Prior to starting our critical inquiry on TikTok in education as a team for our learning event, I was excited to uncover the opportunities TikTok can offer in digital learning environments. Given my background in organizational learning and development, I will focus my blog on the futuristic view of TikTok in organizations.
With many organizations moving towards permanent virtual or hybrid work environments as their Future of Work (FOW) (Moore, 2016), organizations will be seeking ways to support workforce development with the use of mobile technologies. Soon, FOW environments will consist of millennials and Generation Z as their knowledge workers, and who are already avid consumers of TikTok (Khlaif & Salha, 2021). Organizations must then “prepare and equip young people for the challenges and demands of work in today’s knowledge-based, technology-driven, globalized environments” (Moore, 2016, p. 234).
TikTok is a social media phenomenon that has so much unknown to the same degree as social media in general. Khlaif & Salha (2021) defined social media as a collection of applications that are “internet-based technologies used to create and exchange contents that provide an environment for creation, openness, conversation, and socialization among users in an online community of similar ambitions and traits” (p. 214). I believe organizations should investigate further the use of social media and any other emerging technologies such as TikTok as part of their organizational learning playbook. In doing so, I would argue that the exploration would need to consider the theorical implications to be a meaningful and credible exercise.
So far, Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Sajonia, 2022) is an interesting theory to explore along with Khlaif & Salha’s (2021) Nano-learning and Micro-learning. From my own experience in organizational learning, I believe that organizations are not quite yet trusting a delivery technology such as TikTok as part of their organizational learning agenda. However, I believe the opportunities are there just by the nature of the future workforce already consumers of TikTok. Skill development (Henneman, 2020) and learner motivation and resourcefulness for self-learning (Adnan, 2021) are two examples of many opportunities that can be explored to make the business case that TikTok can be a useful educational tool in the FOW.
References:
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. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/52140/
Henneman, T. (2020). Beyond lip-synching: Experimenting with TikTok storytelling. Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication 10(2), 1-14. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349151860_Beyond_Lip-Synching_Experimenting_with_TikTok_Storytelling
Khlaif, Z. N., & Salha, S. (2021). Using TikTok in Education: A Form of Micro-learning or Nano-learning? Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences, 12(3), 213-218.
Moore, C. (2016). The future of work: What Google shows us about the present and future of online collaboration. TechTrends, 60(3), 233-244. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-016-0044-5
Sajonia, K.I. (2022). #EduWOW: TikTok App as an Educational Creative Platform. Available at SSRN 4000091. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4000091
May 9, 2022 at 6:20 pm
Thanks for this post Stephanie! TikTok is a strange thing for sure. Your point in the presentation that the information on TikTok is not original and largely unverifiable was very true. It makes it an untrustworthy method, unless A LOT of critical thought is applied, I think. You’re also right that its widespread generational adoption makes it a force to be reckoned with. I wonder what its future will be, or if something else may take its place? We are seeing a downshift in Netflix users and I wonder if other sites and applications may see the same effect as saturation happens.
May 11, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Hi Corie, thanks for your comment! I have a feeling from just seeing all the technological shifting that there will always be another new social media/technology/multimedia just around the corner that younger generations will use. My kids used Instagram and Shapchat, and now it’s TikTok… so we shall see!
May 12, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Hi Stephanie, thanks for your insight on the potential use of Tiktok as a learning tool for organizations. While watching your team presentation as well, I agree that the credibility, quality, and possibility for misinformation is such a big factor in the decision to use any social media platform for learning. This thought came to mind and I wonder what you think of it… First, we had Facebook. Then, we had LinkedIn for professional networking. So now we have Tiktok… What if LinkedIn launched a similar platform and called it something like LearnLink and now we have a social media platform intended for professional learning videos? Do you think the reputation of a social media platform would help with the credibility of the content?
May 13, 2022 at 11:08 am
Hi Jolee, that is such a good question that unfortunately, I may not have a direct response for it. Social media in itself is still an unknown. However, there is a study on the acceptance of social media video for knowledge acquisition, sharing and application among YouTube users and TikTok users’ for medical purposes that argued that YouTube is more widely accepted for its longer and detailed videos and has a strong reputation in the educational medical profession. Al-Maroof et al.(2021) argued that Youtube offers a reliable and credible source of information while TikTok offers more a fun and social experience. So in terms of LinkedIn, it is a professional site thus may be more credible than TikTok in that sense. However, it may come down to the number of video application offerings. Thanks for your question!
Reference:
Al-Maroof, R., Ayoubi, K., Alhumaid, K., Aburayya, A., Alshurideh, M., Alfaisal, R., & Salloum, S. (2021). The acceptance of social media video for knowledge acquisition, sharing and application: A comparative study among YouYube users and TikTok users’ for medical purposes. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5(3), 197 https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns2021.6.013
May 13, 2022 at 8:40 pm
Thank you for your post. I have been curious about TikTok as a platform for higher education. I am familiar with how my children use it and your presentation has renewed my interest.
My Team investigated JigSpace, a company that helps you to create ‘Jigs’ or 3D objects to apply in a variety of uses. An interesting case study was about a Formula 1 (F1) race car. A Jig was created and shared with social media followers of the F1 racing team on Instagram. Followers were encouraged to send in photos with the F1 car in whatever context they chose. Fans sent in photos of the car in their backyard, in their living room, on the road etc. https://www.jig.space/case-studies/alfa-romeo-f1-team-orlen-c42-in-augmented-reality
As I listened to your Team’s presentation and as I read your blog, I wondered if TikTok would allow for a similar experience; sharing a 3D object in an interactive and engaging way? From there, to my specific critical issue, would TikTok work as a host for XR experiences for my students? Could we get Jiggy with TikTok? Could my TV News students use TikTok and XR to share their news stories?
My curiosity is furthered by Khlaif & Salha’s (2021, as cited by Messier, S., 2022, May 9) concept of Nano-learning and Micro-learning. Can that work the other way around? Would my students be able to create Nano-stories and deliver interesting news bytes using XR on TikTok? Thank you for sharing this perspective.
May 27, 2022 at 11:39 am
Hi Katia,
Thanks for your comments and questions. I absolutely love your suggestions of combining TikTok with other technologies with Jiggy and XR. I think the world of emerging technologies has no limit in its possibilities just with my experience using TikTok for our team project. As for students being able to create nano-stories using XR on TikTok, McRoberts et al. (2019) did a study on students in journalism creating nano-like stories and videos as part of their learning. I bet there are more stories not yet being told on how TikTok is creating more opportunities for all kind of adaptation and experiences for learning. Thanks again Katia for commenting!
References:
McRoberts, S., Yuan, Y., Watson, K., & Yarosh, S. (June, 2019). Behind the scene: Design, collaboration, and video creation with youth [Paper presentation]. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. New York, USA. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3311927.3323134