Online Groups:Technology-Assisted

Rebekah Churchyard, Robyn Horst, Colleen Martin, Lauren Kennedy, Chantal Kiers

SWREN 423R Social Work with Groups

Tuesday, October 8th 2013

Visual: 55%(body language, eye contact)

Vocal: 38%(pitch, speed, volume, tone of

voice)

Actual words: 7%

Outline of Presentation

Opening Activity 10 minutes

Introduction to Topic 2 minutes

Article Summary 5 minutes

Advantages and Disadvantages 5 minutes

Public Services 5 minutes

Educational 5 minutes

Therapeutic 5 minutes

Social Media 5 minutes

Case Study: D2L 10 minutes

Role Play: gChat/Tasks of Groupwork 10 minutes

Conclusion 3 minutes

What is an online group?

group = people who have something in common

online = mode of interaction is online

. can lead to and coincide with but ≠ face-to-face interactions

e.g. technologically assisted or dependent

. having in common: geographic/location, interests (hobbies), problems or concerns, needs, purpose

. education, public services, therapeutic, social media

Facilitation Skills

1. Familial, social, political, cultural context of member identity, interactional style and problem (i)

consider2. Members are capable of change and

capable of helping one another (i)courage

3. Facilitate connections between members and members and worker (iv)

connect

What does an online facilitator do?

Article Summary

“Completely online group formation and development: small groups as socio-technical systems”

● 1) A small group assigned in a grad. course; 2) Online grad. course community

● Insights: formation, work practices, identity, dynamic structure, interaction

● Multi-level view of group experience (task oriented D2L, socio-emotional FB)- connection, not physical space; share stages

● Interaction has little respect for time and space (bringing work home?)

● Social learning theory - shared repertoire (tools) & joint enterprise- efficient, manageable, more readily manufactured - groups of 3-5 = “where the action is”

Goggins, Laffey, & Gallagher, 2010

● Qs for completely online Gs

. Experience?-social ability?, politeness, lack of conflict

. Participation? - interaction with physical environment, multi-tasking (generally)

. Bi-directional (read and post) data analysis?-’flavours’ of tool negotiation- post types (pleasantries, logistics, pseudo-synchronous communication [exchange], idea generation)- no groups remained from sample

Article Summary cont’d

Groups Task oriented

Communities Shared culture

Networks Lowers barriers to membership, fewer rules

Rohde et al., 2004

Goggins, Laffey, & Gallagher, 2010

Advantages● Convenient: locations/times

● Broad range of topics and interests

● Superficial judgment n/a

● Community & membership

● Impact of role & belonging

● Inclusive; reaches marginalized & isolated populations

● Electronic advocacy

Disadvantages● Access to technology/resources

● Technical difficulties

● Building rapport/member bonding?

● Coping with disband/role change

● Social isolation

● False sense of safety

● Generation gap

● Always available

Public Services

General Overview: ● Not a standard form of group● Often are formal, secure, and required groups

○ Example: Employment related○ Many of these public services are currently accessed online

● Online network/databases with which more than one public servant has access to information shared○ Information may be accessed in a variety of geographical locations

● E-government: Government and citizens as partners○ “The use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of

government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees” (Silcock, 2001, p. 88)

○ Delivery of integrated and modern services for the general public

Public ServicesFacilitation Skills:

1.) - Common reasoning for access to/use of online public services networksand databases

- Communication in regards to patients/residents

2.) - Members share knowledge with other members in order to expand knowledge/capacity of helping

3.) - Often used in conjunction with member(s) and public services worker in a professional setting- Combination of technology, established processes, and human resources in order to meet needs of members- Connections must be inclusive of confidentiality

Public Services

● Gold Care● Ontario Telemedicine

Network ● Canadian Association of

Social Workers ● Ontario Home Care

Association● Ontario Works/ODSP● Employment Ontario● Service Ontario

Examples:

EducationGeneral Overview:● Definition: “A group of people who use computer-mediated

communication to learn together, at the time, place, and pace that best suits them and is appropriate to the task” (Harasim, et. al., 1997)

● Emergent/Natural or Designed/Customized

● Process of learning, knowledge construction, and community building

● Collaborative learning

● Administrative and user tools

● Content and communication

● Blended learning environments

Education

Facilitation Skills:1.) - Common learning and/or research objectives - Common vision of community agenda - Active participation and collaboration

2.) - Opportunity for informal learning and mutual engagement - Establishing trust, and encouraging relationships and interaction

3.) - Can be facilitated through various web-based collaboration technologies - Linking users and content

Education

Examples: ● Webinars

○ Ted Talks○ iTunes University

● Wikipedia● Online classes such as D2L

○ Post-secondary and continuing education○ High school beginning to take this format as well

Social Media

General Overview:

