The Syllabus

• Where is Dr P?

I realize that an online, asynchronous class often feels as if the instructor is invisible.  I want to be sure and let you know this is NOT the case in this class.  There are several things I will be doing to make sure you get your questions answered and we can connect.    

As a way of introduction, you will each complete a video introduction (including me) and submit it in our class Kaltura page.  You can create the video using Kaltura and then submit it directly there.  Or you can create your video using your video tool of choice and then upload it to Kaltura.  You may find the first option faster and more efficient.  

Second, I will be participating in your Perusall discussions, usually later in the week they are assigned.  I want to give you a chance to talk with each other about the material, and then I will join in and offer my perspective. 

Third, I will be grading and commenting on your blog posts, as well as your final project submission.  It is important to me that we engage in conversations about the material you are reading.  

And finally, I am always available to schedule office hours with you anytime during the semester.  All you need to do is email me – USING MY GSU EMAIL (NOT ICOLLEGE) – request office hours and suggest some dates and times.  I will get back to you to confirm the appointment and send you the Zoom link.

 Best Source of Information and Announcements

I will be making regular announcements throughout the semester.  Even though the material and assignments are available to you at the beginning of the semester, there will be times that I will make changes in assignments, due dates and readings. 

 When any of us create a class, we believe our process will communicate the material effectively and help you to learn what we are hoping you take away.  However, being human as we are, sometimes things don’t always work out the way we might like.  If I think you aren’t getting the material, are having trouble completing the assignments, or I just plain feel like things aren’t working the way I had hoped, I will make changes.

 You can find those changes in two places.  First, I will always put them right up front in the Announcements section on our class iCollege page.  Second, I will usually send you an email.  But I have learned that many of you don’t necessarily read your emails in a timely manner, so I would set up a notification in iCollege for any new announcements. 

We do not have a specific text for this course.  We will be reading a variety of articles, which are listed below.  

References for Technology and Social Work Practice – Summer 2026

Afrouz, R., & Lucas, J. (2023). A systematic review of technology-mediated social work practice: Benefits, uncertainties, and future directions. Journal of Social Work, 23(5), 953-974. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017323116592640

American Hospital Association. (2025, February 6). Fact Sheet: Telehealth. https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-telehealth

Baek, G., Cha, C., & Han, J. H. (2025). AI Chatbots for Psychological Health for Health Professionals: Scoping Review. JMIR human factors, 12, e67682. https://doi.org/10.2196/67682

Balogun, A. K., Dada, S. N., Kazeem, O., & Bakare-Adesokan, K. A. (2025). Integrating telehealth services in social work practice for vulnerable groups. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 25(1), 1984-1991. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2025.25.1.0248

Bibbs, T., Wolfe-Taylor, S., Alston, N., Barron, M., Beaudoin, L., Bradley, S., Glennon, A., Munoz-Najar, J., Nissen, L., Rios, J., Szlyk, H., Wells, A., Yi, J., & Young, J. (2023). Constructing the Future of Social Work Tech Habits of Mind With the Ethical OS. Advances in Social Work, 23(1), 132–147. https://doi.org/10.18060/24978

Boetto, H. (2025). Artificial Intelligence in Social Work: An EPIC Model for Practice. Australian Social Work, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2025.2488345

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2024, September). Medicare Telehealth Trends Report. https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2024-09/c213a5e9-9e70-4b46-b5f1-2fb941ea0f6c/Medicare%20Telehealth%20Trends%20Snapshot%20.pdf

Coghlan S, Leins K, Sheldrick S, Cheong M, Gooding P, D’Alfonso S. To chat or bot to chat: Ethical issues with using chatbots in mental health. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2023;9. doi:10.1177/20552076231183542

Hilty, D. M., Groshong, L. W., Coleman, M., Maheu, M. M., Armstrong, C. M., Smout, S. A., Crawford, A., Drude, K. P., & Krupinski, E. A. (2023). Best practices for technology in clinical social work and mental health professions to promote well-being and prevent fatigue. Clinical Social Work Journal, 51(3), 211–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-023-00865-3

Kalota, F. (2024). A Primer on Generative Artificial Intelligence. Education Sciences, 14(2), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020172

