Journal of Technology in Counseling - Glass - Daniel - Mason

Abstract

Technology has become a part of counselor education. Counselor educators have been prepared to teach counseling but have been given very little preparation in the application of technology in the classroom.   The authors explored the integration of a technology component into their Doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision. The students and supervising professor designed an independent study that utilized resources from the university’s technology department. Seminars and classes for certification in the various technologies listed in this article were attended by the authors and certifications gained. These trainings ranged from basic to advanced applications on platforms such as PowerPoint, Blackboard, Horizon Wimba, and course cartridges.

             Technology has saturated many areas of life in the United States including education. In fact, the impact of technology has become one of the most critical parts of education increasing the complexity of the task of teaching (Berge, 2004; Webber, 2003). From user-friendly software applications such as Power Point, to the more complicated task of actually teaching an online course, educators are being stretched to become proficient in more than just communicating their subjects. They must also become proficient in the use of technology (Cardenas, 1998). As a result, educators are now finding it necessary to change the way they teach (Webber, 2003).

          This is true for counseling education programs as well. The ability to use technology in teaching has become paramount, yet results of a survey done by Myers and Gibson (1999) indicate that there is a lack of technological competence for counseling faculty and students. Unlike younger students raised in a technological era, who have grown up with computers and are often proficient in their use, many faculty and older students find themselves lagging behind (Jerome et al. 2000). One survey found that two out of three faculty experience “technology-related stress” in an effort to keep pace with the emerging technology (McQueen, 1999). Cardenas (1998) noted that some educators have been reticent to embrace technology, citing the already existing burden of student and administrative issues and course planning. Another criticism of technology in education is that it has forced educators to design curricula that focus more on teaching technology and less on critical thinking and discussion (Glaros, 2004).

          Because it is important for counselor educators to be proficient in technology, the authors of this article sought to integrate a technology component into an online doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision. The students and supervising professor designed a two- part, six credit-hour independent study that utilized resources from the university’s technology department. The authors attended seminars and trainings for Blackboard, Horizon Wimba, TurnItIn, PowerPoint, use of a web camera, and use of publisher’s course cartridges. This article will explore the state of technological integration into online programs today and the requirements for technological competence as set forth by counseling accreditation agencies and organizations. Additionally, this article will explain how the authors designed and integrated a technology course into their counselor education program and specifically discuss the technology that comprised the course.

Online Education Today

            In addition to the use of technology within the classroom, entire educational programs are now being offered online by increasing numbers of higher education institutions. The appeal of online education is due to several factors including the expansion of educational access to underserved populations, alleviation of classroom capacity constraints, the ability to capitalize on emerging markets such as working adults, and the ability of online programs to serve as a catalyst for institutional transformation (Singh and Pan, 2004).

            A number of universities are beginning to integrate distance learning and technology into their programs. This is true of counseling programs as well. In one study surveying 127 counselor education programs, Wantz, Tromski, Mortsolf, Brill, and Cole (2005) found that just less than half have either totally or partially integrated distance learning into their programs. Many of these programs are utilizing the WEB and computer to deliver seminars, administer courses, communicate through email, administer examinations, perform research, and deliver audio and video (Granello & Wheaton, 2005; Hansen and Gladfelter, 1996; Jerome et al. 2000; Rudestam, 2004; Stadtlander, 1998). Technology integration varies from program to program. One institution has developed a separate three hour credit course built around the technical competencies recommended by ACES for counseling students (Coursol & Lewis, 2005). Computers are currently being tested in assisting counseling students in the development of case conceptualization and computer-based counseling simulations (Alpert, 1986; Caspar, Berger, & Hautle, 2004).

Requirements of Accreditation Agencies and Professional Associations

         The use of technology in counselor education has also become a part of the disciplines’ accreditation agencies and professional associations. This would seem to indicate the importance, as well as the impact, that technology has had on the field of counseling. Woven throughout their 2001 standards, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) (2001) recommends that counseling programs provide students with opportunities that will ensure computer literacy and technological competence in a variety of counseling settings including: research, career testing, professional identity, consultation, and program evaluation. Furthermore, CACREP recommends that faculty be provided with the “technical support” and “training” to ensure faculty competence in training future counselors.

            In the 1999 guidelines for the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) it is recommended that faculty be competent in the technological skills necessary to teach an online course. The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision also make recommendations for technical competencies that should be developed in counseling students: the ability to use a wide variety of audio-visual equipment and computer software including web page development, statistical packages, computerized testing, and career programs. Furthermore, ACES recommends that students be competent in using the internet for research and in accessing other counseling information. Students are expected to be able to use email and evaluate the content of internet information. They also are expected to understand the legal and ethical issues involved in providing online counseling services such as ensuring client identity and confidentiality, practicing counseling outside of state licensing jurisdiction, informing the client of the limits of technology, and ensuring client safety in emergency situations (Association for Counselor Education and Supervision; Kraus, Zack, & Stricker, 2004).

