Privacy
For the purposes of this class I kept my profile as “public”. I also want to continue keeping it as public if I want to use this as a tool to promote myself. I’ve leaned more into the social part of TikTok, rather than using it as an educational tool. I’m not using a pseudonym, as I usually do for my “private” social media, and already have previous students following me under their own pseudonyms. Normally I do not accept any student requests (even after they are long graduated), so this has been very different. However, I plan on using my Twitter and TikTok as a reflection of my teaching practice, using Twitter as an informational piece and TikTok as a curated version of my personal life that can showcase my humor. I love to bring my dog into every lesson I can, and can see using these videos as “attention grabbers” and to share my life with students in a controlled manner as a relationship building.
Digital Literacy
TikTok has an account named TikTok Tips which states, “We’re on a mission to promote privacy, safety, and positive vibes!”. There are many videos I could use as an introduction to Digital Literacy, but they do not provide in depth exploration. It is interesting to note that the videos that are educational (and longer- +1 min) on this channel have about 18-43k views , whereas the more humorous videos (and shorter) have up to 1.5 billion views. Engagement on shorter videos is increased, which lessens the opportunity for the video to provide meaningful education on a topic.
Engagement in verticals also increases the chances of reaching a larger audience. So people who are not seeking digital literacy opportunities will not likely be exposed to it through their TikTok algorithm. It is clear even though I’m beginning my TikTok journey, that the videos of my dog got much more engagement (1482 views) than my teacher-related content (15-328 views)
I did have to spend time engaging in content to correct my algorithm. I spent a little too much time if I’m being honest. In fact, it may be my new favorite app. My next step is to test out more features such as duet (I want to replicate Christine’s lessons), stitch, and reactions.
Educational Application
Edutopia lists 3 suggestions for using TikTok in the classroom:
- Bite-sized lessons. I did test a plant adaptation video that would prevent me from dragging my house plants to class for a lesson. I would continue to create these quick engagement videos, but anything above 30 seconds would likely have the same affect as a Youtube video.
- Increasing participation. The examples given in the article are including TikTok in math equations.
- Connecting with students. I think this is the most impactful for humanizing teachers to students. It also seems to me the most natural progression as I continue on my TikTok journey.
I’ll be sure to update you on my feature testing!
Happy Teaching,
Leah
You are so brave! I was hoping to keep my account private and then be able to share my videos with people I give the link too but I have learned that this is not how it works (darn). I am not one who likes to put herself out there. I do like that you use your dog to create connection and I think that is very important for students to see teachers as more than just a teacher and as an actual human with human normalcy things.
Please share with me your duet I am so excited to see it! I have to engage in one as well and learn how to do it properly.