Teaching SW Students Digital Activism & Community Engagement

This fall 2013 in my Introduction to Social Work (SW 1010) course I will engage students in a "Digital Activism & Community Engagement Project” using iPad. This classroom project will allow me to hire five Peer Mentors (PMs) who will each lead a group of approximately 5-7 students in a unique semester-long activity with a special emphasis on how the iPad can be used as a tool for effective digital activism, group engagement, and community service. Each of these projects will require students to demonstrate how their activities relate to social work practice. SW 1010 has featured the use of PMs and service learning group projects for over two years; however, this year the course will teach students how to actively integrate mobile technology in community activism and service. To achieve this goal, each PM will receive an iPad 4 (32 GB) that will be used in part to: 1) digitally capture the group work process and community service experiences of the SW 1010 PM group 2) increase pre-SW students’ awareness of how mobile technology (iPad) can be used professionally to e/affect individual and broad-based community change efforts 3) create a visual presentation (using iPad Keynote or other compatible system) designed to educate/build community awareness of the assigned issue/problem/challenge 4) increase student/community awareness of how the social work profession can/is integrating mobile and Internet technology in direct practice The PM will be embedded within their groups and will be expected to actively participate in the experience. PMs will also be responsible for maintaining/securing the iPad when not in use for the group project. Examples of Digital Activism & Community Engagement Projects include the following: Project 1: Working with Aging Populations A SW 1010 student group will be assigned to a Detroit-area apartment complex for aging individuals. Students with the assistance of their PM will develop a digital video pictorial project capturing the lives of interested residents in and around the housing facility. Residents will also be asked to engage in short informational interviews (story-telling) based on their lives. This Project is designed to give seniors a voice and a sense of value, while teaching Pre-SW students engagement and providing direct exposure to an oftentimes overlooked, disenfranchised population. At the end of this project a video link of the end product will be presented to residents/housing staff.  Given the close proximity of  residential apartment complex to our college campus, participating residents/staff will be invited to attend the final SW 1010 course to witness the group presentation and briefly share thoughts with the entire class, if interested. Project 2: Positive Social Media Campaign According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Clicktivism is the use of social media and other online methods to promote a cause. During fall 2012 and winter 2013 semesters, SW 1010 students attempted developing a positive media campaign by sharing inspirational, positive news stories with Detroit area media outlets through group letter writing, emailing, and placing calls to news departments. Regrettably, students’ efforts were largely ignored. While this campaign has been a great exercise in teaching students effective group work skills and community activism, students might also benefit from learning how to post and share positive news through social media, blogging and other active outlets using iPad and related Apps. The Positive Social Media Campaign group will be tasked with identifying and sharing positive news stories about Detroit and our university via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the assigned PM's iPad. As the SW 1010 course instructor, I will closely monitor all posts to ensure appropriateness. Using iPad, the Positive Social Media campaign is designed to teach students responsible use of technology and social media, how to engage in positive community action, and exposure to a variety of online tools to enhance their practice as social workers in training. Project 3: Adopt our Women’s Athletics Program – Women’s collegiate athletics at our university and other institutions have traditionally received fewer spectators/supporters at events than their male counterparts. To address the challenge associated with supporting and encouraging women in athletics on our campus, a SW 1010 PM group will adopt one-two women’s sports teams and will support them through game attendance and active engagement. This group will video-tape game segments and conduct interviews with interested athletes and coaches using the iPad. This group will chronicle and share their experiences with the athletes through the development of a video presentation highlighting the season. The end video product will be presented during the final SW 1010 class and will also be shared with the campus community during our Annual CyberSummit held in March each year. Athletes, coaches, Athletic Directors and the general campus community will be invited to attend the Summit.  This Project is designed to engage SW 1010 students in campus & student life, encourage broad support of an underrepresented population (women in collegiate athletics), and facilitate active use of technology (iPad) in community activism/awareness building. Project 4: Cyberbully Prevention & Responsible Use of Social Media - SW 1010 students assigned to this group project will develop a Cyberbully Prevention and responsible use of social media campaign on our campus designed to encourage responsible use of technology among college students. This PM group, using the iPad will: 1) conduct research and identify community resources to assist college students, faculty and staff experiencing Cyberbullying (this information will be shared with the Dean of Students Office and will be shared electronically on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and others); 2) create a Public Service Announcement video using iPad related to the group project involving all group members to be posted on YouTube from the iPad; and 3) work closely with the SSW CyberMentors to help plan/market the Annual CyberSummit (usually held in March). Through the above experiences students will learn how to be effective users/consumers of social media and mobile technologies, and enhance their public speaking and verbal communication skills as they will be engaging multiple populations on and around the campus providing information about responsible use of social media and cyberbully prevention using the iPad device. Project 5: Create a Weebly Website focused on the use of technology in Social Work practice.   This group will be responsible for creating a SW 1010 Weebly website and later managing the site using iPad. The Weebly will contain research on U.S. and world-wide efforts related to the use of Internet and mobile technologies in direct social work practice, such as using Facetime to provide remote counseling, use of virtual treatment techniques, such as Second Life, SnowWorld and others. Through the above experiences students will increase their levels of comfort using iPad technology in group work, will learn about a new area of social work practice called “Cyber Social Work” (delivering support services via the Internet), and will learn how to build a website and later manage the website using iPad. SW 1010 Digital Activism & Community Engagement Project – Peer Mentors Previously, our SSW provided PMs with SW related course textbooks in exchange for their service, up-to a maximum of $500 per semester (per PM). The SSW will now purchase an iPad for each PM in addition to electronic (e) textbooks for each PM that may be accessed on their iPad. Purchasing e-textbooks will allow the SSW to obtain additional textbooks and other course related materials they may not otherwise have been able to afford given the textbook cap of $500 per semester, per PM. While e-textbooks are less expensive, some PMs may prefer paper textbooks. If interested, PMs can purchase on their own those traditional physical texts they wish to retain in their libraries as e-textbooks are usually only accessible 6-8 months (depending on the publisher). Providing PMs regular use of an iPad will: 1) increase their access to electronic data and resources for their own education as students 2) improve communication with their individual students/PM groups and SW 1010 course instructor using email, text messaging, and other tools 3) improve their awareness, knowledge, and direct use of iPad technology in social work practice