“More accessible forms of learning outside of classrooms, lecture halls and study books”
More and more academics worldwide are using TikTok http://tiktok.com to make their research more widely accessible. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KDMI) at the University of Toronto http://utoronto.ca . For their new studies, the experts examined user behavior, data protection issues and technical and visual aspects of academic content on TikTok.
Take young people with you
“Easily accessible and understandable science communication on TikTok is a very good strategy for the research sector to address target groups that are otherwise difficult to reach. However, it is important to note that content on TikTok is 80 to 90 percent entertainment. So it’s less about presenting complicated research results and more about arousing interest among young people,” said digital communications expert Julian Banse http://banward.de in an interview with pressetext.
Videos on TikTok are usually not produced professionally, but rather amateurishly and give viewers a look behind the scenes. Almost all users under 30 place less value on lighting, camera quality or their own appearance than on other platforms. “This makes TikTok an exciting place to enable new and more widely accessible forms of learning outside of classrooms, lecture halls and textbooks,” says study author JP King.
Short, sweet, humorous
According to the researchers, TikTok is unique in its way of promoting user engagement, for example in the form of remixes or response videos. But this also goes hand in hand with a different understanding of intellectual property, which researchers need to be aware of. “Data protection precision, as we know it from science, is of course not possible on TikTok. Here it is important for the research institutions to weigh up how important it is for them to reach new target groups and to make compromises,” Banse stated to pressetext.
The shorter, more humorous and more interactive the videos are, the better, according to the researchers. However, scientists must also be aware of the wide reach of the videos and the associated consequences if, for example, they are not in line with the institutional values of their research institution.
Overall, according to the study, science communication on TikTok is a great asset that connects, includes and stimulates reflection among people from a wide range of educational backgrounds. “In general, social media is becoming increasingly important in many areas. Be it ResearchGate in science or LinkedIn for reaching professional target groups. TikTok is still new territory for many universities, which is why the few stand out and benefit from it,” says Banse.
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