Khawaja Z and Bélisle-Pipon J-C (2023) Your robot therapist is not your therapist: understanding the role of AI-powered mental health chatbots. Front. Digit. Health 5:1278186. 10.3389/fdgth.2023.1278186  

Kumar, V., Barik, S., Aggarwal, S., Kumar, D., & Raj, V. (2024). The use of artificial intelligence for persons with disability: a bright and promising future ahead. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 19(6), 2415–2417. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2023.2288241

Moore, J., Grabb, D., Agnew, W., Klyman, K., Chancellor, S., Ong, D. C., & Haber, N. (2025). Expressing stigma and inappropriate responses prevents LLMs from safely replacing mental health providers. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT). https://doi.org/10.1145/3715275.3732039

Piescher, K. N., & Gehringer, S. (Eds.). (2025, Spring). CW360°: The evolving role of technology in child welfare. Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota

Pandya SP. Social Work Practice in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Social Workers’ Voices from South Asia. Soc Work. 2026 Jan 1;71(1):69-80.   https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swaf050

Reamer, F. G. (2023). Artificial Intelligence in Social Work: Emerging Ethical Issues. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 20(2), 52-71. https://doi.org/10.55521/10-020-205

Reamer, F. G. (2024). Social Work Boundary Issues in the Digital Age: Reflections of an Ethics Expert. Advances in Social Work. https://doi.org/10.18060/26358

Ronad, I. (2025). Digital transformation in social work: Integrating technology for enhanced practice, outreach, and education. Journal of Social Work, 16(1), 116-126.   This source can be accessed at the following link:

https://bssspublications.com/PublishedPaper/Publish_700.pdf?v=638886298074625436

Wilkerson, D., & O’Sullivan, L. (2023). Social work in an online world: A guide to digital practice. NASW Press. [1, 2, 3]

Zhu, D., Paige, S. R., Slone, H., Gutierrez, A., Lutzky, C., Hedriana, H., Barrera, J. F., Ong, T., & Bunnell, B. E. (2024). Exploring telemental health practice before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 30(1), 72–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X211025943

Your assessment in this course consists of your Perusall discussions of the readings, the blog posts, and your final Project.  You are required to complete these assignments when they are scheduled and due.  Here are details on each component of your assessment:

• Perusall: This is a form of class discussion that utilizes the specific content in the Learning section of the module.  These assignments will be scheduled for a specific week so you can interact with your fellow classmates.

•  Intro Video & Blog Posts: These will not be simultaneous, but you will have a date the posts are due.  You are expected to read four of your classmates’ posts and comment on two of them.  I will have information on the blog, how to subscribe and how to utilize it on our class website.

• You have a final project assignment. For this assignment, you will write a “responsible AI or Technology Integration plan for a social work setting.”  No worries, I will be giving you more details and information throughout the semester.  You will be using the materials that you have read throughout this class.

Perusall Discussions (4)	=	30%
Introductory Video (1) &     Blog Posts/ Responses (3)	=	30%
Final Project	=	40%
Total	=	100%

 

• Module 1 – One Week – History and Introductions
  • Perusall Discussion on articles and video
  • Your introductory video
• Module 2:Two Weeks – The Present State of Technology-Mediated Social Work Practice
  • Week 1: Blog Post 1 – articles on telehealth – June 20^th
  • Week 2: Perusall discussion on fatigue and wellness – June 21^st through June 27^th
• Module 3 – Two Weeks – Challenges and Tools
  • Week 1: Blog Post 2 – Reamer articles – July 5^th
  • Week 2: Perusall Discussion on Ethical Models – July 5^th through July 11^th
•  Module 4 – Two weeks – The AI Obsession
• • Week 1: Blog post on Generative AI and LLMs – July 18^th
  • Week 2: Perusall discussion AI information – July 19^th through July 26^th

How Perusall Works

I use Perusall in my classes for two reasons.  First, it can help you understand the required content faster and with greater comprehension.  When you are reading or watching video content, you can ask your question or make your comment immediately as you read or watch.  If your comment or question is related to what you are reading, you will highlight the section about which you are asking or commenting.  A classmate or I will respond to your comment or question.  You are asking in real time and we are responding in real time – just not necessarily at the same time.

