Social Media – Thing 5

In the last week I have created a Facebook and LinkedIn account. This sounds like an easy thing to do but the organisation’s Social Media policy understandably restricts most employees from setting up social media accounts with an organisational email address, so I had to seek authorisation to do so. After reading the article “How to seperate the personal and professional on social media” I have decided that I don’t feel that I need to use social media for personal reasons, but I have been missing a lot of opportunities professionally by not having any social media accounts. Already I have followed many pages from like-minded organisations I believe that I will be more informed about future health and social care events and opportunities that will benefit the People I Work For.

By only using social media for professional use, I can more easily adopt the “Content” strategy discussed in the article. The organisation I work for deserves to be represented accurately for the positive contribution that it makes to peoples lives and communities so I will be very considerate of any posts that I make on social media and discuss what I intend to post with others.

I have recently discussed social media with the PR and Marketing team at C-Change and brought up open badges and SSSC 23 things digital. This was met by enthusiasm and I hope that I can play a part in the uptake of using open badges. C-Change have recognised that social media plays an important part in spreading news of positive outcomes and Person Centred Support and will be providing training to managers in the near future about the effective use of social media. I’ll be encouraging those at the training to take part in the SSSC 23 Things Digital.

 

 

My Digital Footprint – Thing 4

I have been googling myself today and did not find myself. This is probably because I left all social media sites a few years ago. I felt that they were sucking up all of my free time. To be honest, I am happy that some of the things I posted when I was young and careless are not easily seen. When I did google myself I mostly found that I share a name with a few academics in the U.S.A. but I did find one tabloid article from a local Scottish newspaper reporting on the arrest of a drug dealer who shares my name. I really hope I am not mistaken for that guy in the future!

It is crazy how much google tracks my activity and where abouts. I have an Android Phone and you can actually hear recordings of every time you have used the voice assistant on your phone. The advertisements that I get within apps can at times feel very specific to my life and circumstances. I almost feel like my phone is constantly recording my conversations!

I would definitely encourage my colleagues and the People We Work For to think about their digital footprint and the impact that this can have on them in the future. The Orange Digital Dirt video was a really good example of the implications of being very vocal on-line can have.

Why Digital? – Thing 3

I have had a good look at this skills for care infographic:

Skills for Care – Digital Capabilities

In my experience front line workers often associate ICT with traditional computing and avoid expanding their skills because of this. In our organisation some staff are not so keen on the idea of new electronic systems and say that they do not own a computer at home, but the same staff often have the latest smartphone and maintain a well updated Facebook profile and they really underestimate their digital capabilities. Over the past few years I have seen a lot of electronic systems become accessible across mobile platforms and employees buy into this more.

There is some debate in my place of work about the benefits of new apps and ICT technology versus the security risk of employees accessing company data on their personal devices. I personally think that the benefits outweigh the risk and with good policies and Mobile Device Management Software, new ICT systems can significantly improve the planning, communication and recording of outcomes for the People We Work For.

I was surprised to see on the infographic that 78% percent of social care staff had received formal IT training and 30% had accredited qualifications. I feel that formal IT training would really benefit the workforce but that smaller organisations often do not have the resources and time to offer this to all employees. I’m really impressed with the content of 23 things digital so far and hope to sign post others to this resource.

In the self assessment part of Thing 3, I rated myself High or Very High for the 3 metrics. I am in quite a unique role in my organisation where I have the opportunity to utilise my skills every day. I could see that front-line workers may feel that their digital capabilities are less relevant at this time however.

Raising the level of digital capabilities in the workforce would benefit those who use services in many ways. There are many digital tools which can support a person and their team to manage medication accurately, budget finances, plan and monitor the progress of outcomes etc. Electronic systems can also make a lot of reporting quicker for front-line workers, giving them more time to support the Person They Work For to achieve outcomes. I have personally saw the “two-tier workforce, characterised by those who apply their digital capabilities to their everyday learning and practice, and those who don’t do technology”. If digital capabilities were more balanced within teams of Support Workers there may be an increase in staff retention and consistency for the Person We Work For.

Open Badges

I have just viewed the SSSC video about Open Badges and then read a few articles about them. I think they are a great idea and have signed up for a Mozzila Backpack account. The open badge system is a good way to capture informal and life-long learning. So far I have heard less about using open badges to replace certificates gained at formal training. I am currently exploring the development of a “self-service” training booking and management system for employees. It would be great to store open badges in this system and be able to alert employees when they need to be re-accredited in a mandatory training subject.

Why I’m doing 23 digital things…..

Hi,

I’m Kevin and I work at C-Change Scotland. I joined as a front-line Support Worker and then became a Support Advisor. Over the past 5 years I have directly managed teams of Support Workers, walking alongside the People We Work For to manage their teams and outcomes. I have a creative/IT background and have recently taken on the new role of ICT Practitioner at C-Change. I am particularly interested in the use of technology to assist individuals to self-manage their support and plan, monitor and review the progress of their outcomes.

Part of my role is to support the learning of the People We Work For and employees around ICT. The 23 things appears to be a good learning resource to explore and hopefully sign post other too. It’s also allowing me to learn about the process of gaining open badges.

I’ve set up a few blogs in the past but can see that this may be quite daunting to someone who is doing it for the first time. Hopefully I can use this blog as an example when supporting others to think about setting one up.