Resources
Technology in Social Work
Policy and Social Structures
Creating community-level social change often requires social workers to engage in public policy practice to define our social institutions and structures. Here, you will find resources related to ways that technology could be used to create and influence public policy and to shape our social structures.1)
A Comparison of Gross Domestic Product and the Social Progress Index: Their Relevance for Understanding How People Are Doing in a Society
In this TED Talk, social progress expert Michael Green discusses the history of Gross Domestic Product as a measure of economic development and proposes the Social Progress Index as an improved...
Formats
Free
2)
A Journal Article That Offers Ethical Trainings, Guidance, and Discussion Around Social Media Use in Child Welfare Policy and Practice
This article offers much needed insight on the ethical dilemmas of social media use within child welfare practice and policy by highlighting both the advantages and dangers. The authors conclude by...
Formats
Free
3)
A Video That Discusses What White People Need to Know About #BlackTwitter
In this webinar, our speakers Dr. Kimberly Ellis and Mr. Mike Langlois address these three questions: Why is America so obsessed with "Black Twitter?" What is most impactful about "Black Twitter?" and...
Formats
Free
4)
How the Internet Could Affect Humans' Ability to Establish and Maintain Relationships
This article from The New Yorker discusses the research behind the Dunbar number - the measure of how many people humans are able to maintain relationships with at various levels of intimacy. It...
Formats
Free
5)
Potential Negative Uses of Technology
This animated video from the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) explores the negative effects that internet technology can have on individuals and societies...
Formats
Free
6)
Strengths and Limitations of Using Online Platforms to Grow and Maintain Social Change
In this TED Talk, sociologist Zeynep Tufekci looks at the ways that social media and online platforms can help social movements to organize and grow. She also looks at the forces that often inhibit...
Formats
Free
7)
Technology’s Influences on the Lives of Persons with Disabilities and the Social Workers Who Work with Them
In this podcast from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, John Bricout, PhD, discusses his work and the powerful impact he believes that technology is having on persons with a disability...
Formats
Free
8)
Using Social Media to Boost the Public Perception of Social Work
This news article by Rebecca Joy Novell presents ways that social workers can use social media to improve public perceptions of what social workers do, and reasons why it is important to do so.
Formats
Free
9)
Ways That Cities Are Using Technology to Promote Public Health
This website discusses ways that the Chicago Department of Public Health is using data to drive effective decision making.
Formats
Free
10)
Ways That Social Workers Can Use Technology in Their Practice
In this podcast from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, Claudia Coulton, PhD, discusses how social work practitioners, researchers, and students can use technology such as geographic...
Formats
Free
Do you have a resource that you think might make a good addition to the Technology in Social Work section of our Resource Center? Please share the link with us! We will regularly evaluate all suggested links for inclusion in the Resource Center.
Disclaimer: The content shared within the Technology in Social Work Resource Center belongs to the authors of that content and does not necessarily represent the views, research or practice of the UB School of Social Work. Links are provided to inspire new ideas and innovative thinking and practice regarding the uses of technology within social work. It is the responsibility of each user to exercise good judgment to ensure that the use of content provided at each link is consistent with good social work practice and the ethics and values of the profession.