Tech Topics - 7 Ways Technology Can Enhance Your Social Work Conference Experience

by Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW

     I admit it. I love conferences. I think I went to five in 2016, and will probably go to at least three in 2017. They invigorate me, inspire me, and exhaust me. 

     I love to learn about all aspects of social work. I love the face-to-face (f2f)) interaction with colleagues. I love being in a room with the energy of a couple of hundred or thousand social workers. I have made good friends through social work, and I get to see some of them only once or twice a year—at conferences. Being with like-minded peers is important to my self-care and my professional development.  

     I also get excited about technology and its use in social work. At the conferences I attend, I find other social work “techies.” We stay in touch year-round through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, G+, email, and other online methods. But at a conference, we can see each other the low-tech way—LIVE and in person. It’s like the difference between listening to a song on the radio or iPhone and seeing an artist in concert and sitting on the front row. Both are good, but LIVE is always best.  

     Having said all of this, technology can also enhance the experience even when you are attending a live, face-to-face conference. And it can help bring the experience to you if you are not able to attend in person. Here are seven ways technology can enhance your conference experience. You don’t have to be a techie to use them.

1. Use the conference app. 

     Most of the conferences I attended in the past year had an official conference app. You can download the app on your iPhone or Android device. The app will usually have a listing of all the conference sessions and a scheduling function that allows you to place specific sessions on your calendar. I find this extremely helpful in organizing my conference experience. You can also add individual meetings with colleagues to your schedule. Some conference apps also have a social networking component, through which you can upload pictures and connect with others at the conference.

2. Use Twitter to connect, communicate, and learn. 

     Most conferences have an official conference hashtag. So, you can search for the conference hashtag and quickly see what others are tweeting—upcoming conference sessions, changes to the conference schedule, invitations to receptions and other get-togethers, live tweets summarizing a session you couldn’t attend. You can contribute to the conversation by including the conference hashtag in your tweets. It used to be considered rude to “play” on your phone while someone was presenting—but the culture is changing. Live tweeting is a way to spread the message of an outstanding speaker beyond the walls of the conference venue.    Laurel Iverson Hitchcock, Ph.D., MPH, LICSW, PIP, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says:

     I ask the presenters if I can tweet their session, including photos, ahead of time.  With their permission, I tweet comments and photos from the session, with the goal of hitting the highlights for those who are not there. I use the conference hashtag and tweet links to websites, articles, or other resources mentioned in the presentation.        

     Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW, founder and host of the Social Work Podcast, also likes to “tweet out” conference sessions. He shares the following:

     As long as it is okay with the speaker, I'll “take notes” by tweeting out the session information and use the conference hashtag and either the speaker’s Twitter handle or a secondary hashtag (see Storify.com), so that when I archive it later using Storify, it is easy to grab all the tweets. If there is no WiFi/data in the session room, I type out my notes and then tweet out the session once I get access to WiFi. An essential tool is AutoTextExpander—you associate a few uncommon letters with a much longer phrase; when you type those letters, it automatically expands to the entire phrase. For example, when I'm tweeting out a session, I'll associate the letters “twt” with the speaker’s Twitter handle, conference hashtag, and a secondary hashtag. When I start a tweet, I type “twt” and my tweet is halfway there. More tips and tricks for live tweeting a conference are in episode 97: http://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/04/SPSM.html

3. Use your phone’s camera. 

    Conference selfies are becoming a popular activity. Did you see a former co-worker, or run into an admired leader in the field? Take a selfie with your colleagues and post on social media. This helps preserve the moment and the awesomeness of the whole conference experience.    Your camera can help you remember information from a presentation, too. That PowerPoint slide with tons of useful information? Snap a picture of it to review later. And as Laurel Iverson Hitchcock mentioned in #2, a photo in a tweet (with the presenter’s okay) is worth a thousand words.

4. Create a learning wheel.

    Laurel Iverson Hitchcock relates how she has used technology to create a “learning wheel” at conferences:

     ...I have used tech at conferences...to create a learning wheel, which is a collaborative tool that can be used in the classroom or as part of a conference to curate ideas, communication practices, and other information. This post describes how I worked with Amanda Taylor and Deborah Keller on a learning wheel for a local conference: http://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2016/11/18/using-learning-wheels-the-aplol16-connected-conference/

5. Live stream a session.

     Some presenters are Periscoping or going on Facebook Live with their own sessions, so interested social workers who are not able to attend a conference can still take advantage of the presentation. With permission, you might use this technology to broadcast a session you are attending. Be sure to check the conference sponsor’s policy on such broadcasting.    Laurel Iverson Hitchcock uses Periscope to broadcast presentations. See her blog post at: http://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2015/12/08/social-work-scholarship-in-the-age-of-social-media/

6. Be a social media ambassador.

     Many organizations have social media ambassador programs. Typically, this involves agreeing to promote the organization or its conference/event via social media, in exchange for a free registration or other incentive. There will be an application process, and if you are chosen, you will be expected to live tweet and/or use other social media as specified by the organization. You may have specific assignments, or you may be required to tweet a certain number of times per day during the conference.  

     Sean Erreger, LCSW, blogger at StuckonSocialWork.com, was a social media ambassador this past April at the National Council on Behavioral Health conference (#NatCon17) in Seattle, Washington. “I was generously compensated for live tweeting, creating some Twitter moments, and [making] Storify summaries of the event,” he says. “This was a valuable opportunity for me to not only use my social media skills to promote the conference, but also gain incredible knowledge attending.” He adds that having social media ambassadors is valuable to organizations, as it helps them to grow their social media following and allows those not in attendance to get a flavor of what is going on at the conference. 

     Sean provides a more detailed account of this experience at: https://stuckonsocialwork.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/natcon17-more-hope-and-promise/

6. Attend virtually.

    Search for the conference hashtag on Twitter or other social media to get a flavor of what is happening there and to find out if anything is being live streamed through Periscope, Facebook Live, or other formats. You can even take part by tweeting with the hashtag from afar.    Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, a section instructor of social work at Simmons College, says: 

     As someone who has been a student and adjunct faculty member for many years, due to financial constraints, attending a conference virtually is often the only means of participation for me. This is a doubly tough situation for those on the job market who may feel the need to pay to attend conferences for job interviews. I have concerns that f2f conferences are increasingly opportunities only available to the economically privileged. Attending conferences virtually is helpful in establishing connections, networking, learning about new developments and research in the field, and connecting with others for funding and research opportunities. My favorite way to use virtual conference attendance is to tweet or read blog posts summarizing main points of sessions and actively engage with participants during a session. For example, recently, a group of participants at the SWDE conference (http://swde.iu.edu) organized to participate in a #MacroSW Twitter chat (https://storify.com/karenzgoda/fighting-an-anti-social-work-agenda-the-power-of-p/preview). Photos of speakers standing in front of PowerPoint slides that cannot be read are not helpful.

7. Present remotely. 

    In some conference presentations (especially including ones on tech topics), one or more presenters may participate remotely, through Skype, Facebook Live, or other remote technology.

     The next time you attend a conference, enjoy being—really being—with your colleagues. AND look for the technology that can enhance that experience.

Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW, is the founder, publisher, and editor of  The New Social Worker magazine. She received the Pennsylvania NASW Social Worker of the Year for 2014 and is an NASW Social Work Pioneer®.