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Is TikTok More Than Just a Social Media Site?


Every new app has its time of prime existence where I would describe this to be a time where the app is it at its peak. The peak includes high downloads, consistent usage, and constantly a trending topic on other social media apps. TikTok became one of the next apps to enter its prime where several people worldwide began using it at large rates. What is TikTok you ask? Well as described in Adnan et al (2021) "tiktok allows users to record videos of themselves goofing off to music or spoken-word clips and then edit the footage with a variety of effects. As of 2021, TikTok is one of the world's most popular applications (at least among those under a certain age" (p.1). Being an app that has been successful to capturing an audiences across the world it is important to understand its connection to our education system as a practical and useful tool that can ehnace learning outcomes. 

I encourage you to review the questions below and reflect and think about your journey/experience with TikTok.
  • How did you hear about TikToK? 
  • Did you learn about it before the COVID-19 Pandemic? If yes, how and why did you use TikTok?
  • Did the COVID-19 Pandemic force you to download TikTok? If yes, why? Did you download it to stay informed, learn new cooking hacks and tricks, etc? 
  • How often do you use TikTok in your life? 
  • Does TikTok provide you with new knowledge? 
New technological advancements within the 21st century (i.e., mobile technology devices, web 2.0, and internet-based sites and platforms) should not be absent from learning and education environments because it is an explicit part of our daily lives whether we believe it to be true or not (Adnan et al., 2021). Social media has become a significant source of knowledge that provides education and resources contributing to how students make meaning of their learning experiences outside of the traditional classroom. As our readings discussed this week specifically around digital natives and digital immigrants it is highly important that we begin to merge and adopt practices that can enhance the learning experiences for teachers and students alike through integrating technology into the classroom (Prensky, 2001). How are we as educators fully living out a lifetime commitment to being a lifelong learner with resistance to embracing aspects that are framing the world as we know it today such as technology, diversity, equity, and inclusion as formative and necessary approaches to education in 2023 across K-12 and higher education context. Technology now is an important and valuable component to teaching practices today. As a student and instructor I have the unique opportunity to learn and teach in traditional and non-traditonal classroom spaces. Through my experiences I have realized that it is important to continue to integrate classroom curriculum with technology and discovering ways to "meet the students where they are" in their learning journey. I do not believe in showing a TikTok to act as a funny joke just to relate to students, but finding how these same comical TikToks can be a source of knowledge that may make a  difficult topic or concept easier for students to digest. In a short and more fun context to meet the learning goals and objectives. 


Do you think TikTok can be used as an educational tool? 

Check out this article to learn more about the study done around TikToks use as an educational tool! 


Reference: 

Adnan, N. I., Ramli, S., & Ismail, I. N. (2021). Investigating the usefulness of TikTok as an educational tool. International Journal of Practices in Teaching and Learning (IJPTL), 1(2), 1-5.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1 On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
 

Comments

  1. GabrielleMay 28, 2023 at 11:02 PM

    Hi Johnnie, interesting perspective for sure and I am going to be honest here and admit Tik Tok is almost my second, if not first app I go to when I need to look up any information. It has helped me tremendously, from what to cook, things to do in..., cleaning solutions, to which soil to use for my plants, skin products, and more! I think for sure Tik Tok is the new educational platform for our society. I think it's here to stay.

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