Comments for Be Inspired! Shirley Ayres Consulting

Comment on #socialcare #socialwork You are not engaged with #socialmedia because? by Lilybright

Lilybright — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:49:15 +0000

In my experience there’s resistance from social work employers. It arises from a number of factors – unfamiliarity with social media having been one, but it’s also linked to a profound mistrust of their employees, to the increasing corporatism of local government and the adoption of quite out-dated business practices.
A couple of years ago I was keen for my team to start a blog as a means of improving information-sharing, learning and feedback for the 180 students, their Practice educators/supervisors, agencies and managers that we match to placements each year. It was vetoed. The fear of something being out of corporate control, of being vulnerable to public criticism or to accusations of censorship outweighed any appreciation of the clear benefits we could have derived from a focussed channel of communication. A great pity, but time to try again perhaps!

Comment on GuestBlog: Social Learning through Social Media by cb

cb — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:54:00 +0000

Great post. Social media is something that I am both interested in and vexed with. I don’t yet feel comfortable enough to shed my anonymity however I do think it’s important that social workers are given voices themselves to raise issues with policy makers and developers. For me, social media has meant that my words can be heard much more widely – I’m just sad that it has to be anonymous. I would love nothing more than to be able to twitter with my real name, blog under my own name and go to events and talk about the massive positives that social media have given in my own practice but I genuinely fear for my job.
Until this matter and situation is addressed at a management or organisational lesson, there will still be a bar between social learning and practice.
While this means there does need to be a change in organisational policy, it has to happen from the grass roots up (yes, from people like me in front-line practice) rather than top down.
There is no equality of access within local authorities. Some people may become ‘experts’ in social media but ultimately, users, carers and practitioners need to be confident in posting and entering discussions and blogging under their own names before we can truly break down the barriers to learning.
Of course as these new ways of working permeate through society, it will become more of an issue. There also has to be a differentiation between types of blogging – blogging as a personal journal – which is perhaps, less relevant, and blogging as a tool to increase understanding which is what I hope to be doing.

Thanks for this post. It was definitely food for thought and Shirley, you remain an inspiration through your positive promotion of social media. One day, I hope to join you on LinkedIn!

Comment on Guest post: How to Get the Ferrari Enzo Website on a Fiat Panda Budget by Jodi

Jodi — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:07:35 +0000

Great article — loved the title!

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Billy Swan

Billy Swan — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:16:25 +0000

I don’t think anyone would agree that e-learning can be or purports to be a panacea for hard-pressed individuals or organisations. It can, however, be an effective and efficient way of promoting learning.

I would agree with factor ‘d’ in Colin’s post. There are some very dull e-learning materials out there that don’t really engage learners. The same is true of course of some traditional classroom-based teaching. The trick for e-learning (indeed for all learning) is to develop materials and content that is both relevant and engaging.

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Colin Paton

Colin Paton — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:26:34 +0000

I could not agree more Tony! Among the most frequently overlooked aspects of the implementation of e-learning are systematic support systems for learners and genuine integration of this learning with day to day working processes and recognition of learning by organizations. There sometimes seems to be an assumption that it is sufficient to make e-learning resources available to staff and somehow learning will happen on its own and this learning will have a positive effect on working practices. This is what sometimes worries me about glib claims that e-learning is almost by definition a cost effective training solution for large numbers of staff.

It certainly can be a cost effective and effective solution, but only if the programme is well designed, is marketed well within the organisation, if the right support mechanisms are in place that provide the conditions for success and if learners genuinely feel that what they are doing is relevant and recognised within their organisations.

Effective e-learning is no easier that other forms of training – it will not happen by osmosis – it needs active nurturing!!

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Tony Butcher

Tony Butcher — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:04:20 +0000

I think one of the important aspects in making e-learning effective is managers and supervisors understanding the content of the course and using development activities such as supervisons to check understanding of the particular learning and how it applies to the working practices of the company.

I suppose I have a concern that in many settings staff will be sat in front of a computer told to learn and then have no follow up support with managers/supervisors working on the assumption that the teaching has been done so the staff member needs no further support.

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Deborah Limb

Deborah Limb — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:20:52 +0000

I would certainly agree with what Colin says. Effective, well-designed learner-centred e-learning can be at least as effective as traditional materials – allowing learners to progress at their own pace, access learning as and when they need it and take control of their own learning (they can skip content they are familiar with and focus on areas of particular relevance/or that are new to them – making the most of their time). In many cases e-learning will work at its best when blended with other approaches – and support and feedback is critical. At Learning Pool we have worked with our partners Ophira to design and develop a suite of e-learning content around compliance and the ‘care pathway’ . We have built all of our content using an Authoring Tool which allows customers to tailor material, if they wish, to ensure it fits well with, and supports, a blended approach.

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Colin Paton

Colin Paton — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:03:37 +0000

Hi Tony,

Research over the past few years has shown pretty consistently that e-learning can be at least as effective as traditional methods. However, its effectiveness for each individual depends on a myriad of factors such as:

a) the quality of feedback
b) the quality and degree of support
c) degree of learner independence and intrinsic motivation
d) the quality, user friendliness and relevance of the resources themselves
e) the degree to which e-learning is integrated with the individual’s work
and so on….

Good e-learning addresses some if not all the issues above and poor e-learning (of which sadly there is a lot around) offers nothing more than a ‘cost effective’ means of delivering training to large numbers of people with little or no support.

But I do agree that e-learning perhaps is not for everyone and that is why I think blended learning (combining e-learning with face to face delivery) is a good model for many social care institutions – and may allow learners a gentle way into e-learning and allow them to gradually take more responsibility for their own learning.

Comment on Guest Post: Is social care now ready for the e-learning revolution? by Tony Butcher

Tony Butcher — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:22:23 +0000

Whilst the idea of e-learning in social care is a good one and certainly cost effective I am concerned as to whether is an effective learning tool for many individuals.

The lack of interaction with a trainer and/or others taking part in the learning can mean that the concepts taught my not be reinforced. It also means that while a person may have an outline of what is required in the e-learning they do not have the opportunity to question the concepts offered, again for deeper understanding.

I welcome e-learning as an additional tool but I think care providers need to ensure it is effective for each individual they are putting through the course

Comment on Is social work ready for the social media revolution? How to become LinkedIn by Fatma Sürücü

Fatma Sürücü — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:15:50 +0000

Dear Ms. Shirley,
Thank you very much for the useful information you have provided.
As a child who lived in child care institutions in the past and as an expert in child protection agency, I hope to improve my point of view and knowledge on the issue for the best interests of children.
Yours sincerely,
Fatma