Many social workers are adept in using technology to improve the lives of their clients and agencies. If you are a social worker that enjoys using technology, this is encouragement to consider becoming a social work technologist. While it may not be an official position, it is a needed position in many organizations. Here are five realistic things you can do  to become a social work technologist in your workplace:

1)  Talk to coworkers and colleagues about your tech skills and share information. Share experiences about using technology from your department or agency with others. Be a source of support. Gain support and learn from others.

2) Let your boss/supervisor know that you have an interest in serving clients through the use of technology. Give examples or suggestions to improve the use of the computer network or changes to the client data base. Be realistic and practical for a better chance of a positive outcome.

3) Focus your intent to use technology around improving the lives of customers and/or improving the success of the organization. Most social agencies are over burdened. Look for ways that can have benefits towards clients or save the organization time/money.

4) Get noticed. Put your technology skills on display. Not in a selfish way, but in a manner that gets the higher-ups in your agency to expand their view of what social workers can do. Especially, if you work in an environment where the executives graduated from school before the Internet or personal computers.

5) Do your job. While this may seem obvious, you will be in a better position to state your case for becoming involved in your agency’s technology efforts if you are maintaining your caseload or primary work responsibilities. Demonstrating transferable skills such as organization and attention to detail will serve you well.

Doing these five things will put you on the road to becoming a social work technologist. From there, your mission will be to help others to take the same steps. I look forward to hearing about the technology efforts other social workers have made and are making. This site bears the phrase, “The Home of Social Work Technology”. I know that others are doing similar work from what little I have encountered. I do not know how large of a number there is of other technology-skilled social workers. However that number will surely increase as the younger social workers enter the workforce. By strengthening social work technology today, we can do our part to see that social work is being performed by social workers in the future.