Resources for Social Work Students
- National Association of Social Workers
- Society for Social Work and Research
- Open Education Resources
- Social Work Helper
- The Social Work Podcast
Social work is a dynamic, rewarding, and impactful career path. It is also one that requires a challenging and intensive academic journey. Collaboration and opportunities for extracurricular learning are essential to success. This five online resources for social work students offer a wide range of support.
National Association of Social Workers
The most successful social workers are those who join professional organizations before even graduating from their degree programs. The most important one to belong to is the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The NASW website offers information in the forms of breaking news releases, blogs, easy referral facts sheets, research articles and data reports, and podcasts. It offers online Continuing Education courses for students who want to get a jump start on their professional development, but who do not have the time or money to attend conferences. The discounted student membership offers online networking with professors, practitioners, and peers across the nation.
Society for Social Work and Research
Another important professional organization for students to join is the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). This resource is particularly useful for students, as it offers access to online research articles that may not even be available in college databases. This is also a great opportunity for students to begin submitting and publishing their own research and other papers online. Students can peruse the online job posts to prepare for their ultimate careers and search for internships to complete alongside their studies. There is a members-only online directory to help students connect with professionals and peers across the country. The SSWR offers an entire online resource section for doctorate students of social work.
Open Education Resources Commons
Open Education Resources (OER) Commons is an online database full of free and high quality reading material for students. The OER Commons Social Work section contains 563 resources shared by social work professors across the country. Resources range from eBooks, to lectures and lecture notes, to academic articles and videos. OER Commons also offers online discussion groups. Many college and university professors are using OER Commons resources in place of costly textbooks. Even for students taking courses requiring traditional textbooks, OER Commons is an excellent resource for supplemental learning, studying, networking, and class presentations.
Social Work Helper
Social work meets social media with Social Work Helper (SWHelper). SWHelper is like a social media platform designed specifically for social work students and professionals. It features a plethora of cutting edge videos and articles from both academia and the media. It offers digital professional development courses that are easy to complete anytime and anywhere. There is an entire section aimed at understanding the interaction of social work and technology. the site is broken down into special hot topics of global interest for easy exploration of what matters most. SWHelper even comes in the form of a convenient application for use on phones and tablets.
The Social Work Podcast
Those who enjoy the podcasts offered by the National Association of Social Workers will love The Social Work Podcast. This network includes podcasts on every single topic imaginable to social work students. The podcasts are created by a wide range of social work professionals, including practitioners, researchers, and professors. This allows students to take a break from reading without taking a break from learning.
Related Resource: Top 10 Affordable Masters in Social Work: 2018
The academic world is becoming more competitive every semester. Fortunately, additional resources are also more accessible every day due to the aid of technology. Thanks to these five online resources, social work students have a world of knowledge and networking at their fingertips.
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