The purpose and objectives of this case study are to explore the effective use of mobile technologies by first year students amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, using a situational analysis and active theory. Moreover, this study will unveil intersectional problems and educational inequality among ‘digital natives' and ‘digital immigrants' at the Rundu campus of the University of Namibia (UNAM). The study aims at examining how the interventions of distance and/or online learning are exclusive, exposing many, especially first year, students to educational inequality. Finally, the implications of sustainable development in higher education in terms of teaching, learning, and assessment will be considered.