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Computer technology and the 21st Century school counselor

Professional School Counseling - December 1, 2001

Continued from page 1.

Distance learning is a reality and will continue to expand, changing school counseling and counselor education (Myrick, 1997). Imagine a student who wants to take an online course, perhaps one that is not available at his or her school. Or think of a student in a rural area with limited opportunities who can take an advanced placement course via the Internet and become better prepared for college. Another scenario might involve school counselors who do not live close to a university but want to continue their professional development. They may want to learn additional counseling skills but feel isolated. Through distance learning programs on the Internet, students and counselors can take classes offered by schools and colleges across the nation, as there are no distance boundaries. Distance learning via the Internet has become an accepted and convenient way to educate. While not for all students, it is a viable alternative to traditional schools and learning methods.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing is yet another computer application that can be utilized by school counselors. Interactive conferences enable counselors to meet with parents as well as colleagues without leaving their homes and offices. It is also possible for a counselor in one location to lead a group of students, parents, or other professionals in another place as the computers help them experience a personal connection (McLellan, 1999).

In addition, school counselors can involve students in the videoconferencing process by having them interview community members and business leaders regarding issues affecting their school. High school seniors can utilize videoconferencing to assist with the interview process when applying for postsecondary education. Videoconferencing can also become another way for college graduates to interview around the country for employment while remaining on their own college campuses (Magnusen & Magnusen, 1995). Videoconferencing is also a tool that could change the way schools conduct parent conferences and other meetings with agency personnel (Sampson, Kolodinsky, & Greeno, 1997). Videoconferencing is a type of advanced technology that can save time and money for students and their families.

Online High Schools

Online high schools can create learning opportunities through computer technology for students (Zehr, 1999). For instance, The Florida High School (http://fhs.net/FHSWeb.nsf) is an online high school that offers courses for 9th through 12th graders in the state of Florida. Students can make up credits, accelerate their academic program, take courses not otherwise offered at their home school or enroll in classes while traveling. They register for online courses to attain credit for high school graduation or college. Florida High School teachers strive to keep parents informed by e-mailing them progress reports and allowing parents access to their child's class work. In addition, the Florida High School is a popular means for enhancing the education of home-schooled students as well as students living in rural communities (Trotter, 2001; Zehr, 1999).

Exploring Colleges and Careers

Students can explore college opportunities and career options using computer technology and the Internet. For instance, a counselor might find examples of small and large, in-state and out-of-state colleges that provide virtual tours of their campuses (Schack, 1998). Web sites such as American Universities (http://www.globalcomputing.com /universy.html) can help students target lists of colleges by state that have programs of study that fit their interests. Most universities are now including online applications for admission that can be downloaded, completed, and returned via the Internet.

Considerable information about financial aid, scholarships, loans, and grants for colleges is now available via the Internet. FastWEB (http://www.fastweb.com/) assists students in free searches of more than 180,000 available scholarships, fellowships, loans, and grants. The Student Guide (http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/ SFA/StudentGuide/) is a comprehensive Web site on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. It describes grants, loans, and work study as the three major forms of student financial aid available through the federal Student Financial Assistance Programs. FinAid (http://www.finaid.org/), another free resource for student financial aid information, is located on the Web and provides a free scholarship search, financial aid calculator, glossary of terms, and bibliography.

Counselors also need to stay current with the latest occupational information and career trends. They can do this by accessing various databases and references on the Web. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://stats.bls.gov) offers a Web site that provides links to the latest statistics regarding the economy and regional occupational information. Another reference tool is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (http:// stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm), which provides career information based on keyword searches and contains an index of occupations. Revised every 2 years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA; http://www.schoolcounselor.org/) and National Career Development Association (NCDA; http://ncda.org/) both have Web sites that provide links to helpful information for career and college exploration. The ASCA Web site has links to career opportunities, financial aid information, and trade and technical school searches. Links also provide school counselors and counselor educators with information on developing and promoting successful career development programs. For example, Planning for Life is one recognition program that spotlights successful career education programs around the nation and describes elements for success. Counselors can also review guidelines on career development by linking to the National Standards for School Counseling Programs. The NCDA Web site provides school counselors with several Internet links for career assessment and planning. Students can explore several types of career-related inventories. There are also links that tap into career and college information such as financial aid, internship opportunities, apprenticeships, and descriptions of companies and organizations.

O*NET, or the Occupational Information Network (http://www.doleta.gov/programs/onet), can be a valuable database for secondary school counselors to connect with job requirements, worker competencies, and exploration of the world of work. O*NET links users with youth programs, including school-to-work placement opportunities, Job Corps listings, and information regarding apprenticeships where on-the-job training reflects classroom instruction. O*NET also provides detailed searches for students on occupations that use their particular skills along with a snapshot of that career, including worker attributes and requirements of the work.

After careful examination of various resources on the Internet, a counselor can bookmark and organize relevant sites according to particular student interests and topics. College and career sites can then be easily accessed when working with students. Using this process helps college exploration and planning become more efficient and effective.

Computer Technology as a Counseling Tool

School counselors, aware of developmental stages in children, use hands-on interventions such as puppets, games, painting, music, and drawing materials (Geldard & Geldard, 1997). They use varying techniques to incorporate different learning modalities, addressing the needs of visual learners, auditory learners, and tactile learners (Caudill, 1998). These types of counseling interventions can be quite successful; however, Gerler (1995) found that "multimedia offers school counselors creative possibilities for computer-assisted delivery of preventive-developmental programs to students" (p. 12). Computer technology can combine visual graphics such as pictures, with sound and hands-on activities as part of counseling interventions.

Computer technology allows counselors to use a variety of multimedia effects in counseling interventions with students. Fight for your rights: Take a stand against violence (U.S. Department of Justice, 1999), is an interactive CD-ROM that incorporates music, sounds of children arguing, and animated visual effects into scenarios about different ways to handle conflict. Throughout the program the counselor can facilitate group discussions with students about conflict resolution and coping with anger.

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