Social Work in the Times of COVID-19: One way to share, document & support

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on Mar 20, 2020 | 1 comment

The COVID-19 public emergency is unprecedented and affects our personal and professional lives.  From trying to find diapers and toilet paper to figuring out how to work remotely with students and colleagues, few of us were prepared for the speed of which this emergency changed our daily lives.  And we have yet to know and understand what things will look like in the next few weeks or months.  

Thus, we are trying to capture this moment in history by harnessing the power of technology for social good.  Through short videos posted on Flipgrid (a social learning platform designed for video discussion forums), we are hoping to create community while also collecting our stories as social workers (practitioners and educators).  We hope these stories can help us support and learn from each other during a time of social distancing as well as provide a source of information for future directions for the profession (i.e. what are the best ways to work remotely as a social worker or what are best practices for transitioning learning to online environments).  We anticipate that these videos will provide a wealth of information for blogs posts or other scholarship that will inform how social work needs to adapt to complex social problems. This might include qualitative thematic analysis or quotes from posts. Any peer-reviewed content will be anonymized, but please remember that these posts are a form of public social media.

We ask that you share your stories with us in the form of short videos (2-5 minutes) on FlipGrid.  It is very simple to record your video through the platform, and you can view and respond to other people’s videos.  We will have two opportunities for you to share your stories: 

1. Your current lived experience of work impacts with COVID-19 (max 5 min)
2. How you are using self-care during this public emergency (max 2 min)

Here is how you access the Flipgrid: 

• Download the Flipgrid app for free for iOS or Android devices.  You can also access on a computer. 
• Use this link https://flipgrid.com/swcovid19
• The grid code is swcovid19 or the QR code if you use the app .
• Click on one of the topics.
• Tap the green plus button and start the recording. 
• You will be asked to log-in with a Gmail or Microsoft email address.
• You will be able to review the video and take a selfie to customize your response. 
• Enter your name.  
• You can reply to videos of others using the reply button. They will get notice of your replies.

Additional thoughts: 

• The purpose is to normalize, share and get peer support. 
• You can post as many videos as you want, and also respond to as many people as you want.  
• Please know that these videos are public; employers, students, teachers, and others may see your responses.

We hope you will share your thoughts and experiences as we all move through this emergency together.  Please let us know if you have any questions by posting a comment below.  

How to cite this post:

Sage, M. & Hitchcock, L.I. (2020, March 20). Social Work in the Times of COVID-19: One way to share, document & support. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from Teaching & Learning in Social Work website: https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/03/20/social-work-in-the-times-of-covid-19-one-way-to-share-document-support/