by Julie Munoz-Najar, MSW, LSW, and Alexis Speck Glennon, DSW, LCSW-R
(Editor’s Observe: See Part 1 of this series.)
Welcome again to the social work tech map, Half 2. We’re your guides, two medical social staff, and only some tech steps forward of you. Our previous article mentioned why social staff should perceive the expertise ecology to make sure finest practices. We additionally mapped out “delicate” tech abilities resembling digital literacies and ethics. Now we are going to overlay that map with the second half of the collection on “onerous” applied sciences. We are going to apply these applied sciences utilizing examples and case research to develop our abilities on this digitally evolving world. Lace up your mountain climbing boots once more, and let’s go on one other journey into these thrilling and sophisticated expertise phrases and examples of prolonged actuality (XR), blended actuality (MR), digital actuality (VR), and augmented actuality (AR).
Prolonged Actuality (XR)
“X” marks the spot. Prolonged actuality is an overarching time period for varied varieties of immersive expertise, together with VR, AR, and MR. For instance, in areas such because the “Metaverse,” you may expertise varied various realities when utilizing particular apps and tools resembling a headset or augmented actuality glasses.
Digital Actuality (VR)
We’ve all heard the preverbal phrase, “I’m dwelling in my very own actuality,” however on this case, it’s a computer-generated digital actuality in which you’ll be able to immerse your self utilizing the most typical tools, a VR headset. Inside that house, you have got a 360-degree view in 2D or 3D, can hear the environmental sounds, manipulate objects along with your fingers utilizing controllers, and stroll via the house. VR and 360-degree views might be skilled via headsets utilizing smartphones, tablets, and different units.
Augmented Actuality(AR)
Augmented actuality is a “Laptop rendered picture or information that’s overlaid over the actual world the place your mind is positioned. It’s the addition of sensory enter to your mind whereas your mind is getting its regular sensory enter from its environment” (Peterson et al., 2017). Right here is a photograph taken in certainly one of our places of work with an AR picture sitting on high of the desk. Hello, baby; welcome to my workplace!!
Blended Actuality (MR)
Blended actuality is one step increased than augmented actuality and permits actual and digital components to work together in an surroundings, sometimes utilizing a headset. Consider Tom Cruise’s character within the movie Minority Report utilizing massive multi-touch surfaces floating in entrance of you whereas utilizing hand gestures to view and manipulate information.
Let’s discover!
Beneath are a couple of skilled and playful examples you should utilize to discover and find out about these varied applied sciences.
VR Situations/Simulation Coaching Packages for Social Employees
Listed here are a couple of different VR suggestions which may spark reactions from empathy to leisure. For the primary three hyperlinks under, you will want a VR headset, and the packages should be downloaded to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) with a big storage capability and a high-speed processor. Nevertheless, you may view the trailers within the hyperlinks under. The opposite hyperlinks are 360-degree movies that may be considered in a VR headset via YouTube.
- VR – Kitty Rescue. This can be a playful program the place you may expertise how highly effective VR might be for the thoughts and physique.
- VR – 1,000 Cut Journey. “Individuals embody a Black male, Michael Sterling, experiencing racism as a toddler via disciplinary motion within the classroom, as an adolescent encountering the police, and as a younger grownup experiencing office discrimination.”
- VR – The Key. This can be a 15-minute refugee digital actuality expertise with an interactive story. “Individuals expertise completely different environments and should face challenges and tough choices in every, experiencing loss. The participant will expertise a metaphorical journey from hazard to security.”
- 360° video – Evolution of Verse. This can be a enjoyable video of the seasons of nature and life.
Psychological Well being and Digital Remedy Instance
Academic or Job Abilities Coaching Packages for Shoppers
Playful Choices
As with all expertise, there are at all times vital concerns and moral tensions to think about when creating and using these kinds of expertise. Ask questions resembling (Kellmeyer et al., 2019):
- Are there therapeutic alternate options we should always contemplate first?
