Professionals Presentations
Since technology began to significantly impact B.C. youth, particularly high risk youth, Merlyn Horton and SOLOS have delivered workshops and presentations to youth-serving professionals: social services, public health, women’s health, law enforcement and education. These respected, reputable and memorable professional development workshops have been hosted by many non-profit organizations throughout B.C.
Topics covered are as diverse as educational technology, practice policy development, personnel policy development, online risk assessment for sexual offenders, and meeting the needs of diverse client group such as those with hearing, developmental or physical challenges. Regarded as reputable, current and relevant we engage a wide diversity of professionals in communities large and small.
Contact us if you have specific concerns or content you would like delivered to your organization or group. We feel confident in our reputation and invite you to see our website for some testimonials or contact us directly about a reference we can provide in your area of B.C.
Current Presentations
Cyberspace: Youth Work Frontier
The goal of the workshop is to equip youth-focused professionals with the tools to cope with the complications that technology can create for these youth, their families and lives. The presentation will cover a description of online environments (with examples and in understandable language), responsible online behaviours, high-risk behaviours of youth online and their consequences, and specific recommendations for how to respond to these issues.
Issues specifically addressed will include: high risk youth activities online (cyberbullying, sexting, luring, privacy concerns and access to dysfunctional material), legal ramifications of online activities, online use agreements with youth, and protecting yourself professionally with online yourself. Special emphasis will be placed on child protection priorities and youth work practice priorities.
Pro-D Day Crash Course in Online Youth Culture
This workshop familiarizes education professionals with online youth culture and the specifics of online settings most used by youth. The presentation will cover a description of online environments (with examples and in understandable language), responsible online behaviours, high-risk behaviours of youth online and their consequences, and the permanence of digital images and their implications.
Challenges faced within educational institution will be examined as well as handout materials to support participants continued learning. Also featured will be online resources of specific interest to teachers and educators.
"Social Media: Opportunity or Nightmare"
This workshop will explore social media opportunities for non-profit, human services oriented organizations. It includes a multi-media presentation with examples, group discussions and collaboration and supplemental templates and handouts.
Topics include; Social Media (an overview of principles and suggestions about where to start, which platforms to use, in what context, what first steps to take to establish your online presence and Policy (an examination of how social media is affecting personnel policies, what to adjust to accommodate new challenges in human resources, and and outline of practice policies issues to examine— i.e. confidentiality, obligation to report, informed consent, training, documentation, supervision and debrief).
Examples are provided from the relevant education, youth outreach, mental health services fields. This workshop highlights how to use online resources to supplement your face-to-face services.
The Internet and At-Risk Homeless Populations
Specifically designed for a conference on homelessness, this presentation uses multi-media and compelling case studies to examine the impact of technology on homeless populations. Included is a review of the current Canadian research on the topic and examples that illustrate some of the trends in mobile and social media use by homeless populations in Canada. Suggestions for Internet safety, raising awareness for staff and clients, as well as online resources specific to at-risk populations will be provided to participants.
Please contact our offices for specialized professional workshops to meet the needs of your professional educators, law enforcement, youth workers or other concerned group. Workshops are tailored for content and length according to requirements — 60 minutes to full day workshops from $950.
