Technology Supported Practice Class 2: Information Technology Fundamentals Dr. Dick Schoech UTA SSW Spring 2011 Suggest print Handouts, 3 per slide with grayscale setting Copyright No part of this presentation may be used or reproduced without the written permission of Dr. Schoech. Permission is usually freely granted.

Humans are fascinated with IT The unfamiliar, like new IT, typically fascinates all human. Social workers’ fascination with new IT causes them to forget their understanding of system and people change. They often make very stupid basic mistakes with IT. Some slides on fascinating technology follow.

Session 2 Learning Objectives To understand technology basics To understand IT change To understand how IT will change social work To understand how to influence and survive the change §

Interesting Technolgies Work horse Robots Eldercare Robots Elbot Eliza Rogerian therapist and implementation in program called Virtual Woman NASA humanoid your-robotic-coworker-courtesy-of-nasa-gm/3890/ your-robotic-coworker-courtesy-of-nasa-gm/3890/ Robots kiss? 1.html?tag=contentMain;contentBodyhttp://news.cnet.com/ _ html?tag=contentMain;contentBody Robot girlfriend wo_n_ htmlhttp:// wo_n_ html

Contents Basic definitions Technology change in society IT revolutions IT in social work (information processing+) The difficulty of humans to change Role of the change agent The successful change agent Conclusion

Basic Definitions Technology (see text) (can be hard or soft) Hardware, software, firmware Data, information, knowledge Connectivity, network, Internet, intranet Applications, application service provider Assistive technology Artificial intelligence, sensing, knowledge learning §

Technology changes in society Periodically a group of technologies come together that have major impacts on society, e.g., gunpowder, clock, automobile, etc. These have major impacts on society as a whole and major impacts on certain segments It takes societies years to adopt to these technologies We are at the beginning of a technology change involving information §

Scientists from the Rand Corporation created this model to illustrate how a “home computer” could look in the year

Information technology revolutions Major communication technology changes Change from oral tradition to writing Change from writing to printing & mass distribution Change from printing to digital media and internet Digital Info technologies = computer, chips, storage, digital media, Internet, telecommunications, etc. p41 Information intensive parts of society change most Social work is information intensive so major changes Social work involves social networks so major changes Business has more resources so is in the lead §

Social Work is Behind: Compare it to Travel Industry Travel agent Inconsequential task Highly connected systems Data driven: quick access to multiple databases, e.g., planes, hotels, rentals, tours Knowledge resides in system, system wide updating & forecasting, e.g., plane optimization Easy to replicate Maximum use of data Convenient & web self-help, e.g., Expedia Social Worker Critical often life/death task Separate mom & pop agencies People driven: access only to agency database Knowledge resides in people, referral via phone call (great if expert) or giving client phone numbers (poor quality) Difficult to replicate Little use of collected data Mostly inconvenient, little web self-help

Information Processing in Soc Wk Social workers constantly collect, process, analyze, and exchange information & knowledge when helping clients Social work delivery systems designed in industrial age Most social work decision making and information processing is by humans, e.g., heuristics As deskilling, decentralization, and complexity increases, IT will perform many of these automatic functions (semantic Nets & Agents—O’Looney). Workers will be freed from routine tasks in order to perform more complex, people centered work Social work is moving from art to science due to IT §

IT involves more than information processing for decision making Examples of other uses of IT Automated tracking and monitoring of services and client progress Assistive devices and smart environments Social networking, empowerment & support Interoperability and infrastructure connectivity

Change for humans is difficult Humans are creatures of habit Systems theory suggests only failing or excelling systems willingly change, so expect resistance Human change stages: discomfort, resistance, search for info, anger, blame, despair, joking, rationalization, emotional reorientation, acceptance, involvement or accommodation Societal structures are set up for humans to avoid problems, therefore structures resist change more than individuals §

Generic Change Process (review) Sensing, engagement, relationship building Clarifying expectations, visioning, setting overall direction Assessing (discover capacities, needs, barriers) Intervention planning (goals, objectives, tasks) Implementing Feedback, monitoring, and evaluating Disengaging, termination, aftercare, follow-up §

Role of the change agent Follow all steps in the change process Expect the process to be difficult and time consuming Address people change which is more difficult than technological change, e.g., can update IT quickly but work habits change slowly Understand the 10/40/50 rule and 80/20 rule Human services should avoid bleeding on the cutting edge of technology §

Characteristics of successful change Going through all steps of change process Involves people skills of listening, leading, teambuilding, negotiating, motivating Understanding IT enhances communication Involvement of top management & stakeholders Flexible/adaptable to handle complexity/failures Handling stress from being “in the fast lane”, e.g., good sense of self, healthy habits, stress reduction mechanisms, etc. §

Conclusion IT developments and inventions are increasing faster We are in the first stages of a revolution of moving social work from an art to an IT supported science The change process will be long and difficult Initial change is painful & not empowering, but beneficial and empowering in the long run for social workers/clients IT mistakes are big and embarrassing In this course, learn the mindsets and skills to understand, influence and lead the change process §

The end Questions & discussion