scholarly journals Virtual Reality and Social Work

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Symptom Relief ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Work Education

Virtual reality in social work education and practice is relatively new. There is not a large literature on it—note that several of the resources below are authored by the same colleagues. Given the rapid evolution of the technologies, there are limited resources in terms of works within the last fifteen years. Juried resources published by recognized experts are provided. There are basically two distinct forms. First, we have virtual worlds such as Second Life where controlled avatars explore simulated environments. Virtual worlds can be quite varied and rich in visual content. Complete creation of hospitals, service agencies, schools, and places of worship are possible. Support groups for a variety of problems and ability challenges can regularly meet “in world.” Participation is usually synchronous. Most virtual worlds are accessible via personal computers. Participation costs are generally absent. Virtual worlds are not “games” but instead are platforms in which games may be played, role plays may be staged, classes and seminars held. The second virtual reality technology is generally found in laboratory settings. Participants don 3D helmets or goggles and explore environments that are computer-based. Purposes for creating and establishing these environments vary. For example, people suffering from PTSD can explore and relive traumatic events with therapeutic guidance towards symptom relief. As in the case of virtual worlds, lab-based simulations are usually synchronous. Just as avatars may interact with each other, lab-based experiences can include multiple participants. Each of these technologies offers promise for social work education and practice. Students in distance education can work together even when separated by oceans. Students can engage in service evaluation in virtual worlds. Students can learn about addiction triggers through creating the 3D environments that have modeled them. Both formats may be termed multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) though terms vary. Of interest, if one looks at this bibliography as a data sample, educational uses tend to be through virtual worlds while practice uses may tend to be more in laboratory settings. The opening section discusses critical professional issues that may apply to using virtual reality innovations in social work. The next sections take up educational and practice applications. Articles that predominantly address research issues follow. Finally, resources for developing virtual world experiences are provided.

Virtual Reality in Social Work Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 232-256
Author(s):  
Debra L. Olson-Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Tool ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Work Education

The use of virtual reality (VR) as a learning tool occupies a whole new and exciting domain for social work education. Engaging in virtual worlds expands the potential for students to connect with the learning experience on multiple levels, pedagogically aligns with stimulating affective processes to enhance cognitive engagement, and aligns with the domains of knowledge acquisition in competency-based social work education. In this chapter the author outlines the affordances necessary for student engagement in a virtual learning experience (VLE). The author explores applications for virtual reality in social work education and outlines several distinct opportunities for virtually-enhanced classroom learning. Practical guidelines to assist instructors in facilitating a VR learning experience are proposed, and the chapter concludes with commentary on the future of VR in social work education.

scholarly journals Virtual Worlds and Social Work Education: Potentials for “Second Life”

10.18060/236 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Vernon ◽  
Lisa Lewis ◽  
Darlene Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Laboratory Instruction ◽  
Technical Mastery ◽  
Work Education

Virtual worlds such as “Second Life” hold promise for social work education. They may be especially useful for distance/distributed education. Social relationships, groups, organizations and entire communities can be modeled and explored for role playing and laboratory instruction. This article provides an overview of “Second Life,” an example of a well developed virtual world. The CSWE Educational Policies and Accreditation Standards are used to examine possible applications. Benefits such as experiential learning opportunities and problems such as technical mastery are discussed. Virtual worlds can support and may even supplant current approaches for distance education.

Critical Pedagogy in Online Social Work Education: Changing Conceptions of Time in the Neoliberal University

Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Kristin Smith ◽  
Donna Jeffery ◽  
Kim Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Work Education

Neoliberal universities embrace the logic of acceleration where the quickening of daily life for both educators and students is driven by desires for efficient forms of productivity and measurable outcomes of work. From this perspective, time is governed by expanding capacities of the digital world that speed up the pace of work while blurring the boundaries between workplace, home, and leisure. In this article, we draw from findings from qualitative interviews conducted with Canadian social work educators who teach using online-based critical pedagogy as well as recent graduates who completed their social work education in online learning programs to explore the effects of acceleration within these digitalised spaces of higher education. We view these findings alongside French philosopher Henri Bergson's concepts of duration and intuition, forms of temporality that manage to resist fixed, mechanised standards of time. We argue that the digitalisation of time produced through online education technologies can be seen as a thinning of possibilities for deeper and more critically self-reflexive knowledge production and a reduction in opportunities to build on social justice-based practices.

Social Work and Indigenisation: A South African Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lobelo David Mogorosi ◽  
Dumisani Gaylord Thabede
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
World View ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Global North ◽  
Work Education

For relevance to societal reality and challenges, countries should structure their social work education to deal with specific conditions and cultures. From its global North (i.e. Western Europe and North America) origins, social work has contributed to the expansion of the discipline and profession to the developing world, including South Africa. During the three decades (from the mid-1980s until the present day) during which they have taught social work in South Africa, the authors have witnessed half-hearted efforts to really integrate indigenous knowledge into the curricula. In writings and professional gatherings, scant attention was paid to curricula transformation imperatives enriching practice. To its credit, the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) advocates for decolonisation and indigenisation of social work education. Discussing decolonisation and indigenisation in social work curricula, the paper critiques assumptions of global North ideas, cloaked as if universally applicable. An example is about some principles of social casework – a method of choice in South Africa – which mostly disregards cultural nuances of clientele with a communal collective world view that relies on joint decision-making. A culturally sensitive approach is adopted as theoretical framework for this paper. The paper concludes with recommendations that should help ensure that social work curricula strive towards being indigenous, contextualised and culturally appropriate.

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