TikTok, learn a lot: How TikTok can be used for educational purposes

BY ALYSSA KHAN

People nowadays resort to many different things for educational purposes. Students have established new studying techniques that never would’ve been thought of in the olden days. The recently popular app, TikTok, is just another example of this.

TikTok is an app that allows users to create 15- to 60-second long videos. Many students can confidently say they initially downloaded the app as a joke, but eventually got sucked in and now use it daily. The app’s “For You Page” is addictive, with new videos appearing every time you refresh. 

Not only is TikTok used for funny, relatable videos, but students also use it to address global issues such as climate change, politics and social equality. Beyond that, TikTok can also be used for educational purposes, and users have noticed the varying content the app provides. 

“As an avid Tiktok user, I’ve noticed a variety of video types, including dances, cool transitions, loops and education,” sophomore Kiara Ryan said. “There are accounts by teachers who review AP Chemistry and have used it as a platform to start Google Classrooms. My favorite account is by a teacher who sings songs about lessons for biology where many of the comments say, ‘I’ve learned more from this Tiktok than [in] my entire biology class.’” 

“As an avid Tiktok user, I’ve noticed a variety of video types, including dances, cool transitions, loops and education.”

Sophomore Kiara Ryan

This idea of sharing educational lessons on TikTok can be taken a little bit further. Spiraling off some of the teachers’ thoughts, teachers themselves can also get together through TikTok to create an online curriculum for students. 

Students are already comfortable on the app and allow themselves to be vulnerable. They have made it a platform where they can discuss their personal issues, and therefore would be trusting of the platform for their educational concerns. 

In fact, some students have already begun using this platform to address their classes. A Buzzfeed article writes about a TikTok hashtag, called “#historylesson,” in which students are posting videos describing a historical event. The article itself is a testimony to a seemingly-unlikely Tiktok education, as it’s titled “Students Are Making Historical TikToks And Honestly, They’ve Taught Me More Than Textbooks Ever Have.” 

Teachers and students can both continue expanding on these ideas of education via TikTok. Subjects can be created through hashtags for each different class. For example, math can have hashtags for Calculus, Geometry, Algebra and other courses. Through this, people can share tips and tricks they have learned for each respective course. This would help spread ideas nationwide and possibly help a student learn something new that they didn’t know before. 

TikTok is so limitless, and there are many things that can be done with it. TikTok has many types of videos: dance videos, political videos, comedy videos and many other relatable things altogether. If teachers or students could find a way to entertainingly display their information, there’s no doubt that TikTok users would fall right into it. 

“You see a lot more teamwork and camaraderie and less — I don’t want to say bullying — but focus on individuals.”

TikTok club advisor Michael Callahan

This collaboration has already happened. A high school in Winter Garden, Florida created a TikTok club, in which members create ways to become “TikTok famous.” What started out as small is now well-known throughout the school and even the entirety of Orange County. 

“You see a lot more teamwork and camaraderie and less — I don’t want to say bullying — but focus on individuals,” TikTok club advisor Michael Callahan said. 

Besides education, TikTok can be used to increase social skills and help people cope with their issues. While scrolling through TikTok, there are many videos where people are crying about school, relationships or just life in general when it’s one of those days. The comments on those types of videos are usually other people around the same age going through the same issues and supporting each other. 

Whether it be providing history lessons through 15-second comedy clips or providing a support system for growing adolescents, the variety of content on TikTok makes it more than just an app. TikTok is changing the game. 

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Kesl for The New York Times