This is the copy handed out in Session 1.  Updates of due dates are made on the homepage and may not be made on this syllabus.

SOCW 6355 Syllabus for Spring 2011

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), Statement on Requirements of the Content Area

4.5 Social Work Practice:  Social work practice content is anchored in the purposes of the social work profession and focuses on strengths, capacities, and resources of client systems in relation to their broader environments. Students learn practice content that encompasses knowledge and skills to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. This content includes engaging clients in an appropriate working relationship, identifying issues, problems, needs, resources, and assets; collecting and assessing information; and planning for service delivery. It includes using communication skills, supervision, and consultation. Practice content also includes identifying, analyzing, and implementing empirically based interventions designed to achieve client goals; applying empirical knowledge and technological advances; evaluating program outcomes and practice effectiveness; developing, analyzing, advocating, and providing leadership for policies and services; and promoting social and economic justice. 

UTA Catalogue Description

SOCW6355 - ADVANCED USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN HUMAN SERVICES (3 - 0)
Provides the knowledge and skills to assess needs/capacities and develop technology-based solutions to individual, group, family, administrative and community problems in any culture. Covers information systems, decision support systems, multimedia, human services software and internet applications. Classes held in classroom and webcam classroom, see http://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/schoech/cussn/courses/6355/syllabus_6355.htm. Prerequisite: DP (Direct Practice) students: SOCW 6325; SOCW 6326 or concurrent enrollment; or SOCW 6336 or concurrent enrollment. CAP (Community and Administrative Practice) students: SOCW 6371 or concurrent enrollment.

Expanded Description of Course Content

Electronic technologies support most complex processes in modern societies, e.g., airline travel.  Technology can support human service practice and make it more accessible and effective.  Many computer and telecommunication tools exist that allow practitioners to find, collect, store, manipulate and present information to support practice decisions and monitor interventions.  Some of these tools are databases, spreadsheets, graphic presentation, multimedia, computer based training, expert systems, performance support systems, distance learning, geographical mapping, simulations, games, assistive devices, smartphones, and the Internet.  Other tools exist that can perform routine social work functions independent of a practitioner, e.g., information & referral, stress reduction, diagnostics, prevention intervention, cognitive interventions, etc.  This course examines information technology-based support tools  and systems, their development, and their use in human service practice. The major student assignments involve developing a personal web page and exploring a technology based solution to a human service problem/situation.  The aim is to make students critical consumers and potential designers of technology based tools and systems. This course is approved as a Direct Practice or Community and Administrative Practice elective for MSSW students. 

Educational Objectives Addressed

SOCW 6355 addresses the following MSSW community and administrative practice concentration objectives.

·         Objective 2. Identify, critically evaluate, and apply appropriate, evidence-informed interventions at the agency or community level

·         Objective 3. Critically analyze and apply a variety of community and administrative theories to practice.

·         Objective 4. Demonstrate skills in ethical and empowerment-based social work practice, taking into account the impact of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, culture, religion, national origin and other client characteristics in organizations, and communities.

·         Objective 7. Engage in life-long learning and activities to update and improve professional knowledge and skills

This course relates to and advances the program objectives by allowing students to design approaches to practice that are based in technology.  Students develop technology solution options while (a) applying systems and decision making theories, (b) examining how data/information/knowledge can be quickly processed via technology to provide evidence for practice, and (c) examining the issues involved when using technology based solutions to human service problems.  Those completing the course will have the foundation knowledge to continually keep up to date with technology, which is important as they are frequently selected by agencies to head their technology planning and development efforts.  

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.      View social work as a profession where decision making can be supported by finding, collecting, manipulating, modeling, and presenting data, information, and knowledge.

2.      Examine current human services software and telecommunications tools, such as an internet homepage & video meeting places, that can be used to support clients and human service practice.

3.      Understand the process of applying computer-based tools to a human service decision or situation.

4.      Critically examine the potentials and limitations of developing and implementing technology that supports a human service decision/situation of the student's choice.

5.      Experience use of the internet as a tool for learning, problem solving, and supporting practice, e.g., chat, voice chat, video chat, blog, social networking, etc.

6.      Assess the impact of information technology on social work values of social and economic justice, stakeholder participation, empowerment, and diversity. 

