Social media and continuing professional development in social work: critical perspectives and future possibilities

Social workers are engaging in social media more than ever before. Practitioners, students and academics blog, tweet, connect and debate social work issues online amidst the hubbub of busy day-to-day lives. Online discussions and information sharing provide extensive learning opportunities for social workers, but it is not formally recognised as continuing professional development (CPD).

Social media can be a useful learning tool for social workers, but it is not without its problems. It connects practitioners from around the world to share ideas and experiences, but it can be a distraction if not managed carefully. I have explored some of these dillemas in a previous post which was a contribution to a twitter debate on the subject back in November.

On 13th March 2012, the 12th Maudsley Workshop at the Institute of Psychiatry will bring together social work academics, practitioners and social media experts to discuss the benefits and pitfalls of using social media as a means of CPD in social work. For those who don’t know their tweet from their post, the workshop will start with a user-friendly guide to social media. This will be followed by a social work educator and practitioner providing critical perspectives about its use and value for CPD in social work. A flyer for the workshop can be downloaded here.

The College of Social Work is using social media to engage practitioners in discussions about their work and is open to discussing its role in a social worker’s CPD. This workshop will help the College to develop a vision and strategy for the use of social media in CPD.

This is a small workshop, but we have ten free places available. To apply for a free place, please email julie.smith@iop.kcl.ac.uk by Friday 2nd March saying what your background is and why you would like to come. Places will be confirmed and joining instructions will be sent out in week commencing 5th March.

If you are unable to secure a place at the workshop, you can engage with the live discussions on twitter (#12thMW). The discussions and outcome of the workshop will be shared on this blog and elsewhere online.