Some thoughts after returning from #CSWE25
Thank you for reading A Social Work Generalist’s Notebook. I post about social work education, technology, the arts, and other random things. I usually write more than once a week.
Lsat week I spent a few days in Denver. I saw some colleagues, attended a whole day learning about how to assess a program, and attended various presentations. In other words, I attended the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education. Social work professors, students, researchers, and practitioners attend.
Occasionally, I used the Hipstamatic phone app to take pictures.
The conference was big, a lot of people were there, and it sometimes felt overwhelming. I’ve attended eight of these, and it’s gotten a bit easier to navigate. In 2012, I attended for the first time. Before mobile conference apps became the go-to resource for conference navigation, I remember getting set up in my D.C. hotel room, and cracking open the conference manual, the size of a mid-sized city phonebook. Now, I can use the app to locate presentation sessions.
I truly enjoy meeting up with colleagues in person. I attended my share of presentations. Our program is going through the process of reaccreditation reaffirmation, and the granular details of that process are, finally, starting to make a cohesive narrative.
So, here are just a couple of notes about attending this conference in person:
For a conference that is centered on disability rights and access (literally, the theme this year was Championing Disability Justice and Disability Joy in Social Work), presenters seem rather annoyed about…having to use a microphone to speak. I have been attending conferences for years, and the basic behavior of using microphones is exactly the way Jessie B. Ramey describes it in this article from 2019:
Refusing to use a microphone is like scheduling a meeting in a room accessible only by stairs. And then when your colleague in a wheelchair shows up and asks for a ramp so she can attend, you stand at the top of the steps and say, “No thanks, I’m good.”
I share this article on social media every time I attend a conference with an official social media hashtag. To reiterate: you may think you have strong, powerful voice. But your voice isn’t the same as the amplifier that lifts your voice up to fill a room. And for those of us with hearing loss, this is simply a fundamental use of technology that’s been around for a while.
In one session, the speaker started using the mic when — horrors! — a bit of a feedback loop caused a mild tweeing sound. Clearly annoyed, she asked if peopel could be patient while the technician addressed the issue. I kid you not, someone in the audience shouted, “Just don’t use the mic!!”
Look, feedback wails are annoying. Wanna know what’s worse? Not taking the basic steps to fix a very easy technical glitch, especially at a conference that purports to be about disability justice.
Speakers, please don’t ask permission from the audience to not use the basic tools that make your voice heard. Because you won’t be heard. Here’s what happens when you decide to skip the mic: you overproject your voice for maybe five seconds, then you get tired. And the whole time, people in the audience can’t hear you.
Use the mic. It’s 2025.
This conference is expensive. Most conferences are. But this one…yikes.
I know online options aren’t fun to organize. It’s work, it feels clunky, and it takes away from overhead and revenue costs from the in-person conference experience. But the fact is, many of us rely on conferences like this to network, disseminate scholarly work, and strengthen the social work profession. Some of us can’t fly. Some of us can’t be around people in large groups. Does CSWE have any interest in formalizing a virtual conference? I’d love to see it. Again, what was the theme this year?
Online conferences can work really well. I have participated in the Social Work Distance Education Conference since it started in 2015. It’s been fully online since the pandemic. I love it.
Happy Friday, all. I’m still recovering from traveling. I’ll rest tomorrow. See you Monday.