Have you 'Googled' yourself lately?

The first time I ‘Googled’ my name I was aghast. Everything about my online life opens for the world to view. My home address was easily accessible. A map appeared to conveniently offer the best route to visit me. Being educated before the invention of Google, ethical protocol dictated a clear line between a client and therapist’s personal life. An unlisted number and private address helped to keep my professional life from bleeding to my personal one. This first Google opened my eyes to a changing world. Technology advances shift therapeutic boundaries making the practitioner work to maintain good ethics.

Google brings everything to the personal, so I keep everything professional and positive. Be aware of what you are posting, on which sites, under what names. Contests, reviews, dating sites, social networks, are all up for exposure. Some sites offer privacy settings. Pinterest offers a setting so your account is not searchable on search engines. Another option is to create an alter ego in signing up for websites. Either choice is to protect you and the clients you serve. Once something is on the Net it is difficult to delete, if not impossible. The Internet is a living tattoo you are creating on the skin of your career. Make sure this tattoo speaks to your brand, not generating a stigma hurting your reputation.

Community Action Groups in the Cloud

The template below is set up to create knowledge-based community groups in your area through Google’s cloud technology. Everyone in the group may have access to communicate and brainstorm information for projects.  Training may be required on how to use the site for full development of projects. There would need to be options for Internet access if group members do not have computers or Internet availability. Addresses of Internet cafes, local universities with public access, or libraries, would give alternatives to these members.  People with technological access could pair up with others who have limited access.  In these ways the community groups can support all members of the community.

A 'How to' Guide (Template):

https://sites.google.com/site/organizingcommunityaction/

Find the Original Research here:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1752480

Two Paths of Pedagogy

I came across this quote while reading Freire's work. It seems to be symbolic of the need to change social work curriculum. Including technological advances to improve societal conditions for our populations is the first step in the transformation of our world toward equality.

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”
― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition

Mapping the Future

65% of school kids have will end up at jobs that have not been invented yet - United States Department of Labor

If this statistic is true where will this leave underserved and vulnerable populations? How does social work as a profession develop curriculum to address this gap? It is an dilemma not easily addressed. The map below gives details about the possible future landscape of learning. Where do you see yourself now? How about in thirty years?

Future of Education Technology

ITGS Website – Digital Divide and Equality of Access

Understanding how equity of access relates to the digital divide is pivotal in advocating for society reforms. The ITGS website offers important information to educate yourself and others towards advocacy for technology reform. Be aware of the resources as they may need to be checked further for being up to date. The rate of change for technology is so rapid statistics are out of date more quickly using Gordon Moore’s 24 month law.

Access the Website at:

http://itgsopedia.wikispaces.com/1.6+Digital+divide+and+equality+of+access

The DBT Coach - Smart Phone Solutions

DBT therapists combined efforts to develop an application for the iPhone/iPad tracking skills for clients with BPD.  This application is for use in combination with a client and their therapist, not as a replacement for therapy. This revolutionary study combines an evidence based practice with an application accessible to any client owning a smart phone. Participants reported a decrease in urges to use substances and a decrease in depressive symptoms. While more studies are needed to validate these findings, it is a step toward problem solving how the immediacy of technology may benefit certain vulnerable populations.

Find the research on the Web:

http://depts.washington.edu/brtc/files/DBT%20Coach.pdf

Find the application on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dbt-diary-card-skills-coach/id479013889?mt=8

Why do social workers need technology?

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) released technology ethical standards of practice in 2005. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE, 2010) includes a statement in their accreditation guidelines of educational policy 1.2, stating “additional factors include new knowledge, technology, and ideas that may have a bearing on contemporary and future social work education and practice”  and educational policy 2.1.10,  “Practice knowledge includes identifying, analyzing, and implementing evidence-based interventions designed to achieve client goals; using research and technological advances”  (pp. 2, 6-7). The support of technological integration by an accrediting and licensing body is significant in the preparation of social work curriculum. There has been little or no current literature on implementation of technological evidenced based interventions in social work curriculum or how students should integrate technology into practice helping vulnerable populations. How social workers may help bridge this digital divide in education and practice is the focus of this blog. I hope to post helpful information at least three times a week.

CSWE. (2008, October). Educational policy and accreditation standards. Retrieved from http://www.cswe.org/File.aspx?id=14115

NASW. (2001, June 23). NASW standards for cultural competence in social work practice. Retrieved from http://www.naswdc.org/practice/standards/NAswculturalstandards.pdf