Format of Course

General information. This course uses a traditional classroom and a webcam classroom for teaching.  The webcam classroom may be used for classes sessions 3-13.  Attendance will be recorded and unexcused absences will result in a lower course grade (see grading). Other Internet tools (Web site, email, listservs, blog, social networking site, etc.) migh be used.  Since the Internet is in its infancy, technical problems exist. Students with slow or unreliable connections to the Internet may experience some technical problems in a webcam classroom. Some email accounts might strip attachments from emails.  Grade points will not be deducted due to technical problems. However, students are expected to make every effort to participate in class activities and to do make-up exercises if technical problems occur. 

Tool used:  Several technology tools will be used to illustrate their capacity to increase class communications.  The class will use a listserv mailing list called CSPCLASS.  Students will be added to the CSPCLASS listserv using their official UTA email address.  Those desiring to receive listserv emails at another email address should logon to the web using that account and go to http://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/schoech/cussn/listserv.htm and subscribe using the other email address.  Students are expected to post information to CSPCLASS, and to regularly check for listserv messages.  The class will also use a blog for reflective learning for the first part of the course.  The course will use Adobe Connect as the webcam classroom.  Enter as a guest and use your name so classmates know who you are.  You will need to complete several technical tasks to become ready for the class and first webcam session.

Small group work:  To provide experience in working in online groups, students will perform some assignments in small groups, e.g., prepare for the class debate.  Also, several students may team up to work on the technology application project, parts A & B.  Students working in groups may take a group or individual grade. Groups may need to submit the contribution form. 

Guest speakers: Throughout the semester, we will invite experts from around the world to our online class sessions for approximately 30 minutes to discuss specific topics of interest. The class will select guest speakers several weeks in advance of their participation.

Individual consultation:  Expect to have at least two 15 minute or longer individual consultations on your technology application project during the semester.  These can be after class or via webcam or phone.  One meeting will occur in the formative stages of your application project and one toward the end of your project.  The focus will be on your learning needs and to insure your course project are correctly focused.

Experimentation: We will experiment with Internet software that allows groups to interact or perform specialized tasks via the Web or smartphone apps.  Students can also experiment with new software as part of the application review assignment. 

Requirements

Prerequisite: SOCW 6371 is a co or prerequisite for CAP students.  SOCW 6325 is a co or prerequisite for DP students.  The course assumes a basic understanding of personal computers and the ability to access and use the Internet. Students should have: (1) a fairly recent computer, (2) cable or DSL Internet access, (3) the latest UTA supported version of Office (Office 2007 including SharePoint Designer), Internet Explorer, or FireFox.

Required Textbooks and Other Course Materials

Schoech, D. (1999). Human Services Technology, New York: Haworth.  Text is available free when registering for Calling Cards at www.husita.org

Articles and web sites will be added as the semester progresses and student's preferences are known.  All readings are available online from the UTA library.  Click on the SW e-journals tab on the homepage. 

Descriptions of major assignments

The class has the following assignments. (Numbers behind the assignments indicate the learning outcomes achieved)

1. Weekly posting on a classroom blog.  A blog will be used for reflective learning and for experiencing the use of a blog.  A blog posting will be expected each week on the topic of the session.  Blog postings can be to the instructor's post or to the post of another student.  Blog postings will be part of the class participation grade.  The blog will also be used to guide class content. We will blog on classes 2-5 only.  Blog postings are due by 10am the day of class. Blogs entered from 10am until class starts get 1/2 credit.  Blogs entered after class starts will not receive any points.  [1, 5]

2. Personal homepage:  In order to make the online class more personal, students will use Google Sites to design and publish a personal homepage by session 7.  See the assignment details page for further information. Students will provide feedback on others' homepages by class 9 using the homepage evaluation form.

