Distance education (DE) is one of the most important ways in which future social workers can complete their MSW degree. With a reach to multiple populations, DE is especially suited to the field of social work, allowing rural, working, and financially-strained individuals to complete degrees and provide important services to underserved communities. In this comprehensive and well-organized guide to understanding and implementing distance education components into social work, pioneering professors explain how to administer DE components, discuss the adjustments and rewards of the DE teaching experience, evaluate the benefits for both students and teachers, and address evolving issues in the field. In addition, readers will be introduced to the latest audio-visual, computer -mediated, and computer-assisted modalities now in use as applied to distance education. From audio and visual teleconferencing to e-mail, networks, and web based courses, we are exposed to the current and future trends and possibilities in DE programs.

Online education, both by for-profit institutions and within traditional universities, has seen recent tremendous growth and appeal - but online education has many aspects that are not well understood. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Online Education provides a thorough and engaging reference on all aspects of this field, from the theoretical dimensions of teaching online to the technological aspects of implementing online courses—with a central focus on the effective education of students. Key topics explored through over 350 entries include: · Technology used in the online classroom · Institutions that have contributed to the growth of online education · Pedagogical basis and strategies of online education · Effectiveness and assessment · Different types of online education and best practices · The changing role of online education in the global education system

Online and Distance Social Work Education: Current Practice and Future Trends provides a comprehensive presentation on the evolution, current status and future direction of distance learning and online education in the social work profession. Documenting the current state-of-the-art, this book demonstrates the power of distance learning and online technology and addresses future trends in web-based social work education. Written by widely recognized experts, the chapters represent an authoritative statement of the present state-of-the-art in the application of technology to contemporary social work education. The insights of these experts will be of great interest to students and faculty in the 798 accredited social work programs in the United States. They are creating a revolution in the profession which will forever change the nature of education for professional practice. Authored by widely recognized educators on the cutting edge of technological innovation, this text will be relevant to social work students and educators in baccalaureate, masters and doctoral programs in the USA and internationally. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work.

Gain practical knowledge of the latest technological innovations in social work! This comprehensive book examines the role of technology in four areas: information management, distance education evaluation, video- and web-based learning and training, and working with vulnerable populations. New Advances in Technology for Social Work Education and Practice discusses constructive, proven applications of technology in settings from modern universities to rural India. The empirical research and case studies presented here offer practical suggestions for implementing effective technological solutions tailored to the needs of social workers and their clients.New Advances in Technology for Social Work Education and Practice includes useful strategies for creating user-friendly systems, including: involving practitioners in systems design and evaluation dealing with political issues choosing effective instructors for distance education developing multimedia testing for supervisor training designing Web pages for users with disabilities

Globalization challenges social work with constant social change, making a social worker's job and the task of social work education more complex and uncertain. Post-modern thinking suggests that social workers must learn to cope with complexity in ways that are in tension with the increasingly managerialist organization of the social services. The authors explore and question the concepts of 'postmodern', 'international' and 'global' in light of growing interest in international social work in the early 21st century. Emphasizing the importance of critical reflection, they argue that educational colonization can be challenged and effective anti-discriminatory and pro-equality practice and education promoted. Each chapter provides direct examples of how students and academics can apply these ideas in practice and in their learning, and how they can respond to and influence the challenges and changes that are taking place. The authors also examine educational and practice issues arising from attempts to incorporate international understanding into national practice and education systems. The book is designed to be stimulating to academics interested in international social work while remaining accessible to practitioners and students without international experience.

This handbook addresses the issues and challenges of the delivery of social work education in the contemporary world. It provides an authoritative overview of the key debates, switching the lens away from a Western-centric focus to engage with a much broader audience in countries that are in the process of modernization and professionalization, alongside those where social work education is more developed. Chapters tackle major challenges with respect to curriculum, teaching, practice, and training in light of globalization, providing a thorough examination of the practice of social work in diverse contexts. This handbook presents a contribution to the process of knowledge exchange which is essential to global social work education. It brings together professional knowledge and lived experience, both universal and local, and aims to be an essential reference for social work educators, researchers, and students.

The term Inclusive Online Education has generated great interest within and across educational levels and contexts, yet practical applications of it remain elusive in many institutional settings. Chapters in this book highlight define and interrogate definitions of inclusion. The research studies reported here focus on moving the conversation about inclusive online education away from individual accommodations for which students must qualify, to models where learning experiences are designed for the success of all students and teachers—both technically and relationally. While some authors do mention the need to know and understand the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the authors in these chapters go beyond UDL to include understandings about historical challenges with inclusive education, emerging understandings about designing strong online instruction, and how placed-based thinking and social settings provide resources from which to draw in creating online learning environments and experiences that are not only humanized but humane. This book highlights research focused on moving the conversation about inclusion away from individual accommodations for which students must qualify to models where learning experiences are designed to address historical inequities and promote success for all students and teachers. Collectively, the chapters underscore the need to choose materials, design assessments, plan instruction, and engage with students in accordance with relational commitments to equity. Inclusive Online and Distance Education for Learners with Dis/abilities will be a great resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Education, Education Policy, Educational Research, and Disability Studies in Education. The chapters included in this book were originally published as a special issue of Distance Education.

The Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Education provides an authoritative overview of current understanding through coverage of key debates, exploring the state of play in particular social work education fields and reflecting on where the future might be taking us. The overall aim of the Handbook is to further develop pedagogic research and scholarship for social work education. Drawing on medical education as an exemplar, the contributions view social work education as a specialism and a field of expertise that counts in the same way as research programmes in more traditional areas of social work practice. The chapters are concerned with the theory and practice of social work education at all levels; they are accessible, conceptually clear, research based where appropriate, critically reflective and ethically underpinned. The Handbook is organised into seven sections that reflect the proposed themes and sub-themes covering: Social work education in context: the western drivers Emerging and re-emerging social work education The scholarship of learning and teaching New insights into field education New directions in learning and teaching Future challenges in social work education This handbook presents a contribution to the process of exchange and dialogue which is essential to global social work education. It brings together professional knowledge and lived experience, both universal and local, and will be an essential reference for social work educators, researchers, students and professionals.