TikTok (No, Not Kesha)
The App You Love to Hate (or Just Love): Let’s Talk TikTok
Let’s talk about a platform that you either can’t live without or pretend to hate but secretly scroll at night. If you're my dad, you claim to hate it—but somehow still manage to fall into a black hole of Instagram reels. (I won’t even get started on that.)
But if you're like me? You love it. I can spend hours on TikTok. Yes, I know it’s not the healthiest habit, and yes, I’m working on being more mindful about my screen time. But here’s the thing...
Did you know I learned how to uninstall my over-the-range microwave from a TikTok video? Seriously.
Need to change your car's oil? TikTok.
Want to start a side hustle, bake focaccia, or write a grant proposal? TikTok.
It’s basically a bite-sized university in your pocket.
TikTok as a Tool for Instructional Design? Yes, Really.
In my (humble but correct) opinion, TikTok is an underrated gem for instructional design. Why? Because its short-form videos are built to capture attention and deliver nuggets of knowledge—fast.
It’s not just for Gen Z dances and prank videos (though I do love a good trend). TikTok also connects you to people in your field, inspires creative thinking, and shows real-life applications of your dream job.
Finding My Future on TikTok
As someone pursuing a degree with plans to become a librarian, I’m always on the lookout for ways to engage youth and serve my community. One day while scrolling, I stumbled upon a creator who completely lit up my feed:
@librarianwithpizzazz.
She’s a librarian for 3rd–5th graders and shares daily content about her job. I was in heaven.
Here’s someone literally living my dream—showing the highs, the challenges, and the real, day-to-day life of working in a school library. Watching her videos gave me insight, motivation, and honestly... a little bit of future-vision. Plus, she drops advice based on years of experience. Talk about a virtual mentor.
Go give her a follow—you won’t regret it.
Your Challenge: Go Learn Something
So yes, TikTok is full of dancing teens, funny skits, and cooking fails—but it can also be a powerful learning platform. If you use it with intention, it can teach you something new, connect you with like-minded professionals, and inspire your next move.
I challenge you:
Go learn something you’ve been putting off—from TikTok.
(And if you end up uninstalling a microwave, I want to hear about it.)
Now lets get down to the original Tik Tok
YouTube. (n.d.-a). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6XpLQM2Cs
Hi!
ReplyDeleteFirst, what a catchy title. I definitely clicked on this blog post alone purely out of respect for the creativity, and I loved what followed as well! I hate to say it, but I also love TikTok and often fall into the hours of scrolling too (sue me!). It's just so easy to get lost on the app when I can get a video of a cat cuddling up to a dog and then a video on how to bake the best banana bread of your life right after that. I never thought about it that way, but you make such a great point of using Tik Tok as a tool for instructional design, because that essentially is what those tutorial videos are. I'm wondering how long it will take until we see Tik Tok somewhere in our curriculum. Also, I'm also on library TikTok, and I'm LOVING it! Have you seen the ones of librarians trying to get the number of checked out books, overdue books, and lost books down as much as they can before the end of the school year? I never skip those videos, they're so entertaining to me!