CE in the Age of Technology — Balancing a Digital Future With In-Person Needs

By Sue Coyle, MSW

Licensed social workers—whether LSW or LCSW—need to complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) courses every two years in order to renew their license. Outside of licensure, many social workers look to CE in order to obtain or maintain certification through associations. Additionally, many organizations require their social workers to participate in a certain number of training hours per year, and still more social workers look to CE as simply a way to stay up to date and hone their skills.

To put it plainly, CE is a significant aspect of being a social worker.

However, it is not always an easy one. Finding the time to take a course can be challenging, particularly when travel or time from work is involved. And a lot of CE opportunities are offered in person only.

Molly Burke Allwein, LSW, director of professional education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, says that when she took over the CE program in July 2019, it was almost entirely offline. “While there is nothing wrong with offering in-person programs, the reach of these is limited to a short drive radius,” she notes.

As technology’s presence in the profession, as well as professionals’ lives, continues to grow, CE programs, such as Burke Allwein’s, are looking to find ways to incorporate tech in their offerings.

“I am moving our CE program toward having an exclusively digital footprint,” she says. “I have a goal of eliminating paper from our procedures and processes, and having secure online databases and platforms that serve the needs of our CE office and our training participants.”

Demand
The need for this digital move stems from a workforce that is changing in many ways. For one, Burke Allwein says, the way that social work is delivered is becoming increasingly digital.

“Traditionally, social work has been a hands-on, in-person profession. Although this has always been the case, this is not a certainty for the future, as our field is constantly evolving,” she says, adding, “Our society as a whole is rapidly moving toward the digital future. You can already see the impact in our field.” She lists teletherapy and case management, organizing for social action, fundraising, and online forums/groups as examples.

“CE must move with the time,” Burke Allwein emphasizes.

But even more quickly than the profession is changing, the professionals are too. Currently, millennials make up the largest percentage of the workforce. According to the Pew Research Center, more than one in three labor force participants (35%) are millennials. Soon to be on their heels is Generation Z. Both groups, but in particular Generation Z, are highly connected to technology.

“The newest graduates of our MSW program can be as young as 23 years old, which is part of the new Generation Z,” Burke Allwein says. “Research shows that individuals in Generation Z are independent, self-confident, and motivated. They are also technologically advanced, have never known a world without internet and prefer texting, using mobile apps, and online platforms over in-person communication.”

As they start to need and look for CE opportunities, it is likely that they will first look online and give preference to the courses available there.

However, it is not just the younger social workers who are hoping to incorporate more technology into CE. Those delivering the material are interested as well.

Alia Wesala, LMSW, School of Social Work assistant director of continuing and professional education at the University of Michigan, says that the instructors she works with are very open to new ways of teaching, often coming to her with their own ideas. “We have some very innovative instructors who want to do some really cutting-edge things,” she notes.

Moving Online
Given the demand, how are CE programs proceeding? For Burke Allwein and Wesala, they are working to develop more online courses while also identifying what needs to be offered in person.

After all, not all courses should be offered online, and in fact, some associations require that certain content be delivered in person. Thus, there are steps that need to be taken when considering the medium of a CE offering. “A lot of times, I’m sitting with an instructor, and we have a conversation about whether it makes more sense for it to be delivered in person or online,” Wesala says. If role playing is a crucial part of the learning experience, for example, in person is likely a better choice at present. However, Wesala notes that there has been some interest in identifying how to incorporate online role-play programs.

When it is determined that a course can be offered online, the next step is figuring out exactly what it looks like. Courses can be offered live or as self-paced programs; both have their merits.

“In a live online course, there are ongoing opportunities to ask the instructors questions, and in addition, we have small group sessions,” Wesala says. She specifically cites the Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care certificate, which is intended for an interprofessional audience. Within that course, the attendees are able to meet and talk in small—online—groups.

“What they’re learning in that program is largely how do you work with different professional groups; [and] how can all the roles work together,” Wesala describes.

Self-paced courses don’t allow for the same level of interaction. However, steps can be taken to overcome that. For instance, Wesala’s department offers six certificate programs; three are entirely self-paced. To make sure participants are involved and able to interact with others, the learners are required to take part in online office hours at least once throughout the program.

“Some of our participants choose to drop in to many of the sessions,” Wesala says. “It gives them something to connect to.”

When interaction with others is not possible, it’s important that the course content be interactive in and of itself. Rather than having a PowerPoint that learners click through or listen to, PowerPoints (and other forms of presentation) can be developed to involve the student. However, Wesala notes, this takes a great deal of time.

And that is a key to online CE content. Someone must be invested enough to devote the time to develop quality online material.

“If a program is thoughtfully designed, I believe most topics are able to be translated to an online experience,” Burke Allwein says. “There are ways to do this well, but it takes time, planning, the right trainer, and the help of an instructional designer who has mastered creating engaging online experiences.”

Marketing
Once created, an online CE course must be marketed; this can be handled somewhat differently from an in-person course. In-person CE will attract individuals who are within a logical driving distance, for example. Often this includes alumni as well as community professionals connected to a school through fieldwork and other programs. Schools with strong, respected brands may attract more participants than others.

However, when a course is online, the reach of the course can be larger. Individuals from across a state—if not multiple states depending on accreditation—can take part. This means that CE programs need to think about how to market their courses more broadly. Wesala notes that she works with her school’s marketing team but also has a Facebook page and employs additional platforms to get the word out.

It is important when marketing an online course that the CE providers indicate details about accreditation. Participants need to know that the course can be applied to their goal, whether it’s state licensure or association certification.

With that information, participants are more likely to invest not only their time but also their attention into online CE courses—and that’s important, because again, CE is a fact of social work life.

“Continuing education is something that all licensed social workers must do. All too often, I think it turns into a to-do list item that must be checked off, not an experience that is anticipated and enjoyed,” Burke Allwein says.

“My belief is that if a social worker’s experience in a Pitt CE course is a positive one that enriches them and alights their curiosity, then they are likely to have a desire to embrace learning and knowledge in that area.”

— Sue Coyle, MSW, is a freelance writer and social worker in the Philadelphia suburbs.