Tech-based Assignments for Remote Teaching & Learning in Social Work

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on Mar 24, 2020 | 1 comment

In social work education, we are all trying to figure out how to transition our students, instructors, field supervisors, and courses to remote learning (AKA online course delivery).  This is no small feat given that COVID-19 has affected all of us personally as well as professionally.  Myself, I have been working to create remote volunteering options for over 100 BSW students in three service learning courses (more on that later). 

Over the past few years, I have written about different types of technology-based assignments on this blog, and have asked several other social work educators to share their technology-based learning activities and experiences.  In this post, I am pulling together a list of technology-based assignments that you can use and adapt for your own needs during these strange times.

If you are concerned about pedagogy, Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR Module for Technology Integration offers us solid framework for adapting traditional assignments to online delivery.  Specifically, the first step of the framework is Substitution and a good place for us all to focus on right now.  The goal of substitution in this framework is for the technology or digital tool to act as a replacement of traditional parts of an assignment; with no functional change in the assignment.  For example, if you were planning on having students do in-person class presentations this semester, your technology substitution could be to have them use a video screen capturing software to record their presentation. No other changes are needed to the assignment. You can read more about the substitution step of SAMR here: 

• #APM19 – Changing Teaching Practices for Technology: Using the SAMR Model for Technology
• #APM18 Teaching with Technology using the SAMR Model

What I like about the substitution step of the SAMR Model is that it reminds us to start where we are – in the middle of a national public emergency working to do our best to support our students, colleagues and communities.

I have pulled together a short-list of the more popular technology assignments discussed on the blog: 

• Podcasts:  Podcast Assignment for the Social Work Classroom, co-written with Melanie Sage, Todd Sage and Michael Lynch
• Infographics: Teaching with Infographics: My experiences with digital literacy and non-traditional students by Nathalie Jones
• Pinterest: Using Pinterest in Undergraduate Social Work Education – #BPDTX16, co-written with Lisa Baker
• Twitter: Twitter Learning Activities for Social Work Competencies

One of my favorite blog posts that I think might be especially helpful for those teaching practice courses is Janet Vizina-Roubal’s Teaching Technology-Mediated Practice in a Clinical MSW Program, where she discusses how she developed technology-based role plays for her students.

For field educators, please check out the second edition of the Social Media Toolkit for Social Work Field Educators, co-written with Allison Curington and Mary Jacque Carroll.  There are some great case studies that could be used for discussion forums. 

For a list of general technology-based assignments organized by social work competencies read this post – Revised Technology-Based Learning Task List for Social Work Education, co-written with Melanie Sage and Nancy J. Smyth.

Here are some other digital social work educational resources discussed on this blog:

• MacroSW is a weekly Twitter Chat focused on issues related to social work practice with communities and organizations. This blog post –  Using #MacroSW in the Classroom – offers ideas on how to incorporate the chat into your course.
• Social Work Virtual Pal is virtual community of practice for the social work profession. Check out our Social Work Educator’s Guide for #SWVirtualPal, co-written with Amanda Taylor-Beswick.

If you are looking for an assignment related to COVID-19, Melanie Sage and I just created a FlipGrid for students to share about their current experiences with COVID-19 – Being a Social Work Student in the times of COVID-19: One way to share, document & support. We hope this effort will give us a shared community as well as a record of our students’ experiences.

Finally, I have an archive of assignments that I will be updating.  On this page, you will find links to some great blog posts such as Todd Sage’s  Incorporating Flipgrid into the Social Work Classroom: Tips for #SocWorkEd  or Agata Dera’s The Power of Lighting in a Virtual Classroom: Tips on Improving Webcam Lighting for Online Educators

If you have used one of these assignments or resources in the past, please share in the comment section below.  Please stay safe and healthy! 

How to cite this post:

Hitchcock, L.I. (2020, March 24). Tech-based Assignments for Remote Teaching & Learning in Social Work [Blog Post]. Retrieved from Teaching & Learning in Social Work Blog at: https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/03/24/tech-based-assignments-for-remote-teaching-learning-in-social-work/