Individual interest and self-regulation are two pillars of self-directed learning. Despite empirical evidence on the interaction between the two with respect to academic achievement, few studies have explored how individual interest and self-regulation might interact and relate to self-directed informal learning. This study surveyed 322 university…

Faculty members play a valuable role in the reputation of higher education institutions and adult learners' academic success. It is imperative for faculty members to be adept at using the institution's learning management system to maintain their instructional materials and teach using a technological system. The purpose of this study was to…

This exploratory study describes the distribution of pre-service teacher (PST) technology use for formal or informal professional learning. Additionally, it describes PSTs' self-efficacy for technology use and associated factors. Laptops and smartphones were among the most commonly used devices. Technology use for professional learning was common…

This paper explores the use of a gamified digital intervention to build connected and relational spaces for students in higher education which reach beyond the places and spaces of the traditional learning environment. These informal learning spaces can be seen to facilitate the development of students' transferable skills. The project…

This article describes how I, an American music teacher educator, visited the classrooms of eight Musical Futures Champion Teachers in the United Kingdom and observed their teaching with a focus on informal music learning and nonformal teaching. Musical Futures, a professional development organization in the UK, is the original organization that…

As learning is more real and permanent when connected to learners' private lives beyond the classroom (Godwin-Jones, 2011), mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has emerged as a good way to support language learning, especially in informal contexts. With thousands of language learning applications (apps) becoming available, more and more…

This study aimed to understand the nature of learning English in the digital age from students' personal 'learning lives'. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology's principles, this study conducted conversational interviews and obtained reflective reports from students over 5 months. The findings reveal that students' English learning experiences are…

Purpose: Digital technology's integration into education has transformed learning frameworks, necessitating the exploration of factors influencing students' engagement in digital informal settings. This study, grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), proposes a model comprising artificial intelligence (AI) competence, chatbot usage, perceived…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe university students' motivations for using Facebook as an informal learning tool and explore the key barriers that may inhibit learning on the social media platform. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was adopted in this study. Participants were 82 university students who…

This study aims to investigate digital media in the context of informal educational activities to determine their impact on learning effectiveness and the level of participant engagement. It was assumed that the integration of digital media into informal education positively influences the effectiveness of learning, the level of student…

Although smartphones have become normalised in people's everyday behaviours, they remain under-exploited from a language learning perspective. This paper describes a study in an Irish university which explored the nature and extent of language learners' existing use of smartphones for informal learning purposes through a survey, a case study, and…

Twenty-first-century teaching and learning provide online resources accessible to foster learning experience across time and spaces in an informal context. Hence, enhancing learners' voluntary adoption of digital devices is crucial to augment the promising assistance of technology for English language learning. This study sheds some light on…

The proliferation of the smartphone has encouraged educators, particularly the tech savvy, to seek personalized learning options in lieu of the absence of individualized professional development (PD) offerings provided by their academic institutions that are not based on short-term whole group instruction. Although smartphone use has attracted the…

Micro-learning is a modern learning approach hailed for improved course completion by learners and retention capability. Micro-learning relies on technologies of various types to offer improved learning experiences to learners anywhere and anytime. Micro-learning platforms of various types offer course managers and educators features for managing…

Purpose: This study aims to explore the use of technology-based strategies by Yemeni undergraduate students to develop their English as a foreign language skills in informal learning settings. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods research design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 110 undergraduate students enrolled…