Abstract
This article describes an investigation into the level of satisfaction among students at Spain’s National Distance Education University (UNED) regarding use of Facebook groups as an environment for learning. Based on a structural equation methodology, the research analyzed the most relevant personal and socio-educational factors that affect satisfaction. The sample consisted of 418 undergraduate and master’s degree students at UNED’s Faculty of Education; participants were consulted in three semesters between September 2019 and January 2021. The results showed that students who participated in Facebook study groups achieved better results than those who did not, and that they interacted more frequently in these groups than in UNED’s official learning management system. The main latent variables that influenced satisfaction with Facebook study groups were the perception of efficacy they elicited as a complement to distance learning by enabling greater interaction with other students, and the feeling of course companionship they provided. The absence of teacher control also influenced student satisfaction, which allowed students to focus on learning and achieving better results in tests and exams. 
Highlights
The use of Facebook groups to support distance learning in higher education has been less researched than the use of this medium to complement different types of in-person tuition
Note: a) user’s attitude b) social presence and interaction c) educational impact. The results of this transversal study showed that the students who combined use of Facebook groups and learning management system (LMS)-academic platform (aLF) (n = 418) scored higher in their final course results than those students who used only LMS-aLF (n = 217; mean= 78.8/SE = 3.30) with preliminary assessment of sample normality (Kolmogorov-Smirnov/GF sig. 234/aLF sig. 156) and compliance with the equality of variances criterion
The results showed that students viewed use of the Facebook groups in the distance learning university environment as an effective tool for learning; the learning efficacy achievable in online settings had a positive effect on user satisfaction, in terms of productivity and motivation
Summary
The use of Facebook groups to support distance learning in higher education has been less researched than the use of this medium to complement different types of in-person tuition. University students continue to prefer Facebook to other social networks for academic work (Arteaga et al, 2014; Chiroma et al, 2016; Lambić, 2016). This study analyzed the level of satisfaction among distance learning students enrolled in Spain’s National Distance Education University (UNED) regarding their use of Facebook study groups, free of teacher vigilance, as an educational resource in support of their learning process. The development of this study enabled us to discover the variables that had greatest influence on the adoption of Facebook groups as opposed to UNED’s own learning management system (LMS), and to understand the implications for LMS design and teaching methodology in distance learning
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