When Social Media Use for Formal Learning is Voluntary: A Study of Students’ Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies1

Abstract

Background. With the availability of a wide array of social media platforms, it is not surprising that students use social media to support their formal learning in a voluntary manner. To achieve effective learning, it is important for students to employ self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies to manage their learning process. There has been limited work concerning the SRL strategies that students use in a voluntary context of learning with social media. Objective. This study aims to uncover how students use SRL strategies when learning with social media in a voluntary context. Results. Based on focus group discussions with 41 university students, this study uncovered two categories of SRL strategies: regulation of learning (i.e., goal setting, environment structuring, performance control, and self-evaluation), and regulation of social media use (i.e., information evaluation, support exchange, and distraction management). The findings have implications for students’ effective learning with new technologies like social media in formal education and lifelong learning.