I can’t personally attest to this, but TikTok is all the rage among the youth right now. I’ve not really used the app—to any extent, actually—but TikTok is one of the leading platforms for short-form mobile videos, and is known for the variety of interesting, funny, and sometimes bizarre clips that you can find on it.
But instead of sitting pretty on its reputation as one of the leading distractors of productivity, TikTok is launching a new initiative to honour the noble profession of teaching, both in Malaysia and around the globe: #TikTokClassroom. The company says that this new initiative provides a way for viewers to learn new things outside a conventional classroom setting, which is a pretty progressive way of looking at things.
The way it works, viewers would search for #TikTokClassroom, and have access to tutorials and how-to videos on topics ranging from math to the more unconventional dialects. As part of the initiative, “TikTok educators” from Malaysia, as well as around the world, produce educational content on different topics every 2 weeks—including tutorials on photography and simple life hacks.
TikTok tells us that the topics will be divided into virtual classrooms, with each room having 3 educators who can upload up to 3 videos. Speaking of unorthodox skills to pick up, you can pick up a few lines of the Kelantanese dialect on this TikTok video from Salnusie bin Mohamad, while there’s also a music-driven video of math by Ong Siew Ling—anything makes such a dull subject more interesting, but maybe that’s just me.
According to Cheah Sheau Mei, User and Content Operations Manager, TikTok Malaysia:
“TheTikTokClassroom initiative seeks to replicate a safe, positive and inclusive environment where students have the ability to learn in a fun and engaging manner outside the classroom, with a community of like minded creators, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender or socio-economic levels.”
With over 75 languages from 150 regions on the platform, TikTok’s effort to push educational content on the app should be lauded. And of course, where better to teach, than in the classroom?
