As virtual events become a larger part of the professional development landscape, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is using this medium more frequently to expand the audience and social work reach as well as saving social workers time and money. Virtual conferences complement our site-based national conferences for those who cannot make the trip to Washington, D.C.
Social worker Janet Joiner, who attended the 2016 NASW Virtual Conference, said:
I enjoy technology and saw a wonderful opportunity to participate in the conference from the convenience and comfort of my home office. I enjoyed being able to meet and engage other participants through Twitter and felt as if I were actually in the room with other participants during the workshop sessions. I was able to ask questions and post my thoughts in real-time. I particularly enjoyed the Keynote Session, “How Tech and Big Data Can Save Lives”. This session reinforced, for me, why it is important to understand data and how critically important it is to changing lives. I attended many workshop sessions during the conference and found the timing between sessions perfect for my needs. I was able to organize my notes, review Tweets posted during the sessions by other participants and prepare for the next workshop.
The 2016 NASW Virtual Conference was money and time well spent! I highly recommend it.