            The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (2002) (CHEA) also has recommendations for ensuring quality distance education. When accrediting a distance program, the competency of the faculty to teach in an online environment and the technological support that the faculty is provided is reviewed. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation recommends that institutions hire faculty who are qualified to teach in an online environment and that faculty be supported by providing sufficient training in technology and providing technological support.

Course Development

          The technology course presented in this article was developed in response to the following questions: “What are the recommendations for technological competence, as presented by ACES, not already integrated into the counselor education and supervision program or known by the authors?” “What technological skills will the counselor education and supervision student need to possess to successfully teach and supervise in an online environment?” “What are the available resources for learning those skills?”

          It was important to ask the question in the context of an online teaching environment because the authors are both students in an online doctoral program in counselor education and supervision and teaching assistants in both traditional classroom and online Master’s levels counseling programs. As a result of their experiences in the online environment, the authors desire and anticipate teaching in a future online environment.

          After reviewing the requirements set forth by ACES, the authors compared these requirements to their already existing competencies. They decided against including technological topics for which they felt they had already developed competence.

          The authors then reviewed the literature to focus on the future direction of online education and what skills will be necessary to function adequately in that environment. In reviewing the literature, it was noted that what is presently a largely asynchronous, text-based learning environment is projected to become a more virtual environment complete with audio and video (Deal, 2005).

           Finally, the authors examined the resources that were available for learning these technologies. Like most other counselor education programs today, the authors found the source of expertise to lie outside the counseling department. The author’s university offers a Center for Teaching and Learning open to faculty and Teaching Assistants. This department’s mission is to develop the teaching skill of faculty through a variety of means including articles, tutorials, courses, teaching, consulting, and media production.

            The authors contacted the center, and in collaboration, developed the following courses: Basic and Advanced PowerPoint, Use of Horizon Wimba, Use of the WebCam, Certification in Blackboard, Use of TurnItIn Software, and Integrating Course Cartridges into Your Courses. The author’s then attended the classes and demonstrated the use of these technologies through the development of projects incorporating the technology or direct observation of skills.

Course Technologies

            Incorporating visual software such as PowerPoint by Microsoft supports the creation of visually rich charts and graphs. These items direct student attention and support more focused learning on the subject. Additionally, when used appropriately, visual software supports the explanation of difficult subject matter (Deal, 2005). PowerPoint is described as a vehicle that allows the user to incorporate movie clips, audio narration, and interactive games that enhance the learning process. In conjunction with PowerPoint, Microsoft (2005) has developed a new product called Producer. This product is designed to enhance media presentations. Users of this product can incorporate audio, video, HTML, and still images into power point slides. Microsoft touts the ease of importing information, editing, synchronizing, and publishing a presentation using Producer.

              Microsoft (2005) highlights the ability of Producer to interact with The Blackboard Learning System. When combined as a team, Producer and Blackboard afford the user the opportunity to “deliver rich, interactive, and engaging lectures, easily add real-time polling and quizzes that provide opportunities for online student interaction, and track student progress and content usage” (Blackboard, 2005). Blackboard indicates that integrating Producer with Blackboard is very easy, which is a part of Blackboard’s success. Blackboard describes its end user as the average student and professor, which is the key in Blackboard’s design of easy to use software. Blackboard and Microsoft have been partners in the e-Learning environment for the past three years (Blackboard) and the combination of Blackboard and Producer is just another way these two entities have come together to enhance the learning experience for online learners.

            As on-line programs continue to emerge, counselor educators have to learn programs such as Blackboard and Horizon Wimba in order to reach this population. Both Blackboard and Horizon Wimba are portals that allow free flowing discussion threads between students and faculty. Horizon Wimba boasts about its ability to service students in a “full capacity.” Using this program, counselor educators can fully implement on-line discussions, office hours, meetings, and language learning components to the on-line teaching format. Additionally, Horizon Wimba is designed for easy integration into current course designs. Simply stated, Horizon Wimba lends itself to a personal touch from the professor (Horizon Wimba, 2005).

            Horizon Wimba (2005) works with many of the commonly used software applications. The ability to use live chat with voice adds to the sense of community for the students enrolled in the program. Professors truly incorporate a total learning experience when using Horizon Wimba in Internet learning.

            One of the more recent advances in educational technology is creating a legal stir among the education community. TurnItIn is one of the latest technological advances in plagiarism detection. The software is designed to identify phrases or sentences that are not the original works of the student submitting the paper (TurnItIn, 2005). It is a product that has been designed to increase professor efficiency. Not only does this system detect plagiarism, it lends itself to peer review among students enrolled in the same course. In addition, professors are able to grade papers using an electronic format and a grade book interface component also allows professors to manage grades effectively using the computer.

