WhatsApp and Educational Continuity in the age of COVID-19: The Examples of Jean-Paul II International University and the Royal Baboutchka University Institute (Cameroon)

This article reports on the use of the WhatsApp social network in a context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of the challenge of pedagogical continuity, it seeks to verify whether this application has ensured online teaching and learning during the closure of schools. The digital traces to be analyzed were collected from two WhatsApp groups, one from the JeanPaul II International University, and the other from the Royal Baboutcha-Nintcheu University Institute, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. The content analysis that we applied to this data reveals WhatsApp as a remote learning device that facilitates the completion of educational tasks. Moreover, this health crisis reflects the organizational, structural and technological deficits that still characterize our universities; hence the urgency to rethink schools in the digital age.