One key way I plan to integrate technology is through digital archival research, an approach I’ve built into a module for undergraduate BSW students. Using platforms like the Library of Congress, Social Welfare History Archives, and TimelineJS, students interact with primary documents that bring historical policy to life. By creating multimedia timelines and storytelling projects, they critically engage with how policy decisions were shaped and who they excluded.

Take, for instance, the insights from Abramovitz (2017) in Regulating the Lives of Women, highlighting how welfare policies historically controlled women’s roles, especially those of poor women and women of color. Students can see these dynamics in real time by accessing original policy records or case files through digital archives and better understand how systemic inequities were embedded in early welfare systems.

Similarly, Jansson (2019) challenges us to view the U.S. as a “reluctant welfare state,” which helps students contextualize today’s fragmented and underfunded programs. Digital exploration allows learners to trace the evolution of public sentiment and political resistance to welfare—building critical policy analysis skills and a more nuanced understanding of advocacy.

With Popple and Leininger's (2020) lens, students can examine the broader interplay between American social values and the development of social welfare systems. Interactive engagement with archival materials deepens their grasp of these themes and fosters application to contemporary practice.

🎓 When it comes to my teaching philosophy, heutagogy—the study of self-determined learning—aligns most with my goals. This approach centers student agency, encourages self-reflection, and allows learners to take the lead in their educational journey. In this tech-enhanced, heutagogical classroom, students move beyond memorizing names and dates—they explore, question, and reconstruct history through their own critical lens.

When integrated with intention and foundational social work literature, technology can do more than enhance learning—it can transform it. Students don’t just study the history of social welfare—they become archivists, analysts, and advocates, ready to challenge inequities and lead change in the field.

What digital tools have you used in your learning that made history or policy come alive?
🟡 Do you see yourself more as a pedagogy, andragogy, heutagogy, or pedagogy-type educator? Why?
🟡 What is the most significant ethical concern when integrating technology into social work education?