- Will together with the applied sciences change the human-to-human interactions wanted for the intervention?
- Was this expertise or the strategy designed ethically and/or inclusively?
- How will this affect susceptible sufferers with well being points, bodily or psychological harms, or these with restricted entry or consolation with expertise, resembling VR hangovers or VR-induced depression, privateness, youngster security, and so forth?
Different crucial concerns embody:
Bridge to Social Work Apply
Case research #1: Ikea & AR — Designing your workplace or group house
Relying on the social employee, designing an workplace or group house might be thrilling and/or daunting. Augmented actuality via corporations like Ikea might help social staff design the house. How does it work? Obtain the IKEA app and use the IKEA Kreativ operate. Scan the room after which, utilizing the embedded AR device, view the rug in your workplace or group house. Possibly the purple rug does look nice with the paint colours, however the blue actually brings all of it collectively!
Case research #1 questions to think about
- When utilizing prolonged actuality purposes, what information does the corporate acquire via these furnishings exams? What are the app’s privateness insurance policies? If there are any sensors, are they monitoring issues resembling eye actions?
- Is all consumer identification info hidden from the AR device’s view, resembling your laptop display or recordsdata?
- Are purchasers current?
- Do smaller native corporations use this app? Or solely large corporations, resembling Amazon or IKEA? Does that change your thoughts as to the place you wish to buy the rug?
Case research #2: Digital Wellness — Reconnecting to your bodily house
As expertise turns into extra embedded into each day life, we have to contemplate the affect of the fusion of digital and bodily areas on our wellness. Spending longer intervals of time in VR areas might be an intense distinction to the bodily world. How might you deliberately reconnect to your bodily or analog actuality after experiencing an extended VR “session” by your self and/or with a consumer?
Case research #2 questions to think about
- Determine methods you already put together, get well, and join when transitioning into completely different bodily areas, resembling dwelling to work.
- Will these approaches be as efficient when transitioning from digital to bodily areas?
- Will you want to develop new approaches or behaviors that can assist you transition? What would these be?
- Are you checking in along with your bodily and emotional physique whereas participating in VR areas? Are you taking breaks?
Case research #3: Think about
Take a couple of minutes to think about what sort of digital actuality you’d create on your purchasers, college students, group, funders, or different stakeholders.
Case research #3 questions to think about
- Who would you develop this for?
- What function wouldn’t it serve? What would you need the participant to expertise or be taught?
- What feelings would you wish to invoke?
- What might the VR present that analog life couldn’t?
- How would you put together individuals for the expertise?
Thanks for occurring this subsequent leg of the journey with us. As we half methods on the trek, we hope that as social staff, you proceed to deepen your digital literacies with a social work lens via curiosity and important thought. Now you have got earned one other proverbial tech badge, so unlace these mountain climbing boots, take a sip of water, and bear in mind to relaxation till subsequent time.
References
Kellmeyer, P., Biller-Andorno, N., & Meynen, G. (2019). Moral tensions of digital actuality remedy in susceptible sufferers. Nature Medication, 25, 1185–1188. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0543-y
Peterson, J., Bretón, R. & Lelyveld, P. (2017). Digital actuality, augmented actuality, and blended actuality definitions [White paper]. GoDigital Media Group. https://godigitalmg.com/wp-content/themes/godigital/media/whitepaper/2017-EMA-VR-AR-MR-Definitions-Final-1.pdf
Julie Muñoz-Nájar is Medical Assistant Professor on the College of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the place she teaches each area and expertise programs. She can also be an anticipatory social work member on the Social Work Futures Lab. Be a part of Julie @JulieMunozNajar on X.
Dr. Alexis Speck Glennon, LCSW-R, is a medical social employee in non-public follow and Assistant Professor at Colby-Sawyer School. Her analysis space is digital literacy abilities for social staff and the social work occupation’s position in tech justice. She additionally loves to attach through X @alexis_glennon to maintain the #SWTECH dialog going!
