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Doctoral defence of Amor Jebali, MA, 7.12.2024: Utilising social media as learning tools: promoting self-regulation and collaborative learning

The doctoral dissertation in the field of Education will be examined at the Philosophical Faculty at Joensuu campus.

What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?

The topic of my doctoral research focuses on the use of social media as learning tools to promote self-regulation and collaboration in higher education. The research was initiated to fill a gap in the literature regarding the integration of social media platforms in education as potential learning tools. The challenge was that, in mainstream culture, social media are considered informal media platforms which are used mainly for communication, networking, sharing data, and making relationships. The research demonstrates that those platforms can be also used as effective learning tools in a formal learning context. The significance of this research is that it opens up new horizons in the use of digital technology to promote the development of students' self-regulation and collaborative learning, which are essential pedagogical concepts in modern education.

What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?

The research findings show that social media platforms can be used as effective learning tools in formal learning contexts. Social media affordances can sustain and improve learning development and empower students with ample possibilities to collaborate, produce, and share knowledge and skills. Thus, collaborative learning is sustained and enhanced by social media. The results also demonstrate that learner agency is a key factor in self-regulation, which leads to self-improvement. Students’ perceptions of social media changed throughout the experiment. They discovered that the tools can be very effective when it comes to learning in a formal context. Hence, the research shows that there is an urgent need to reconceptualize our understanding of the use of social media in education.

How can the results of your doctoral research be utilised in practice?

The results of this research are triggers for a wider implementation in a sustainable educational environment, whether its approach is blended, hybrid, or online. Utilising social media platforms to enhance learning and diversify learning strategies, techniques, and instruments is necessary in today's technological society. In practice, social media can be used to promote two things at the same time: collaboration and self-regulation. Students can be trained to self-regulate to fulfil learning tasks while collaborating with peers and groups. Moreover, the platforms can be effectively used by students to perform learning tasks and learn several online skills. Activities such as engaging in a forum, giving mutual feedback on assignments, posting video or audio and sharing PowerPoint slides, to number just a few, create a dynamic and engaging atmosphere for learning. Furthermore, because of their social nature, social media platforms can foster collaboration, communication, and networking, which are essential components of successful learning.

What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?

The research experiment was based on a set of tasks that students had to perform in a blended learning approach during a fixed number of weeks using seven selected social media platforms. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The aim was to diversify data collection using a survey questionnaire and interviews so that the findings would be more viable and generate more insights about the research findings. Moreover, the triangulation of data from various sources was paramount for the validity of the research instruments and the findings. The research paradigm used helped the research outcomes which simply demonstrate that modern technological innovation in general and social media platforms in particular can serve pedagogical purposes and thus empower students’ learning.


Public examination 

Dissertation online

Further information: Amor Jebali, amorj@uef.fi