The New Social Worker Vol. 19, No. 3, Summer 2012 | Page 29

Tech Topics
@SWSCmedia—Bringing Social Workers Together Globally
by Linda May Grobman, ACSW, LSW

W

ith the rapidly changing technology all
around us, it seems
that new online social work
communities and resources are
springing up all the time.

One such community and
a leading resource in this area
is @SWSCmedia. According to
its Web site at http://swscmedia.
wordpress.com/, “@SWSCmedia is a knowledge community
of practice that brings social work
and social care practitioners, organisations, academics, researchers, students, policy makers, users
of service and other allied professionals,
stakeholders or enthusiasts, and interested parties together, to discuss issues,
innovations, opportunities, dilemmas,
and challenges, as well as relevant developments in relation to social work and/
or social care.”

The UK-based group has about
4,000 followers and has attracted as
many as 100 participants interacting
simultaneously in some of its Twitter
“debates.”

Claudia Megele (@ClaudiaMegele),
a Senior Lecturer and Module Leader for
MSc Step up to Social Work Programme
at the University of Hertfordshire who
also holds psychotherapy clinics both
privately and at NHS, recognized the
power of Twitter to connect people
professionally and to enhance learning. She explains, “As a researcher, I
was interested in social psychology and
psychoanalytic sociology of Twitter, and
as an academic, I could see its enormous
potential for social learning, knowledge
dissemination, and community building.
We have used Twitter in creative ways,
ranging from debates/chats to case study
discussions, speeches, focus groups,
mock interviews, and panel discussions.”
Megele’s vision was to create an open access community for all, and the network
has indeed become a global knowledge
and learning community. In addition
to being the founder of @SWSCmedia,
Megele also started the @MHChat and
@U4Change networks.

In October 2011, Megele announced
the first @SWSCmedia debate, and the
network has grown substantially ever
since. @SWSCmedia debates are held
Tuesdays (8:00 p.m. UK), often with a
guest speaker. A second weekly debate is
held every Sunday (6:00 p.m. UK) focusing on case studies, focus groups, student
issues, and other activities. The debates
have attracted people primarily from the
UK and the U.S. and have overall participation from more than 20 countries.

“We started by offering Learning
through Sharing, and it has been very
well received. We are very proud of the
quality of our work and delighted to
serve our global community. In fact, our
debates will be incorporated in social
work curricula at selected universities,”
says Megele. “It is an eclectic space and
will be even more so as we move to
the next level and continue to engage
everyone from university professors and
researchers to students and practitioners
to users and providers of services. It’s a
fantastic platform for social learning and
knowledge and information sharing.”

So, what exactly is a Twitter debate?
you might ask. In simple terms, it is a
fast-paced, live, real-time online chat that
takes place on Twitter. Through the use
of a hashtag (#SWSCmedia, in this case),
participants can see what others are saying on the current debate topic.

@SWSCmedia, which stands for
Social Work/Social Care & Media,
operates primarily through the use of a

blog (http://swscmedia.wordpress.com/),
Twitter (@SWSCmedia), and LinkedIn
group (http://www.linkedin.com/
groups?gid=4010412). A brief review
of the @SWSCmedia site/blog reveals
that recent topics of discussion have
included adoption reform, cyberbullying,
workplace stress, ethics, professional
conduct, social media, and many more.

Megele explains, “One of our main
objectives is to bridge the gap between
theories; research; and practice of social
work, social care, and allied professions.
Social media are changing and challenging both the medium and content of
communication...and continue to transform our sociality as well as our thinking,
being, and ways of relating to one another. In this context, we are leveraging
social media to enhance the professional
identity and the praxis of social work and
social care.”

Megele concludes, “Social media
will continue to transform every aspect
of our lives, ranging from research and
education to systems and services. We at
@SWSCmedia aim to seize this opportunity to enhance social work and social
care education, research, and praxis.”

The blog’s “About” page provides
detailed instructions on how to participate in the group’s Twitter debates.

Follow @SWSCmedia on Twitter to
stay informed of upcoming debate times
and topics.
Linda May Grobman, ACSW, LSW, is the
publisher and editor of THE NEW SOCIAL
WORKER magazine.

Tell your friends
and colleagues
about

THE NEW SOCIAL
WORKER
www.socialworker.com

The New Social Wor ???()M????????((??((0