Jennifer Levanduski
Head of Marketing, Kiddom
Jennifer is Kiddom’s head of marketing, a first generation college student, and forever grateful for the excellent K-12 public school education she received.
Have you been to the coolest virtual faculty room? It’s #TeacherTikTok.
March 2020 feels like such a long time ago, when shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders first started. And while there have been no shortage of words written about the challenges that the shift to remote or hybrid work and learning brought (some of them right here on this blog!), I want to focus on something else that came out of the pandemic – new hobbies.
According to the internet, everyone picked up at least one new hobby in the last year. Whether that was baking bread, doing puzzles, making all sorts of holiday decor with items found at the Dollar Tree, or cultivating useful skills through online classes – everyone got up to something new this year. Me? I got way into TikTok.
TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform where creators share a variety of short-form (up to one minute) videos across a variety of genres. The thing that’s amazing about TikTok is their algorithm – whether you like cover songs, fantasy football fun facts, holiday design inspo, stand-up comedy, political commentary, Broadway behind the scenes, or…. I mean, anything, really, TikTok will get you figured out and serve you content that seems so specifically curated, just for you!
So, obviously, I found my way on over to #TeacherTikTok (or #TeacherTok or #TeachersOfTikTok – there doesn’t seem to be a clear hashtag consensus), where there is a huge community of dedicated, passionate educators sharing classroom stories, tech tips, classroom management strategies, and everything in between. It has been amazing to see this slice of life, to hear from teachers in their own words what teaching and learning has been like this year.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
@hosdiggity AKA “Coach Hoss”
hosdiggity shows how he gave a true or false quiz but with a bit of …spice – by changing the answers to cap or no cap (no cap being current slang for “I’m not lying”). Meeting students where they are, demonstrating how language can evolve, and having fun? Such a cool idea!
@hosdiggity #teacher #teachersoftiktok #nocap #cap #GroupChat @mr.coach_cj gave me the idea! #teachers what have you tried lately? ♬ original sound – Coach Hoss
@viv.teacher.tech AKA Vivian Casillas
viv.teacher.tech shares a soundboard she found online to spice up her virtual class; using sound effects during class seems like a great way to make sure students are engaged and having fun.
@viv.teacher.techfree soundboard, thank you candyTechIdeas! #teachertechtip #teachertiktoker #soundboard #zoom #googlemeet bit.ly/Soundtok♬ original sound – Vivian Casillas
@mskimmyr3 AKA “Ms. Kim”
mskimmyyr3 tells her one in a million story of textbook procurement, It’s better if you listen to her tell it, I promise.
@mskimmyr3#stitch with @abrahampiper #teacher #teachersoftiktok #isthisavailable #Gameshow #Ohno♬ original sound – MsKim
@vividmichael AKA “Mr. Talcott”
Vividmichael, who taught kindergarten virtually (!!) counted down his top 10 virtual teaching TikTok moments and showed that he really did the MOST all year long.
@vividmichael
🤟❤️ to u all friends – what a weird year
♬ Home – Edith Whiskers
@mc_choir AKA Patrick McGuire
mc_choir hopped on the sea shanty trend and wrote a killer parody about the wifi being down. (But really, can somebody fix it? He’s got grading to do!)
@mc_choirI actually had motivation today #teacher #teachersoftiktok #tiktokteacher #tiktokteachers #teachersontiktok #choir #choirteacher #SingItAway♬ School Wifi Song – Patrick McGuire
@pdronberger AKA Preston Dronberger
pdronberger shared a really nice story about running into a former student. (Note to self: maybe instead of TikTok, your quarantine hobby should have been thank you emails to some of your favorite teachers.)
@pdronberger
@brian_sepe_ AKA Brian Sepe
brian_sepe shares a very cool (free!) activity to foster critical thinking, writing, and challenging assumptions.
@brian_sepe_ #teachers #socialstudiesteacher #highschoolteacher #teachersoftiktok #teacher
And Finally, @honestteachervibes!
And finally, honestteachervibes has a message for all teachers.
@honestteachervibes Hey teacher friend!
#fyp #tiktokteachers #teachersoftiktok #encouragement #honestteachervibes
Did we miss any Teacher TikTok stars?
Let us know in the comments below and we will add them to the list!
And, as always, happy teaching and learning!
Kiddom seamlessly connects the most critical aspects of teaching and learning on one platform.
For the first time, educators can share and manage digital curriculum, differentiate instruction, and assess student work in one place. Learners can take assessments online, see student performance data with the click of a button, and teachers have the insight and tools they need to create individual learning paths.
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