Taking a Media Savvy Social Work Course: A Student’s Perspective from Dottie-Jean Turenne

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on May 27, 2015

Ms. Alyssa Lotmore, from the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany and the co-host of The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, recently wrote about her media savvy social work course. This courses helps students learn beneficial skills about seeing the public as the client and using the media to reach those who may never had considered seeing or using a social worker. As a follow-up to Ms. Lotmore’s post, I asked one her students, Dottie-Jean Turenne, to share her thoughts on the course, what it was like to use media as a social work student, and how the knowledge and skills from the course might be incorporated in her future role as a social worker. Here are Dottie-Jean’s responses to my questions:

1, What interested you in taking this class in the first place?
As you watch the news or read stories online, you often hear social workers being stigmatized as only child protective service workers (CPS) or that they only provide services to the poor, however, as this is incorrect. Social workers are not regularly recognized for the inspiration and empowerment they provide to all vulnerable populations. Taking this course became an interest of mine, once I realized that I could use media to be a strong voice. I could use my voice not only as an advocate, but to show the world the true meaning of being a social worker and the passion we have to empower others.

2. What was your initial reaction to interviewing individuals for the radio, podcasts or other public presentations?
I have always had a fear of public speaking, so initially I was nervous at the thought of interviewing individuals for the radio. To overcome these feelings, I found it most helpful to become familiar with the specific topic and to be prepared with strong questions. In my first interview, I had some great responses to the guest, but the lack of confidence was clear during the first part of the show. However, once I became comfortable with being on the radio, my confidence begin to build.

Media Savvy Social Work Course

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on May 19, 2015

Alyssa Lotmore is the Assistant Director and Coordinator of Baccalaureate Field Education in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, and the co-host of The Social Workers Radio Talk Show.  In this blog post, she discusses her media savvy social work course.  For student perspective on Ms. Lotmore’s course, read this blog post by Dottie-Jean Turenne.

When I tell my social work colleagues or students that I am a co-host of a live Social Work radio show, there is always that pause. It takes a minute for people to process the idea of a social worker using the radio as a means to advocate and raise awareness, even seasoned social workers. Typically, a degree in social work trains a practitioner to work individually with clients or organize communities. Even though coursework may briefly note that we can use media, particularly social media, to ignite change and share knowledge, there are few examples that shows us how to use such methods.

The goal of the Social Workers Radio Talk Show is to have students, faculty, and alumni on as co-hosts and guests to speak about social work trends and current practices provided by social workers. As I began to interview a variety of guests on the live show, I realized that even though they were conducting interesting research and/or had wonderful experiences to share, they struggled to translate that knowledge and expertise to the listeners in a clear, concise and engaging way. The use of social work jargon, filler words (i.e. ‘like’, ‘um’), unorganized content, and sounding flat were just a few of the issues that caused listeners to disengage. That led me to the idea of our Media Savvy Social Work Course, which teaches beneficial skills to social work students about seeing the public as the client and using the media to reach those who may never had considered seeing or using a social worker. The communication skills learned in this course are valuable to students who may never be on air. For example, when students learn to how to host a live radio show, they are learning how to speak with potential funders regarding why they should donate to an agency, effectively communicate with community members about how policies will affect them, and explain new client interventions to coworkers.

Career Building Skills for Social Workers: #MacroSW Chat 5/14 8 PM CST

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on May 5, 2015

This is a re-post from the #MacroSW Chat website.  I will be hosting this chat on 5/14/15 so please join us!  Click here for more information on how to participate in a live Twitter chat.

Are you a newly graduated social worker looking for a job? Thinking about going back to graduate school for that MSW? Then join us for a chat with guest experts Melissa Whatley & Joy Jones from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Career & Professional Development. They will be answering your most pressing questions about searching and interviewing for that first social work job, how to tell your professional story through a resume, and best practices for networking, off-line & online.

We also invite social workers to share their own experiences about finding a social work job, especially a macro position, how they made the decision to go back to graduate school, or their best tip for networking, interviewing or building a resume.

Here is how the chat will work:
Melissa (tweeting from @uabcareerserve) and Joy (tweeting from @UABJoy ) will be answering your most pressing career development questions so come prepared.  You can also submit your questions in advance to @laurelhitchcock.  Melissa and Joy will be selecting questions from your submissions/posts.  (Disclaimer: We may not be able to get to everyone’s question due to the time limit of the chat). Possible topics include:

1. What needs to be included on my resume?
2. How can I use social media to get a job?
3. What can I expect during a job interview?
4. What do I need to know to be successful in a social work career?

We also invite anyone joining our chat to share their thoughts and best career advice along side Melissa & Joy.

Making Social Policy Relevant Through Social Media

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on May 1, 2015

Dr. Casey Bohrman (@CaseyBohrman) is an assistant professor in the Department of Undergraduate Social Work at West Chester University. In this blog post, she writes about how she uses blogging tools such as Twitter and Tumblr in her social welfare policy courses to engage student in current events and practice advocacy skills.

During the winter of 2013, I frequently listened to Tell Me More, an NPR radio program focused on issues impacting people of color.  I noticed that many of the experts on the show came from the “blogosphere” or gained their standing through prolific tweeting.  Wanting my social policy class to be relevant to modern policy discussions, I decided to have students join Twitter as part of a class assignment in Spring 2014.

Because Twitter is limited to 140 characters, I also wanted students to have the opportunity to comment on social issues in a more comprehensive fashion.  Inspired by David Jaffee, a sociologist from the University of North Florida who blogs about his perspective on current socio-economic issues, I decided to have my students also create blogs. The first time I taught the class we used WordPress, as it was the site recommended to me by our librarian.  In future classes, I used Tumblr as it was more user-friendly and allowed for easier incorporation of audio-visual material.

I asked students create a Twitter account and a blog about a particular area of interest, such as mental health policy or how social policy might directly impact women.  I asked students to tweet several times per week and post a blog entry once a month about current issues in their policy area.  I also asked them to follow a range of accounts from traditional news outlets, advocacy organization, and people directly experiencing an issue.  One of the strengths of using Twitter to learn about policy is that it gives students a broader and more current perspective on an issue than they can get from a textbook.   It is particularly important for social workers to hear and learn from the perspectives of people who directly impacted by a social issue. For example, there are a number of users who identify with Black Twitter (such as @Feministajones, @Karnythia, and @TheBlackVoice) who provide important perspectives on racial issues.