● Focus on community● Common interest or purpose● “The increasing popularity of social media is shortening

the distance between people” (Wang et al., 2010)● Unconventional facilitation roles● Formal and informal groups ● Social media has redefined what it means to be part

of a group

Social Media

Facilitation Skills:1.) Consider- Common goals; Anonymity allows diversity of

community 2.) Courage- Community is KEY - Social media networks allow

members to support one another 3.) Connect- May look different depending on the context

Examples:

● Facebook ● Plenty of Fish● Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest/Youtube ● LinkedIn● Blogging

○ To Write Love on Her Arms

Social Media

Therapeutic

Rheingold, defined online communities as:

“...social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public

discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal

relationships in cyberspace”

(White & Dorman, 2001, p. 694)

Therapeutic

General Overview:

● Cost-effective means● Age, gender and personality differences● Less difficult for those with sensitive issues ● Anonymity● Encourages honesty and intimacy, increases

possibilities for self-disclosure● Communication difficulties may occur because of lack of

visual and oral cues (White & Dorman, 2001)

Therapeutic

Facilitation Skills:

1.) Consider- Social support groups offer a holistic and cooperative approach to meeting cultural and social needs- Value in writing one’s feelings and thoughts - Clients/therapists can be more thoughtful & clear with their communication -more egalitarian, less stigmatizing

(White & Dorman, 2001)

Therapeutic

2.) Courage- Social support groups provide self-help and mutual aid

○ Benefits include improved decision making, enhanced quality of life and survival time (White & Dorman, 2001)

3.) Connect- Provides therapists with written documentation

(Kanani & Regehr, 2003)

- Allows members to pace their interactions (Lemma & Fonagy, 2013)

- Individuals who have a disability such as deafness can more easily participate in online groups

TherapeuticExamples: ● Postsecret.com

○ Anonymously sharing your secrets with others by finding support and common issues

● ManTherapy.com ·

○ Allows men to discuss personal issues ● Your Life Counts

○ Supports people facing suicidal thoughts● Skype

○ facilitation tool for online support/therapy groups

Desire to Learn

- What?● “Facilitate connections between members and members

and worker”

- Who?● “Familial, social, political, cultural context of member

identity, interactional style, and problem”

- When, Where, Why?

- How?● “Members are capable of change and capable of helping

one another”

Role Play

What does online group facilitation look like?

Tasks of Group Work:

1) Core Knowledge and Values2) Group Work in the Beginning Phase

“Technology is ideology and while its advance is inevitable, social workers need to maintain a healthy scepticism while avoiding both unhealthy enthusiasm and unnecessary resistance, as technology will continue to create both challenges

and opportunities for the profession”

(Dunlop & Holosko, 2006, p. 10)

ReferencesDownes, S. (1999). Creating an online learning community. Virtual School

Symposium, November 25. Retrieved October 3, 2013 from, http://www.downes.ca/files/Learning_Community.pp

Dunlop, J.M. & M.J. Holosko (Eds.) (2006). Information technology and evidence-based social work practice. New York, USA: The Haworth Press, Inc.

Gallo, C. (2007). Body Language: A Key to Success in the Workplace. Bloomberg Businessweek.

Goggins, S. P., Laffey, J., & Gallagher, M. (2011). Completely online group formation and development: Small groups as socio-technical systems. Information Technology & People, 24(2), 104-133. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09593841111137322

Harasim, L., Hiltz, S. R., Teles, L., & Turnoff, M. (1997). Learning networks: A field guide to teaching and learning online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Kanani, K. & Regehr, C. (2003). Clinical, ethical, and legal issues in e-therapy. Families in Society. 84(2), 155-162.

Lemma, A. & Fonagy, P. (2013). Feasibility study of a psychodynamic online group intervention for depression. Psychoanalytic Psychology. 30(3), 367-380.

Silcock, R. (2001). What is e-government?. Parliamentary Affairs, 54(1), 88-101.

Wang, X., Tang, L., Gao, H., & Liu, H. (2010). Discovering overlapping groups in social media. 2010 IEEE International COnference on Data Mining, Retrieved fromhttp://journals2.scholarsportal.info.proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca/tmp/769748956392662597.pdf

White, M. & Dorman, S.M. (2001). Receiving social support online:Implications for health education. Health Education Research. 16(6), 693-707.

References

http://www.fiction.net/tidbits/religion/predictions.htmlhttp://iaswg.org/Practice_Standardshttp://mantherapy.org/grouptherapy/http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/computers-as-people-happy-customers-and-automation.htmhttp://www.postsecret.com/http://repository.maestra.net/valutazione/MaterialeSarti/articoli/Facilitating%20Interaction.htmhttp://www.yourlifecounts.org/about-ylc/qhttp://www.ted.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-honigman/100-fascinating-social-me_b_2185281.html

Q & A ?