Comments on the Second Edition of the Journal
    

           As we begin our second issue of the Journal of Technology in Counseling our challenge has remained the assurance to authors in the field, a high quality professional publication that focuses on the infusion of technologies in the practice and training of professional counselors.  It is interesting to note that the Journal has continued to receive support from a wide array of professionals and continues to receive manuscripts from many areas of the counseling profession.  For that, we are thankful. The growth of technology for training and teaching purposes is probably our most utilized methodological approach. Yet, there are many unique avenues to pursue.  So many of our colleagues have created unique ways to deliver training and enhance learning for counseling students as you will witness in this issue. Many of the methods allow us to adapt them in our own classroom teaching and service areas. This adaptation is at the heart of this journal's purpose. Teaching and training has been impacted by the internet in so many ways, it is hard to capture the movement.  Yet, this Journal will continue to attempt to do just that.  Contributors have been able to use multimedia to demonstrate and teach us various techniques and training methods that will ultimately become a regular process for content delivery.  In the practice of counseling, including the supervision of counselors, the movement toward technology has yet to match the speed at which counselor educators have infused technology in teaching.  There may be numerous factors for this such as the mandate from campus administrators to become technologically proficient for delivering coursework on the web. However, an increase in the use of technology in practice and supervision in clinics, and the like, is just over the horizon.  

Given that technology infusion will increase is an easy prediction, our real challenge is to control and guide technological advances in professional counseling toward a predictive outcome.  This outcome certainly involves the highest standards of care for clients and families, and for our training of counselors.  Many of the changes give rise to concerns about client confidentiality, access to service, competence, and credibility.  Yet, my personal observation is that our profession is most capable and highly equipped to manage these concerns.  For example, organizations in the field have already gathered information and established standards for web counseling and distance learning.  The National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) have established and published a set of ethical standards for using the internet for counseling (NBCC, 1998).  Also, the American Counseling Association (ACA) has established its ethical standards for on-line counseling (ACA, 1999).  The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Technology Internet Network has established ACES Guidelines for Online Instruction in Counselor Education (ACES, 1999). In addition, John Bloom and Garry Walz have made a major contribution to the technology movement in counseling with their recent publication:  Cybercounseling and Cyberlearning: Strategies and Resources for the Millennium in collaboration with the American Counseling Association and ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse. This reference contains numerous contributions by distinguished authors who have worked with technology to enhance the counseling profession.  My colleague, and co-editor of this journal, Marty Jencius, has developed a matrix of Technology Competencies for Counselor Educators and Education Faculty that will have important implications for how educators equip themselves to teach and deliver technology-infused training.  The creation and use of interactive CD-ROM products and video instruction materials are more available as publishing houses position themselves for an increase in use in our field. 

These, and many other, contributions and established standards are truly fine attempts at structuring a sweeping process that has challenged traditional methods of teaching and service delivery.  

The Journal of Technology in Counseling is positioned to act as a vehicle for discussion and publication that document changes to the profession as a result of the infusion of technology.  As has been pointed out, Baltimore and Jencius (1999), the publication of this Journal has as part of its mission, the establishment of standards for professional counseling publication on the web that infuses multimedia content and new methods that enhance delivery of information in a free access approach.  This new venture will address the ways to evaluate and critique multimedia content embedded in text-based articles. As of yet, there are no standards set for videotaped review. (Perhaps an author in our profession will take this as a challenge and be the first to contribute a manuscript suggesting standards for this.) It was our intent that authors add to their text-based contributions by giving the reader a more in depth explanation or rationale or demonstration through the use of video and audio additions.  This has continued to be a challenge for authors who have been trained to write and publish in traditional ways. There is much to learn about using this new avenue for publishing, but I certainly encourage authors to take up that challenge. Our editorial staff is very willing to help potential authors achieve their goals toward this.

We have maintained credibility as an academic journal due to the strength of our editorial board. It consists of well-respected academicians and practitioners.  JTC continues an electronic blind peer-review for each manuscript with formal and informal shaping of the quality of product through the board's wise consultation and support. We have been able, as well, to maintain our goal of fast turn around time to authors. With the accomplishments, we will strive to maintain the quality in each issue that is offered. Our system requirements for complete viewing of multimedia resources are linked off the journal home page. Currently the Journal has full display functionality on PC based systems that have Internet Explorer 5.0 as a browser with Windows Media Player 6.4 or greater installed to run the video/audio components. Anticipated in the future will be faster modem connections available universally so technology will eventually bridge the current gap in bandwidth for users.

Contributions in This Issue

As with our first issue, this second issue presents the accomplishments of authors and counselor educators in our field that have demonstrated competencies in the use of technology in their work.  In the Journal's section on teaching and technology, Jones and Karper present the experience of developing an online course for counseling skills.  This article overviews the development, maintenance and teaching of an online counselor education class in counseling techniques. The focus of this article allows the reader to understand one professor’s experience with traditional versus online teaching in general and the steps and potential obstacles involved in developing an online course. Stone and Seabrooks present an article  that describes collaborative efforts across disciplines using a technology-based forum.  The pre-service component of three disciplines, school counseling, special education, and social work services, was coordinated by use of a multidisciplinary electronic discussion forum implemented by faculty. The use of this technology worked to overcome the traditional barriers of space and time to allow students to use the Internet to assist simulation for basic training skills. Delmonico, Daninhirsch, Page, Walsh, L'Amoreaux, and Thompson present an interesting view of the use of a particular software that allows for a virtual discussion and support group.  The article gives a first hand account of participant responses to a doctoral online support group. The software allows for online chatting via the Internet, but adds a two-dimensional space that allows participants to be in a virtual room and represent themselves with various digital images.  The authors conducted a study that asked doctoral students to journal their experiences. Sands demonstrates the use of student-initiated listservs and their effectiveness.  Allowing students to initiate, develop, promote, and maintain their own list  service will enhance learning and help develop new and important skills while simultaneously providing a valuable service for themselves and their peers.  The purpose of a student-initiated list service is to provide a forum for counseling students.  McFadden overviews the advancement of technology in his article describing technology infusion and transcultural education.  His article highlights many of the current advances in multicultural counseling skill training and focuses on computer-assisted training. In addition, numerous resources are given in an appendix that aid the educator and student in the development of technology-related transcultural learning.  Hackerman and Greer discuss the developing internet and its effects on counseling psychology.  The authors explore the Internet's exponential growth and discuss the possibilities of the variety of uses of the Internet as they examine the psychosocial aspects of cyberspace, including implications for counseling.  

    We hope that this new professional journal will educate, inspire and excite you. It would be our desire that the information that you find at this site will contribute to your professional development and lead you to look at how you use technology in your teaching and practice. We also hope that this second issue will inspire you to consider a contribution to the Journal of Technology in Counseling.

© 2000 Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership - Columbus State University