Abstract
Education is essential to life, and the epidemic affected everything. Parents want to get their kids the most
important teaching. However, since COVID-19 has affected schools and other institutions, providing education
has become the most significant issue. Online learning pedagogy uses technology to provide high-quality
learning environments for student-centered learning. Further, this study explores the experiences and challenges
faced by Filipino tertiary students regarding the lack of gadgets amidst online learning. Employing the
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the findings of this study were: Some college students still have
difficulty with online learning. Attending online classes is difficult, especially for students with limited
resources. Smartphones, other gadgets, and internet connections play a significant role in online classrooms
because they are the ones that students utilize while learning online, which is essential for successful
participation in online higher education as well as for solving a variety of other difficulties in the new normal.
Further, College students face similar health challenges. Having an online learning setup is not just about
students' struggles with learning resources but also about their health issues. When our respondents used their
smartphones for an extended period, they reported eye aches and blurred vision. They also said that some of their
body parts, such as their legs and back, are aching, and feel pressured because they tend to overthink things in
their surroundings, which causes them incredible difficulty in performing their best in attending online classes.
Even though college students continue to suffer from a lack of learning resources during online sessions,
they do their best to manage their needs and the scarcity of learning resources. Students have unique coping
methods for dealing with difficulties in online classes.