Second, it is forced collaboration between you and your classmates specifically related to content assigned in the class.   Yes, I said forced, because you must complete the Perusall assignment during a specific week of the class.  You will be discussing SPECIFIC content in the materials you are reading.  To achieve this goal, you will be collaboratively annotating the readings with others in your class. The help you’ll get and provide your classmates (even if you don’t know anyone personally) will get you past any questions quickly and make the process more fun.

Types of Perusall Assignments

 Videos and Reading Assignments: There will be several videos you will watch during this semester.  These videos will be in Perusall for you to review and discuss.  I will start each Perusall assignment with a short video that discusses the material in the assignment and gives you some direction about how to approach the readings and the discussions.   You are free to ask any questions during that video you may have, as I will be notified that there is a question, and I can come into Perusall and answer it.  I am using these videos to briefly introduce the material, give you a framework, and help focus your discussion.

You also have Perusall assignments based on articles you will be reading.  That means you will be talking about a particular reading (or a section of a reading) with each other and with me.  You can start a new annotation thread in Perusall by highlighting text, asking a question, or posting a comment; you can also add a reply or comment to an existing thread. Each thread is like a chat with one or more members of your class. I will be joining your discussion a bit later in the week assigned (unless you ask a specific question by using @MargaretPalmiter) to give you a chance to talk with each other a bit first before I jump into the debate.

Your goals in annotating each reading assignment are to stimulate discussion by posting good questions or comments and to help others by answering their questions.  Research shows that by annotating thoughtfully, you’ll learn more and get better grades, so here’s what “annotating thoughtfully” means: Effective annotations deeply engage points in the readings, stimulate discussion, offer informative questions or comments, and help others by addressing their questions or confusions. To help you connect with classmates, you can “mention” a classmate in a comment or question to have them notified by email (they’ll also see a notification immediately if online), and you’ll also be notified when your classmates respond to your questions. You mention them by using @their name.

For each assignment we will evaluate the annotations you submit on time (see below). Based on the overall body of your annotations, you will receive a score for each assignment as follows.  Your Perusall assignments are worth 30% of your total grade and you have 4 of them.

5 = Demonstrates exceptionally thoughtful and thorough reading of the entire assignment
Makes high quality comments throughout the document/video
Engages with the assignment and fellow students through comments and responses
4 = Demonstrates thoughtful and thorough reading of most of the assignment
Makes quality comments through most of the document/video
Somewhat engaged with the assignment and fellow students
3 = Demonstrates some reading of part of the assignment
Makes comments through most of the document/video
Limited engagement with the assignment and fellow students
2 = Demonstrates superficial reading of most of the assignment
Makes just one or two comments through a small portion of the document/video
Minimal engagement with the assignment and fellow students
1 = Demonstrates superficial reading of the assignment OR thoughtful reading of part of the assignment
Makes only one comment through some of the document/video
Virtually little or no engagement with the assignment and fellow students
0 = Demonstrates superficial reading of part of the assignment
Makes no comments through some of the document/video
No engagement with the assignment and fellow students

How many annotations do I need to enter?

When we look at your annotations, we want them to reflect the effort you put in your study of the text. It is unlikely that that effort will be reflected by just a few thoughtful annotations per assignment. Conversely, 30 per assignment is probably too many unless a number of them are superficial or short comments or questions (which is fine because it is OK to chat with your peers). Somewhere in between these two extremes is about right, and thoughtful questions or comments that stimulate discussion or thoughtful and helpful answers to other students’ questions will earn you a higher score for the assignment. Note, also, that to lay the foundation for understanding the in-class activities, you must familiarize yourself with each assignment in its entirety. Failing to annotate the entire assignment will result in a lower score.

My intention with these discussions is to encourage conversation.  These assignments are called “discussions” for a reason.  Rather than abstract comments in a discussion board, Perusall directs your conversations to the material you are reading and watching.   Even though we are not in a classroom, Perusall allows us to have conversations about the material, as well as give you a chance to ask your questions.  We all participate, your classmates and me.

What does “on time” mean?

The due dates for your assignments are in the syllabus, the assignment grid and in the related modules in iCollege.  The Perusall discussion will only allow you to contribute until the assignment is due.  The idea here is to talk with each other.  For this to work, you must engage in conversation during the week of the assignment.  Each assignment lasts a full week and ends at midnight the Saturday of that week.