How to Utilize TikTok for Education

In an era dominated by social media, it's easy to be inundated with influencers and playful content. When you hear “social media” you probably assume that these platforms offer little in the way of productivity or value. While it’s true that there’s a lot of time-wasting content on these platforms, have you ever considered that social media can provide new, novel ways to educate yourself?

If you dig a little deeper beyond the jokes and memes, you'll find a treasure trove of educational content waiting for you. Learning has never been easier thanks to these platforms – you just need to know where to look.

Take TikTok, for example. It's exploded in popularity recently, and for good reason. Using it is simple: just start scrolling and it shows you an endless stream of content relevant to you.

While this app may make you think of dances, memes and lip-syncing, there’s so much potential in the app beyond just entertainment. Let’s take a look at how you can make yourself smarter and more knowledgeable, especially if you're studying nursing at Herzing University.

Create a Topic-Specific Profile

Most people open TikTok and use the app in the same way: they make an account and start swiping. The algorithm will learn what you like, and before you know it, you will be getting a feed tailored specifically to you.

However, most of us don't naturally look for educational content on TikTok. We're usually there for entertainment to pass the time.

While that’s certainly understandable, have you considered making a profile specifically for learning and staying informed about topics that interest you?

TikTok allows you to have up to three profiles on your phone, so why not create a second (or even a third) profile dedicated to learning? Let’s take a look at how this could be done in terms of nursing.

To create a new profile and optimize it for educational content, follow these steps:

1. Choose Your Topic: Before swiping, decide what you want this profile to be focused on. In this case, we’ll pick nursing.
2. Search: Use the search bar and type in "Nursing" or your chosen topic. Then, like educational videos and follow relevant accounts.
3. Train the Algorithm: Head back to your feed and start scrolling. Over time, TikTok will learn your preferences and show you more educational nursing material.
4. Stay on Topic: Resist the temptation to like unrelated content. Only engage with videos relevant to the educational theme. In this case, only like educational nursing content so that TikTok keeps showing you that content. If you deviate, you will start to see irrelevant videos.
5. That’s it! Congrats! You’ve just made a nursing-oriented educational account.

Now that you have your educational account, you can open it whenever you want to learn something instead of just scrolling aimlessly. Just remember to only like content that's relevant to your learning goals, as it's easy to accidentally engage with the wrong stuff!

Always make sure you're logged into the right account when you open the app: use your personal account for fun and your educational account for learning.

Learn Bite-Sized

There are a lot of misconceptions about short-form video content. The biggest is that it’s all irrelevant, frivolous, and only here to waste your time. If you use it effectively, however, that’s far from the truth.

We all live insanely busy lives, and in the modern world, it feels like there’s never any time to take on extra learning tasks with everything going on.

In today's fast-paced world, finding time for extra learning can seem impossible. Between work, family, and studies at Herzing, where can you fit more education?

The answer is TikTok. Now that you have an educational account, simply log in and scroll during your downtime for quick learning sessions. Now you’re learning instead of wasting time!

If you want something a bit more involved, there are a lot of accounts devoted to walking you through test questions. This is especially useful if you're a nurse gearing up for the NCLEX!

Gain Community Knowledge and Feedback

When using TikTok for learning, consider checking out the comments occasionally. You might be amazed by the discussions and helpful insights shared by others – there's a lot to learn from them!

Of course, always take comments with a grain of salt. Emotions or intentional misleading can often affect their accuracy.

Always double-check using a search engine to ensure information is truthful. This is especially crucial in nursing, where accuracy matters most. It's a good rule to follow whenever you're online, especially if you plan to utilize it in your job or daily life.

Comments are also a great place to share your tips and learn from others' suggestions for improvement. It's a two-way street, so be sure to chime in!
 
So many fun life hacks and discussions are constantly being shared in educational TikTok comments. If you utilize them properly, there’s a lot of valuable information to be learned!

Use the STEM Feed 

Surprisingly, this isn’t all that well-known, but TikTok has a STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) feed full of educational content! You don’t even have to train it, so it stays educational.

While it covers a wide range of topics and may not be as focused as a custom account, it's still a fun and easy way to learn without much setup. Give it a try!

Post Your Own Content

Admittedly, this may not be for everyone, and that’s okay! However, if you’re someone who loves to be in front of a camera, TikTok is a great platform to get into!

If you’re looking to learn, creating your own content may be a fantastic approach. The way you go about doing this is totally up to you, but here’s some quick ideas:

• Create videos asking for people’s best study tips, then share the comments in follow-up videos.
• Ask for community input on best nursing practices, then share videos asking others how well they think it works.
• Delve into test-taking strategies, and have the comments leave their feedback.
• Interact and collaborate with other educational TikTokers once you gain an audience.

The beauty of TikTok lies in its open-ended nature. You're free to create whatever you like and connect with a community of like-minded individuals. So, if you're keen on sharing knowledge and learning together, this may be a viable option!