With the kind of interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many higher institutions, including the University of Ghana, swiftly shifted their engagements online which might have come with its setbacks. In view of that, this phenomenographic design study sought to investigate and document the qualitatively different perspectives of thirteen students with visual impairments (SWVIs) as they transitioned and studied fully in an online space. The experiences of the SWVIs were captured in five themes that emerged from the analysis of the field data. The five themes are pre-COVID-19 academic experiences, [initial] reaction to online shift, preparation towards online shift, coping mechanisms in fully online learning spaces and preferred post-COVID-19 learning space. In the end, the SWVIs expressed more challenges with online learning than benefits and opted for a switch to the face-to-face mode post-COVID-19. Consequently, the study recommends inter alia, training for students and faculty to build sustainable online relationships; deployment of participatory technologies to build learner autonomy; and the need for the University to craft a policy of inclusiveness which embeds ‘ubuntu’ (common humanity) and human awareness to reverse inequalities among its students.

由于 COVID-19 大流行造成的这种中断，包括加纳大学在内的许多高等院校迅速将他们的参与转移到网上，这可能伴随着挫折。有鉴于此，这项现象学设计研究旨在调查和记录 13 名视觉障碍 (SWVI) 学生在在线空间中进行全面过渡和学习时的不同观点。SWVI 的经验体现在从现场数据分析中得出的五个主题中。这五个主题是 COVID-19 之前的学术经验、对在线转变的 [初始] 反应、对在线转变的准备、完全在线学习空间中的应对机制以及 COVID-19 之后的首选学习空间。到底，SWVI 表示在线学习面临的挑战多于收益，并选择在 COVID-19 之后切换到面对面模式。因此，该研究特别建议对学生和教师进行培训，以建立可持续的在线关系；部署参与式技术以建立学习者自主性；以及大学需要制定一项包含“ubuntu”（共同人性）和人类意识的包容性政策，以扭转学生之间的不平等现象。