            Although TurnItIn has a client population of over 400 colleges and universities, the plagiarism detection component is generating a legal debate among lawyers and educators. Foster (2002) indicates the legal debate is not the product but the method in which TurnItIn maintains its database. Other programs, such as Copycatch and Eve2, provide professors with resources to check student papers against Internet resources and other student papers. Once the paper has been checked for unoriginal works it is discarded. TurnItIn functions in similar fashion, but instead of discarding the student’s paper once it has been checked, the paper is then added to TurnItIn’s database for future comparisons (Foster, 2002).

           At the center of TurnItIn’s controversy is copyright infringement. Lawyers are questioning whether or not TurnItIn violates the rights of students in relation to copyright issues by adding student papers to their database once they have been submitted for review. According to Foster (2002), some college professors are against TurnItIn’s practice of retaining student papers, especially given the fact that students are not giving their consent for their work to be used and stored on TurnItIn’s database. There are some college professors who find no fault in this practice but do feel the need to share with students that their papers will be stored for future comparisons in the database managed by TurnItIn (Foster, 2002). According to Foster, TurnItIn is sensitive to the controversy and although they see no fault in their practice of adding student papers to the database, TurnItIn is also encouraging universities with their service to inform students upfront that papers will be stored on the TurnItIn database for future comparison for plagiarism by other students.

            An additional tool for the instructor is the course cartridges available for the Blackboard, WebCT, and eCollege platforms (Thompson South-Western, 2005). Course cartridges are simply a package of data imported into an online course that is based on the content of a courses respective textbook. The instructor uses a numeric key or code to bring in the information and the course is instantly organized and ready for the students. Examples of the items loaded for the instructor are video clips, tests and chapter quizzes, PowerPoint presentations that follow the text, outline summaries, online flash cards, and online discussion topics (Thompson South-Western). The benefit for the instructor is the time which he or she saves in the construction of the course. The benefit for the student is having more tools to assist in the learning of the material. It should also be mentioned that the instructor can add or remove sections imported to the class and customize the course to his or her standards.

            The authors also attended a class on the use of a personal webcam (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2005). The webcam has several applications for the online environment. First, the instructor can produce short video clips to be uploaded into an online leaning platform using Microsoft Windows Moviemaker. It is simple to produce and load a short video greeting to the course or weekly introduction to course material.   Second, this course also covered the application of the webcam to some of the more popular instant messaging services such as MSN Messenger and Yahoo Instant Messenger. Through these services, an instructor could communicate with the student through video, voice and text (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2005).

Conclusion

           The addition of technology has become a part of the guidelines and accreditation for the field of counseling. The educator must be competent in technology for teaching and instructing in both the traditional classroom setting and the newer online environment. These skills are not readily available in counseling programs at this time. The student or the educator may possibly have to go outside his or her school to gain knowledge.

            The authors of this article sought to add a component of technology to their program. They found their university’s Teaching and Learning Center to be a valuable asset for training in technology.   Training was provided in PowerPoint that assisted in the construction of presentations that enhance learning and captivate the students. Training was received in Blackboard, which gave the authors the ability to make the most of the tools provided in the platform. The addition of Horizon Wimba gave the authors a synchronous tool for interaction and communication with students, The TurnItIn software assisted in the detection of plagiarism, and Course cartridges provided quick efficient course construction. The authors found that the needed competencies were readily available and already in place at their university.   It is also noteworthy that in these training sessions, the authors were not alone. There was faculty present (online and in classrooms) with various levels of tenure and from various disciplines.

            It is apparent that technology will continue to become an intricate part of the education process. New programs and software come on the market yearly that seek to assist the educator and student alike. The challenge will be to learn to incorporate these new technologies into the classroom--traditional or online.

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Authors' Biography

Marti J. Glass M.A. is currently pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Regent University. He is a teaching assistant in the School of Psychology and counseling and also work in private practice. Correspondence about this article can be directed to martgla@regent.edu

Denise Daniel, LPC, RN, (denidan@regent.edu) is a doctrinal student and teaching assistant at Regent University. Before returning to school she was a full-time private practioner in Dallas, Texas.

Richard M. Mason, Jr., ED.S., LPC (richmas@regent.edu) is currently pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Regent University. He also is a teaching assistant and works for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Agatha Parks-Savage, EdD,LPC,RN (aparkssavage@regent.edu) Assistant Professor for the Online Doctoral Program in Counselor Education and Supervision at Regent University, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dr. Parks-Savage has been teaching distance counseling courses since 2000.