TikTok is a social media platform used by people of all ages. TikTok is where people can post videos of themselves sharing content, singing/dancing to music, and more. People can watch videos and interact with the creator by “commenting” or “duetting” the video (responding via video to their post). TikTok grew increasingly more popular throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone was quarantined at home. TikTok allowed people to share stories or post videos to make people laugh and feel less alone while at home. Similar to Twitter or Instagram, people’s accounts can be followed. Users can search different people, topics, and hashtags to find information or people that interest them.

As an educator, I can use TikTok in a variety of ways. First, I can simply use it to search for information that I may be looking for. Some things that I could search for would include classroom management tips, classroom setup ideas, lesson plans or games for a variety of subjects, and more. There are many educators on TikTok in a wide range of areas of expertise and a variety of grade levels that would be able to provide me with specific information that I may be looking for. I can also use TikTok to post my own content. For example, if I came up with a great game or lesson plan or found a great resource that I wanted to share with others I would be able to post it on TikTok for others to find. I can also show my students certain TikTok posts that may be relevant to what we are discussing in class.

To grow my professional learning network through TikTok I would need to post videos that are relevant to the education field. By using captions and hashtags that are relevant to the education field, other educators would be able to find my posts and engage with them. I would also need to ensure that I “like” and “comment” on a variety of educators’ posts. By engaging with other educators’ posts I would be able to find a community that supports my learning journey and that enables me to be authentic and learn for life.

Overall, TikTok is a great learning tool. It is not only great for my own personal learning but for others and my students as well.