by Stephen P. Cummings,MSW, ACSW, LISW
Congrats Class of 2021
If you are graduating from a social work program this year, congratulations! Also, I appreciate the space and time you may be entering—that very difficult time when you are both happy to be done with school but are now job-seeking, working temporarily, or taking the licensure exam (likely “all of the above”). When you leave your program, there’s a good chance you also lose access to the kinds of technology resources that were part of that program. Students accustomed to accessing their program’s virtual library, for example, may find themselves with credentials that no longer work, those expensive journals no longer obtainable without paying for each article.
I acknowledge this is probably not the first time you’ve read that electronic research journals are expensive, that information that develops the learning mind should be much more open and available, and that technology is a privilege when it should be a right. From universal broadband access to restoring Net Neutrality, the fight for tech equity continues. So here, I’d like to focus on technology that’s inexpensive or free, that may be used to enhance professional and personal development as social workers enter practice.
A few caveats: Of course, this list is not exhaustive, and I encourage you to add to this discussion. Also, to gather some ideas for this article, I asked social work colleagues to share their ideas. In other words, I’ve not used every product or idea listed here. (By all means, send me a message on Twitter at @spcummings to add or correct anything you see here.)
First, the hardware: Let me state the obvious—most of the time, laptops and mobile phones are expensive. Apple seems committed to normalizing price point for their newest iPhones on par with a standard desktop computer. If you sign a contract with a major network carrier, you can probably reduce the cost by choosing a last-generation option. And quite frankly, you’re probably going to be fine if the laptop or mobile device isn’t the most cutting-edge technology. A recent New York Times tech column recommends some good, new Android smartphones that are priced comparatively low (say, $350, which is still expensive, but not $1,500 expensive).
My larger point is that a good mobile device should not be considered reserved for “deserving” people. The ability to connect to potential employers, your professional network, or just general support should not be reserved for those who somehow “earned” their right to have the tools to facilitate that access. Heck, maybe you want to play Words with Friends. Everyone has that right!
Mobile devices also include e-readers that access digital versions of books and other documents. Colleagues have shared that the light weight and readability of these devices make it much easier to carry clinical texts and reference books. I have a Kindle that cost me $50, and I use it primarily to read books available for free through library-focused applications like Libby (libbyapp.com). I’ll cover this app in the next section.
Learning
I mentioned that university libraries may de-activate a student’s credentials after graduation. This depends on the institution, of course, but I’ve talked with people who have lost this access, and it’s frustrating. Local libraries are, of course, a possible solution, but access varies greatly. Check to see if your local library supports the Libby app. Libby uses my library card to access audiobooks, e-books, and digital versions of magazines. I don’t personally use every tool I mention in this column, but I do use the Libby app a lot. The same is true for Kanopy (kanopy.com), a streaming movie application that also uses my local library card credentials to stream documentaries, lectures, and movies that aren’t necessarily playing elsewhere.
Accessing social work journal articles can be facilitated in ways that don’t require active affiliation with a university. One resource I’ve used often is Google Scholar (scholar.google.com), a search engine that features scholarly work. It’s essentially a focused Google search. The app ResearchGate (ReseachGate.net) is advertised as a social network for researchers. However, I have students who report connecting directly with authors in this network. (In the spirit of etiquette, I’ve encouraged students to search through the usual channels before reaching out to authors directly; some authors are very open to this contact, but this is by no means a guarantee).
Open Social Work (opensocialwork.org) is a collaborative project built on the premise asserted by John Willinsky in The Access Principle: “Access to knowledge is a human right that is closely associated with the ability to defend, as well as to advocate for, other rights.” The Open Social Work portal features open content for educators, including freely available textbooks for research, policy and justice, and human development. It’s also a helpful “one-stop” for openly available data. I’ve been working on my own open educational resources project, and I’ve found this resource helpful.
Information for Practice (ifp.nyu.edu) is another open resource including (but not limited to) open access journal articles, meta-analysis and systematic reviews, infographics, videos, grey literature, and service funding opportunities for people working in the field of social service.
I mention these open educational resources here for graduates for two reasons. The physical textbooks you may have after graduation will eventually become obsolete, but OER product has the capacity to stay current as creators adapt, update, and remix content. Also, the bridge between the learning environment and the practice environment should never close. In fact, the two spaces should be living, active, and shared, informing each other for the benefit of everyone. Given the pervasive nature of uncited, biased “news” permeating practice and policy decisions, robust research, and information open to all, is essential.
Engagement
I’ve used databases that seek to facilitate getting people connected with needed resources. These resources come and go and vary in quality. The EveryONE project’s Neighborhood Navigator resource (navigator.aafp.org), is a website that connects users by region to information on housing, job opportunities, mental health, and other resources. For social workers working with clients, tools like this help identify what’s out there and available.
It’s no surprise that, in asking for suggestions on the Twitter application, a few social workers noted that Twitter is a good resource for building learning communities and professional networks. #socialworktwitter, #swtech, and #macrosw are a few of the hashtag-threaded communities in which I’ve engaged over the years. Also, social work conferences often promote a hashtag so people can connect from anywhere, regardless of whether they are formally attending or not.
Productivity
I’ve found most of my students have gravitated toward the free applications that Google offers for work. Google Drive (google.com/drive) includes free versions of word processing, spreadsheets, and slides, and of course you don’t have to be a student to use these.
Evernote (evernote.com) has been my go-to notes app since 2008. I can open it in a browser window, my phone, or my laptop, and I can pick up where I left off on any project. I’ve had moments when I’m walking the dog and an idea comes to mind, and I dictate the thought into Evernote so I can come back to it later. Evernote handles screen shots, bookmarks, and Adobe .pdf uploads. I have a stack of slides, photos, and contacts from every conference I’ve attended over the last decade. There are similar apps that are more specified than Evernote. Pocket (pocket.com) allows users to add articles they encounter to one place for reference.
If you’re a licensed social worker, you know you must maintain a certain amount of continuing education evidence to prove you’re keeping up with your license requirements. I have 20 years’ worth of CEUs organized in my Evernote app (you know, just in case). The National Association of Social Workers maintains a CE Tracker application (socialworkers.org), where social workers can keep their CE data. The web-based application records and identifies the threshold for the user’s jurisdiction. For example, the app tells me if I’m six credits short in my licensing period.
Regardless of what productivity tool you choose, keep in mind the Code of Ethics regarding privacy and confidentiality:
1.07 (l) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients’ written and electronic records and other sensitive information. Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that clients’ records are stored in a secure location and that clients’ records are not available to others who are not authorized to have access.
My general rule on this is to not store or reference any client information that can’t be ensured to be encrypted. Ignorance of any technology limitation isn’t a defense. And consider this: malware attacks happen every day.
In that spirit, I recommend a password manager application so that you’re tracking all your login credentials. I’ve been using 1password (1password.com) for years, which alerts me to when there may be a breach in an app I use, or if I’m overusing the same variant of a password.
I’ve really scratched the surface, of course. The New Social Worker published an article on podcasting (https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/technology-articles/power-podcasting-social-work-education/) that fits the subject “free resources for new grads” perfectly. Laurel Hitchcock’s blog “Teaching and Learning in Social Work” (https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/) includes relevant and timely information for practitioners. I have written a bit about self-care apps before, but I didn’t dive deeply yet into faith-based apps for practitioners. What recommendations do you have? Wherever you encounter this article, feel free to add to the discussion.
Stephen P. Cummings, MSW, ACSW, LISW, is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Iowa School of Social Work, where he is the administrator for distance education.