APP DEVELOPMENT
FOR EDUCATION &
PRACTICE
Dr Anne Campbell
QUB
Apps completed to date
■ Four information Apps and one service user
feedback App completed to date
■ 1. Child Development 0-6yrs
■ 2. CD 7-12 years
■ 3. CD 13-18 years
■ 4. Drug and alcohol
■ 5. Service user App
Preceding work
■ Previous online learning projects
■ Virtual world online assessment tool
■ (Virtual Interactive systems for
Assessment
■ Family and childcare scenario
■ Virtual world online assessment tool
NISAT
Rationale for development of
CD Apps
Gap in teaching
Identified by PTs in the field
Checked back with practitioners
Sought views of……
Students
AYE
Practitioners
Servicer users
Process
■ The process of developing the child development
Apps involved a multi-level consultation with SW
students on work placement, qualified social
workers and members of an expert steering group.
■ Funding and support for the child development
Apps was provided by the Northern Ireland Social
Care Council (NISCC). The steering group members
comprised of social workers, social work educators
early years professionals and educators and NISCC
representatives
Process ctd
■ The steering group for the child development Apps
was convened during the ‘idea development’ stage
of the process.
■ This early engagement ensured that the content of
the Apps best reflected the views of the
professionals who would use them rather than
creating a repository of knowledge which the
academic authors through might best fit learning in
practice
Development of content
■ The first App, Child Development 0–6 years, compartmentalised the
information under a number of section headings, including
developmental milestones, theory, legislation and policy and case
study scenarios.
■ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paperbag.child
&hl=en
■ Child Development App 7–12 years utilised a similar format but also
added sections on models of residential care and multiple
adversities.
■ Lastly, Child Development App13–18 years added specific issues
relevant to adolescence, such as mental health, substance use,
suicide, bullying and sex and sexual relations. The Apps are relevant
to social work and childcare settings throughout the UK, although
the legislation and policy sections are primarily focused within the
Northern Ireland context
What's useful ?
■ Child development milestones
■ Linking milestones to child protection
■ Information on screen clear and brief
■ Links to other more detailed documents
and further reading
■ Links to legislation and policy which are
most relevant
■ Quick links to most commonly used child
development theory
How would you use this in
practice ?
■ Used for quick referencing in practice
■ Further reading for later reflection and
reports
■ Inform assessments
■ Help me as a practitioner… and also
parents understand……….
Student Social worker quote
■ “it would be helpful to find out more basic
info about typical child development
patterns. You may then be able to identify
more easily when something isn't right. for
example at the minute the 4 year old I am
working with talks a lot about hitting and
punching which I don't think is typical of a
four year old girl.... It would be interesting to
find out more about their emotional
development and understanding, when they
begin to display empathy etc.”
AYEs
■ AYE's would like to see a brief summary of the major
theorists to have as a reference point
■ They wished to see the typical developmental
milestones
■ They would like evidenced based knowledge for
aspects such as emotional abuse and impact of
domestic violence.
Rationale for development of Drugs
and Alcohol App
■ There is evidence to suggest that social work students are not provided
with limited information related to drug and alcohol education within
current social work degree programmes.
■ However, as Devaney, Buntilng, Lazenblatt, and Hayes (2014)
underlined in a recent report, almost 63% of the case management
reviews (n = 24) had problems associated with drug and alcohol
misuse.
■
Likewise, Galvani, Dance, and Hutchinson (2011) highlight that social
work practitioners are not usually equipped to address substance use
issues in all areas of practice.
■ It is therefore unsurprising that without adequate training, and feeling
frustrated and stressed, social care professionals felt negatively about
the outcomes for service users with substance problems (Galvani et al.,
Development of D & A App
■ The development of the drug and alcohol App was slightly
different in that it did not include the advice of social work
students, primarily as it was aimed at the social work and
allied health care practitioner population.
■ Therefore, the expert steering group was carefully chosen to
best represent the views of practitioners at all levels of
practice and included policy-makers, managers and
senior/junior addictions practitioners from both voluntary and
statutory sector organisations.
■
Service user input
iPhone Screenshot
■
Lessons Learned …
■ Partnership working with stakeholders, service users
students, practitioners and developers should be
incorporated from the beginning of the development process.
■ Develop a mutually respectful working relationship with your
developer company (where applicable). The team may
consider other ‘do it yourself ’ options but aim to work with a
technical development company at least for the first attempt
at App production.
Lessons learned ctd
■ Utilise a scoping exercise at the beginning of the development
process to establish the target audience as this will ultimately
dictate the composition and presentation of content within
the App.
■ Make full use of an expert steering group and where there is
disagreement as regards content ensure that the debate
produces the best result for the content of the App.
■ Do avoid trying to include all suggestions as this will inflate
the content to create an unmanageable and unwieldy
application
Lessons Learned
ctd
■ Include a content management system so that you may have
access to your content at all times and thus have the flexibility
to amend where and when it is necessary.
■ Incorporate and cost a promotion campaign from the outset
as this ensures that the App will be circulated to the widest
possible audience.
■ Undertake a formal evaluation alongside the monitoring of
the analytical data to ensure that amendments are made
according to the needs of App users.
Users
June 15 – October 2016
■ Drugs App:
Users: 10,015
■ Average Duration: 03:14
■ New: 61.6% - Returning: 38.4%
■ CD App 0-6 years: Users: 80,646
■ Average Duration: 03:50
■ New: 69.5% - Returning: 30.5%
■ CD App 7-12 years : Users: 7,739
■ Average Duration: 04:00 New: 64.5% - Returning: 35.5%
Service user App
■ Project ends January 2017
■ Four sites – NI , East Midlands, Stirling and Aberdeen
■ Data gathered from sites
■ Feedback from service users via app
■ Sent to QUB
■ Analysed according to area
■ Report due out April 2017
Apps available
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/drugs-and-alcohol-aguide/id936639958?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/understanding-childdevelopment/id721681546?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/understanding-childdevelopment/id844185853?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.learningpool.child_de
velopment_13_18