 Student reviews will account for 50% of the grade for the homepage assignment.  [2, 5]

3. Application reviews. Students will review a "significant" (not trivial or fun) human service applications each week for the first weeks of the semester.  An application should be interactive, e.g,. you enter information and the application uses that information in responding.  Web sites that only present information to you are not applications, and if reviewed, will not satisfy this requirement.  Reviewing an application is considered similar to reading a journal article. You can find some human service applications to review at  http://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/schoech/cussn/diskcopy/diskcopy.htm.   Applications followed by a * are acceptable.  Some human service vendors which may have demo downloads are listed at http://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/schoech/cussn/courses/6355/links.htm#vendors   Find applications more appropriate to your technology interests if possible.  Many applications can be viewed from the web.  At least one application review must be of an agency information system.  Smart phone apps relevant to the human services can also be reviewed.  Submit reviews using the online form.  Try to submit your reviews on a weekly basis to get feedback on how well your reviews are completed and to avoid having to complete all the reviews right before the due date. Application reviews that are turned in late for insufficient reason will receive an automatic one point grade reduction (see grading section of syllabus points and due date)

   Students can select from a list of generic applications that previous students found appropriate for review, but be sure to discuss their relevance to the human services in your analysis.  As an alternate to a human services application, students may evaluate an advanced generic application and to present the application's relevance to the human services in your analysis.  The generic advanced application must be approved by the instructor before the review is done.  To liven up the classes, one student may be asked to take the class to their favorite professional application URL and their favorite fun URL each week. You may want to set up a gmail or hotmail email address to use if the web site requests an email address for logging into an application.  This will allow you to ignore future unwelcomed solicitations from vendors.  [2]

4. Asynchronous discussion group report.  Students will  join (subscribe to) a discussion group related to their interest and report the findings to the class.  These groups are often called discussion lists, listservs, bulletin board systems (BBS) blogs, etc.  The report will provide information such as the following:  topic, host, purpose, special rules and norms (if any), technologies used, effectiveness of the technologies for achieving the purpose, professional value, and how the technology could be used in their future social work practice.  Volunteers to report will be requested each week.  The exercise will be part of the class participation grade.  [2,3,5]  The following are Links to lists of lists;  find others through using a search engine such as google and searching for topics such as "refugee discussion lists" or "refugee blogs":  Topica,  listservs

5. Technology Application Paper, Part A:  Analysis.  Students will explore the data/information/knowledge underlying a significant human service problem, decision or situation of their choice. They will then prepare a 5-10 page paper or web site covering theories and research relevant to understanding the situation/decision, the current technology needs of the decision/situation, and the capacities for change. The initial step is to make sure the focus of the paper is sound.  To do this, complete the Preliminary Application Project Focus form by session 5.  The Analysis Paper should have 1-inch margins, single-spacing, and be nicely formatted, with text no smaller than 10-point print.. Students working in groups on the analysis paper should submit approximately 5-10 pages per group member along with the group contribution form.   Sample papers are available.

A form for developing a draft Part A, analysis paper is available.  Students should make sure their analysis  paper or web site meets the criteria in the grading checklist.  A consult with the instructor on the paper should occur at least one week before the assignment is due. [3, 4, 6]

6. Technology Application Solution Informal Discussion.  Students will make a 5-8 minute ungraded class presentation of possible options, recommendations on how to proceed, and issues to address in order to solve the problem/decision/situation in Part A.  Following the presentation, the class will brainstorm on how to improve the options, any recommendations, and issues. 

7. Technology Application Paper, Part B:  Solution Design.  Students will prepare a paper or web site containing the design of the technology solution options that builds on the capacities and addresses the needs described in the analysis paper.  You will not develop the solution, only specify solution options, recommend on how to proceed, and issues that must be addressed.  Part A should be shortened and included as the first several pages of Part B.  The paper/site will be 10-15 pages, (excluding cover page, table of contents, tables, figures, screen shots, and reference list) with 1-inch margins, single-spaced but nicely formatted, with text no smaller than 10-point print. Special permission from the instructor is needed for students to work in a group on the solution design paper.  Students working in a group on the analysis paper will develop individual solutions based on the analysis and write the solution design paper individually.   The solution design paper should be supported with references to the text, readings, URLs, application reviews, comments of guest speakers, etc.  A form for developing a draft Part B, solution design paper is available.  I will glance over completed forms to give general feedback.  Students should make sure their solution design paper or web site meets the criteria in the grading checklist.  [3, 4, 6]

Grading Policy and due dates

A=900-1000 points; B=800-899; C=700-799; D=600-699; F=less than 599 points.  Helping other students can earn you up to 25 points, see course homepage, extra credit assignments.

Sessions