It’s Time To Step Up Your Game!

Step Up Your Game!

Although this blog is written with school social workers in mind, the information can definitely be used by others that are in the helping professions.  So I invite anyone to use the information how they see fit, within the confines of their working environment. 

So now it’s time to address the title of this entry, “It’s time to step up your game!”  That can be easily translated to be, it’s time to change the way you do things within your profession, in order to connect and ignite excitement to the familiar social emotional standards.

In June I had the pleasure of presenting a workshop to my fellow Chicago Public School Social Workers about integrating technology into their clinical practice.  I had planned on starting from the basics and was prepared for many of my participants to be neophytes amid this topic.   What I hadn’t planned on was my entire audience having very little knowledge of Web 2.0 and its vast benefits for social workers.  Usually there is at least a couple of audience participants that have the same knowledge base as you and can offer additional advise, information or resources.  But it appeared to be that I was an anomaly, and possessed exclusive information within my field.  As one of my colleagues stated, “Where have I been, and how did all of this happen without my knowledge?”  Well I definately don’t want to leave anyone behind!  LOL

In July I gave another technology presentation to social workers at Jane Adams School of Social Work.  I wrote in my bio that I was on a mission to educate and empower social workers to feel comfortable regarding integrating technology within their practice.  We have to be change makers within our own profession and begin to realize the powerful potential of technology.

So I want to challenge my colleagues to think outside the box and step up your game!  Take ownership of becoming the expert on teaching internet etiquette, social media do’s and don’ts, cyber bullying etc.  These topics are the things we have been trained on and are good at.  So take over and I ask the same question that was asked in a recent article http://www.edutopia.org/blog/facilitating-sel-skills-through-tech-joan-young

How can you use technology to connect, empower and build social and emotional learning skills in your students?  This is your mission, if you will accept it, and believe me, its not impossible.  🙂