Professional Collaboration Networks for Social Work Practice
In this post, I am outlining previously published content from this blog about the concept and practice of a Professional Collaboration Network (PCN), which are technology-mediated user-centered relationship constellations designed to enhance or enrich connections, knowledge, and professional opportunities. Using PCNs in social work practice started as an idea at a Think Tank hosted by the University at Buffalo’s School of Social Work in June 2019. The Think Tank’s goal was to brainstorm how to teach students in their new online Doctorate of Social Program (DSW) program to develop critical stakeholder networks using digital and social technologies. You will find a summary of each of the five original blog posts, along with a link to the full post.
What is a Professional Collaboration Network (PCN) & why do you need one?
This post covers the “whys” and “whats” of a PCN. There are several advantages to having an online PCN: 1) continual access to resources, information, consultation, and referrals; 2) opportunities for collaboration across geographic and institutional or to learn about, and; 3) develop skills related to your area of practice. Knowing how to create and maintain your own PCN is an essential skill for new social work professionals. Additionally, a PCN can be used to model leadership skills such as communication, interprofessional education and practice, and support for learning about the social work knowledge base.
To establish a PCN, consider the following steps:
- Think about your goals for networking, collaboration, and building social capital among colleagues and professional acquaintances;
- Consider the value of networking and creating professional connections in your work life;
- Decide which digital tools you want to use for your PCN;
- Develop a plan on how will you manage your PCN; and
- Think about how you will connect your online network with your face-to-face network.
The original post provides reflection questions to help guide you through these steps.
Twitter for your Professional Collaboration Network (PCN)
This post covers how you can use Twitter to create and support your PCN. Twitter is a microblogging service network that allows you to send or receive short public posts, called tweets, of 280 characters. Tweets may contain text, links, and media such as photos, videos, or a GIF. The original post will outline how to set-up your user profile, find people and organizations to follow, understand the platform’s norms, and monitor your network.
How do you do relational Twitter?: Developing your Professional Collaboration Network
This post covers how you can develop and nurture professional relationships with Twitter. There are many professional reasons for being on Twitter, including disseminating one’s work, announcing happenings, seeking help, and learning from others. To be successful in most of these tasks, you need to be plugged into a social network of people who are motivated to share your work. This post addresses how one moves from using Twitter to follow others and announce your work to developing real relationships with the real people at the keyboards. The original post offers 20 tips for building collaborative relationships on Twitter.
Using Twitter at a Professional Conference
This post covers the use of Twitter at professional conferences to share your insights and extend the reach of the conference sessions. There are at least two crucial reasons why tweeting at conferences is a valuable practice. First, attending meetings requires resources and time. Not everyone can attend all conferences, and one person certainly cannot participate in all of the conferences that interest them. By tweeting from a meeting, participants can share what they learned in sessions with anyone interested. Second, tweeting at a conference allows an individual another way to network and meet people. The original post provides a chronological approach on how to use Twitter before, during, and after a conference.
Academic and Professional Blogging
This post reviews how academic and professional blogging can share and curate information for practice communities. Blogging can still be useful to help you formulate your ideas and get feedback on your work. Blogs can also serve as a placeholder for more in-depth information about an academic poster or research paper from a conference. You should not overlook the opportunity to build your reputation around your research or practice area through your blog. Even if you don’t have your work to blog about and share, curating work or topics and writing about them on your blog can be a helpful way to bring together a collection of work around a common theme that interests you. Curating, creating, and sharing are key ingredients to developing a PCN, and your blog can serve as a home for content, commentary, and more. The original blog post provides tips on how to start your academic blog.
References
Hitchcock, L.I, Sage, M., Michaeli, D., Young, J.A., Bakk, L. & Smyth, N.J. (2019, December, 18). What is a professional collaboration network and why do you need one? Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2019/12/17/what-is-a-professional-collaboration-network-and-why-do-you-need-one/.
Michaeli, D., Hitchcock, L.I, Young, J.A., Sage, M. Bakk, L. & Smyth, N.J. (2020, January 31). Twitter for your Professional Collaboration Network (PCN). Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/01/31/twitter-for-your-professional-collaboration-network-pcn/
Sage, M., Hitchcock, L.I., Michaeli, D., Young, J.A., Bakk, L. & Smyth, N.J. (2020, February 14). How do you do relational Twitter?: Developing your Professional Collaboration Network. Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/02/14/how-do-you-do-relational-twitter-developing-your-professional-collaboration-network/
Hitchcock, L.I., Bakk, L., Michaeli, D., Young, J.A., Sage, M. & Smyth, N.J. (2020, March 12). Using Twitter at a Professional Conference. Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/03/12/using-twitter-at-a-professional-conference/
Young, J.A., Sage, M., Hitchcock, L.I., Bakk, L., Michaeli, D. & Smyth, N.J. (2020, April 24). Academic and Professional Blogging. Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://www.laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/04/24/academic-and-professional-blogging/
How to cite this post:
Hitchcock, L.I. (2020, August 27). Professional Collaboration Networks for Social Work Practice. Teaching & Learning in Social Work. https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2020/08/26/professional-collaboration-networks-for-social-work-practice/
