Digital Social Work: Tools for Practice with Individuals, Organizations, and Communities

In a rapidly advancing technological culture, social work practitioners are frequently challenged to invent new strategies to meet client needs and foster social change. Despite the Council on Social Work Education's new standards for technology in social work practice, few schools of social work teach the use of technology for practice, and many instructors struggle with the integration of this increasingly necessary dimension into education. Digital Social Work is designed to offer engaging, meaningful, and easy-to-use technology content that can be incorporated into generalist and advanced social work practice courses. The chapters in this volume offer instructors and students insight into the knowledge, skills, and values required of those who practice social work 2.0; by providing concrete examples of technology tools, they complement traditional social work curricula dealing with micro, mezzo, and macro systems. Chapters can be used singly--to augment Practice, Research, or Policy courses--or can provide a format to discuss technology in courses addressing practice with individuals, youth, and families. Virtual worlds, social media, GIS, blogs, and many other technology tools are represented in this collection.

Lauri Goldkind, PhD, MSW, is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University. As a social worker who has focused on macro practice, she is also interested in organizational development and evaluating organizational effectiveness across all areas (including use of technology, defining notions of accountability, and leadership development). Her current research has two strands: technology implementation, information, and communication technologies (ICT) tools in human services; and nonprofits, social justice, and civic engagement in organizational life.

Lea Wolf, LMSW, is a social worker who lives and works in New York City. Wolf's published work addresses arts-based interventions across sectors, social activism, and the nexus of social work and technology.

Paul P. Freddolino, MDiv, PhD, is Professor of Social Work at Michigan State University. He has led development of hybrid/blended social work education programs and online courses. He is also actively engaged in research related to the use of technology tools in social work practice. Current projects focus on technology for stroke victims, for people with dementia, and for caregivers of both.