Use TikTok to Teach

Tips to use the world’s biggest Social Media platform in the Classroom

I’m sure if you’ve been in a classroom for a while you know that staying up to date on trends is a great way to connect with your students. While there is some red tape around using TikTok in the classroom, I’ve got a strategy that can absolutely help you make your students better writers and give them modern marketable skills. Read on to see how you can use TikTok to increase writer fluency with the power of oral storytelling.

If you haven’t heard of TikTok (which I’m sure most of you have) it's a social media app that allows creators to share short videos. TikTok users scroll through a “For You” page that curates a stream of video content that appeals most to them. Viewers can also like, comment, and “duet” a video with their own. The result of their novel approach to content? TikTok is surging in popularity. As of this article’s publication, there are over one billion users of the app, 62% of which are under the age of 29. Even if you’re not on TikTok, the odds that your students or their parents are, are high.

TikToks are Paragraphs

But the fascinating thing about this platform is the type of content creators end up making and their uncanny relationship to literacy skills being taught in classrooms everywhere. The average paragraph has 150 or so words, and this is roughly the same amount of spoken content one can fit into a minute. That means every TikTok video is essentially a well-composed body paragraph of either a narrative or a non-fiction expository argument. There’s truly a reason these sound bites are so captivating, it’s roughly the same value you’d get from a good piece of writing.

Tiktok Teaches Organization

As elusive as the all-knowing algorithm may appear, it also certainly has preferences for certain types of content- and it’s not all dancing either! The best longer-form content on TikTok is typically in the form of either narrative, expository, or argumentative bites, all genres we teach in the classroom. With greater awareness, you can see how top performers on that app either use chronological order to tell a story, use main ideas to explain a point, or use a concession and refutation to build an argument. The structure and organization of good writing are what make a high-value video, they simply use oral storytelling instead.

TikTok Makes Writing Relevant

Perhaps one of the best parts about TikTok is that it teaches our students that their words can have an impact on their world. It is an important lesson for every young writer to gain awareness of their audience. In TikTok, they learn this through views, comments, likes, and shares. Gone are the days when we should waste our student’s great ideas in a pile of papers for our eyes only. If you’ve worked with children long enough, surely you know the talent in front of you every day in your classroom. Our next generation of thinkers is often more excited to grow and push the boundaries of what we thought was possible. Let’s honor that and let them share their voices.

Tips for TikTok in the Classroom

If you’re ready to jump in, I certainly advise you to check in with your administration. While the use of social media is increasing in the classroom, local school districts have wildly different policies and procedures regarding its use. But if you’ve got the all-clear, here are a few ideas:

1) Show TikToks as examples.

This is a great option if your district doesn’t allow students to film videos and post them. By showing students examples of well-formed paragraphs and doing so in a form of media that feels comfortable to them, you’ll boost classroom engagement. Not only that, but if you show them this crucial fact- that TikToks really are just great writing- then you’ll empower them to hone in on their own skills.

2) Allow students to make videos.

If students are permitted in your district, allow them to submit their finalized paragraph as a voiceover in a video. Help them curate the rest of the video for the rest of the ambiance. The music and content of the video? Those are the concepts of tone and imagery that we yammer on about. It’s all relevant.

3) Use TikToks as sources.

Another great idea as we teach the skill of forming well-crafted arguments is to allow students to use TikTok videos as sources in their writing. Sure, they aren’t an encyclopedia, but they are often relevant. As we continue to debate what “ethical” journalism is too, saying that one source is somehow more valid than another is simply no longer the case. TikToks are all separate valid perspectives from people across the globe.