My name is Catriona Imray, and I teach math and science to 10-12th grades at North Peace Secondary School in Fort St. John, BC. Before becoming a teacher, I spent about 12 years as a field geologist, and now use that knowledge and experience to share with my students. I personally don’t use TikTok for a couple of reasons: 1) I do not need another distraction, 2) I just don’t see the point of posting everything to social media. (I only have Facebook, and visit that less than once a month). And realistically, I would like to maintain some level of privacy 🙂
I do not have TikTok, and the only things I have seen about it are reaction videos on YouTube. Recently, though, students have been bringing things to my attention that they have seen on TikTok, so maybe it is worth another look.
I think that the ultimate key to using TikTok for education is to curate your “For You Page” so that instead of getting series of meltdown videos, you instead get some more interesting, and educationally relevant videos in the bite-sized portions known as nanolearning and microlearning.
Hi cimray,
I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and found your strategy for delivering knowledge by observing nano learning content and conducting micro learning research to be effective, especially when utilizing TikTok software technology. However, it’s important to note that one concern with using TikTok is the potential for getting carried away and spending more time than intended watching videos. This could make watching a nano piece of knowledge take much longer than expected, although this may not be the case for everyone.
Moreover, it’s crucial to double-check the accuracy of information on TikTok, just like with any other social media platform or science website where the author’s identity may not always be available. While TikTok’s nano technology is excellent for delivering useful knowledge ethically, there’s a risk of encountering harmful or irrelevant content on the platform, which emphasizes the need for a dedicated nano learning software specifically designed for educational content.
Once again, thank you for your enlightening presentation.
Hi Anna,
Thank you!
I used the video editor on my laptop, which is a Microsoft Windows 10 Pro. It had the software already installed. I also used the included audio recorder for the voice over.
I have to admit that I am also a little sick of social media and the continuous streams of other peoples’ consciousness; I have enough going on in my own head 🙂
I will look forward to viewing your A1!
Thank you very much, Catriona! I liked both the topic and the presentation. How did you create this video? Which video editor do you use? Is it built-in or you are using the sites? Please advise as I want to learn how to make excellent videos too.
Back to TikTok, I myself don’t use it for work or relaxation as I am currently a bit tired of all social media.
In my professional context (teacher of English as a foreign language for adults), I usually recommend YouTube educational videos. However, I noticed that if a person was truly enthusiastic about their English, they would find similar material on the platforms they prefer. As a result, I’ve been made to listen to so many TikTok videos! I suspect that your students do the same to you, lol!
Since the problem is usually English listening (a lot of people I talk to do not understand the Canadian accent), it does not really matter where the English video with the great sound is placed, on YouTube or TikTok. I only warn those learners about accents – to avoid the Europeans speaking English, for example. Sometimes I instruct them not to listen to anything in their native language for a couple of weeks and merge with the Canadian English-speaking environment instead. I am sure you know that quite often the simplest things work marvelously.
So, I am for TikTok as one of the tools of learning support, together with MOOCs, YouTube, IG, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Honey, I am going to post my A1 soon. Could you do me a favour and look at it too? I am really interested in your professional opinion as I believe that we have some similarities in chosen topics too.
Thank you very much for this great insight, Catriona! Warm regards, Anna from Toronto