Major Project Overview: Personal Journey into Media

In trying to get myself back on track, it is past time that I start tracking my major project progress.

I have selected Option #2: The Personal Journey into Media. I debated between this one and the exploring generative AI option, but I got an email a week and a half ago from our Financial Literacy lead about a speaker she went to see, George Kamel, and how the keynote address was about Teaching Finance in the Age of TikTok. So. Having avoided TikTok to this point, I feel like I am desperate enough for good resources and help that I am biting the bullet, and I created a TikTok account today. So, if I’m delving into a new app anyway, one that not only are our students using, but I could also incorporate into my teaching, maybe it was time to combine a few things all into one. I can check this out, I can track my progress for my major project, and I can find another platform or two to explore at the same time.

Easy peasy, right?

Fingers crossed.

Anyway, this is my declaration that I will be looking into TikTok and…I’m not sure. I’m going to do a quick preview of Diffit and Magicschool.AI, both of which I know of, but am not overly familiar with, but I’m also going to browse a few others, like ClassroomScreen and Curipod. I will most likely only focus on one, maybe two, as I’d like to really become familiar with them, and I don’t have the time to experiment with a wide variety of things at this point. Quality over quantity, and all that, but also preserving my mental health, and supposed work-life balance. Wish me luck!

Obviously, I will be looking at these through the lens of a classroom teacher. I want something that is going to help teachers, while also making things easier or more engaging for students. Whether that’s something to add in productivity, focus, gathering information, etc., I’m not sure just yet, but we’re getting started.

In addition to looking at how these could be used in the classroom, and for what purpose, I will also include:

• an overview/description of the app or platform
• my experience with them – and hopefully how I used them in the classroom
• any important things to note when it comes to Terms of Service and using these in a school/classroom, and any privacy implications that need to be considered

Stay tuned for the first update!