same time. As the difficulties can be connected, it
shows more struggle and problems to the college students.

* The current study explores the challenges that students experienced in an online learning
environment and how the pandemic impacted their online learning experience. The findings
revealed that the online learning challenges of students varied in terms of type and extent. Their
greatest challenge was linked to their learning environment at home, while their least challenge
was technological literacy and competency. While most studies revealed that technology use
and competency were the most common challenges that students face during the online classes
(see Rasheed et al., 2020), the case is a bit different in developing countries in times of
pandemic.

REFERENCES:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351956944_Students
%27_online_learning_challenges_during_the_pandemic_and_how_they_cope_with_them_The
_case_of_the_Philippines

https://time.com/6124045/school-closures-covid-education-philippines/

https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=114733

https://journal.scadindependent.org/index.php/jipeuradeun/article/view/691/589

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8162157/