Who We Are
Mission Statement
Social Work Virtual Pal is a global and virtual community of practice for the social work profession, that digitises the practice of having a pen pal for professional learning and networking. This community focuses on connection and collaboration among social workers to offer the profession with an opportunity to harness its collective knowledge for the greater good.
Amanda and Laurel are the first #SWVirtualPals. They first met on Twitter and then started talking via Skype. Because of our passion for digital and social technology, we designed Social Work Virtual Pal to promote and support connection of social workers through computer mediated engagement. We believe this community fills a need in global social work education and practice, that aims to link social work students, educators and practitioners from vast distances and across multiple time zones that in turn break down geographical boundaries. without having to leave their own location and using minimal resources.
Amanda Taylor-Beswick
Amanda is a social work practitioner in Ireland and the UK, and is senior lecturer of social work at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Her current interests are creative teaching methodologies and engaging students in a dynamic, meaningful and informative manner, as they embark upon their learning and future careers. She is known for her work in the area of ‘Social Media in Social Work Education’ and is the founder of the ‘Use of Book Groups in Social Work Education’, which can be found on Twitter: @SWBookGroup. Amanda has also recently been named named in the Jisc Top 50 HE Influencers on Social Media.
Laurel Iverson Hitchcock
Laurel is a licensed social worker in the United States and teaches social work at the UNiversity of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, AL in the USA. Her current research projects include an examination of simulation in social work education; the effectiveness of technology-infused assignments in social work courses; and the role of technology in social work education. In 2012, Laurel received the SAGE/Council on SOcial WOrk Education Award for Innovative Teaching for her work incorporating social media into social work pedagogy. Check out her blog here.