Welcome to the Journal of Technology in Counseling

    We believe this journal offers the best of what scholarly publishing can provide. Professional peer-reviewed, timely and topical information about the convergence of technology and the counseling field. Since technology issues span the various disciplines, the Journal will have a spirit that will attract and promote the professional use of technology across counseling subspecialties. We believe the best way to understand the technology is to use the technology to help explain it. Traditional text based journals limit ones ability to demonstrate the full capabilities of the technology it often attempts to describe. Web-based technology, like that used in JTC, allows for the easy use of text, audio, graphics and video opening up multiple ways authors can describe their topic and multiple ways the reader can learn from the experience.

    Our biggest challenges become our greatest strengths. Central to the resistance of professional acceptance of cyber publications is the lack of peer-review found in some web-journals.  In order to maintain credibility as an academic journal, the Journal of Technology has established one of the strongest editorial boards consisting of well-respected academicians and practitioners. In addition to a strong board, JTC has established an electronic blind peer-review for each manuscript done by members of our editorial board. Beyond reviewing manuscripts, our editorial board has formally and informally shaped the quality of product through their wise consultation and support. Another challenge was the faster production time that electronic submission, review and revision allows in publication. As editors/publishers, it was a challenge to keep on top of the immediacy an electronic journal presents. We did not have the luxury of downtime while it was "in the mail". That lack of downtime creates scholarly rigor at a faster pace. In order to keep current with today's technology changes we need that faster pace.  Paper journal production time often offsets the timeliness of any changes in technology. By the time we see the technology on paper, "Been there, done that, got the CD-ROM" might be the expression.

    Unique to many of the readers of the Journal of Technology in Counseling will be the use of hypermedia throughout the web page. As with most web pages, the reader is encouraged to move the mouse cursor throughout the page and when the cursor changes in form that element (text or graphic) is hyper-linked to another element for the article. We have made an editorial decision to have activated links open up new browser windows instead of staying within the same browser window. This will allow the reader to take a look at material from links (references, larger versions of embedded graphics, full tables and video streaming) and stay anchored in the home page of the article. When you are finished looking at the linked material simply close the window. Having a multiple window format allows for the simultaneous access and display of information, differing from the traditional linear presentation of information. It may take some adjustment, but we believe this accentuates the learning advantages inherit in the multitasking environment.

    Another challenge faced when developing the Journal of Technology in Counseling was finding the best choice of platform for presenting the journal. Our system requirements are described in a link 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. For detail about downloading and upgrading your system with this free software we direct you to Keith F. Iris, Jr.'s article in this first issue. Iris takes you through the process step-by-step to get your system state of the art for the journal experience.  Media streaming requires the use of a wide bandwidth so reliable fast Internet connections of 56K or faster is needed to run media components. For most academic and library sites this will not be a problem. Current dialup modem users may have delays in getting the media stream. Anticipated in the future will be faster modem connections available universally so technology will eventually bridge the current gap in bandwidth for users.

    Our first issue holds some pretty impressive contributions and we believe something for everybody. As founding editors of the journal we wanted to provide readers with some conceptual grounding in the development of a professional cyber-publication. Baltimore and Jencius explains the historic development of cyber-publication, criteria in establishing sound electronic publications, and how the Journal of Technology in Counseling represents a paradigm shift in how scholars think and do research. In the Journal's section on teaching and technology, Casey presents a descriptive historic look at computer assisted simulation for basic training skills. His article highlights a current counseling skill training product available for counselor educators. Hayes provides a historic look at how multimedia has been used in the preparation of counselors and asks important questions about getting sound data on its efficacy. Stone and Turba provide some valuable concrete examples of how school counselors, well prepared in the application of technology, can use it as a tool for student advocacy. Pelling and Renard provide readers with new developmentally-based considerations on how to use videotape in process of supervision. The Journal's section on research has two contributions. The first from Lundberg and Cobitz presents results from a survey of the Association for Assessment in Counseling looking at their member's use of technology. The second contribution in this section by Torres-Rivera, Maddux, and Phan looks at style and design considerations for websites from their survey of websites relating to multicultural issues.

    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 you professional development and lead you to look at how you use technology in your teaching and practice. Most of all we hope that this first issue will inspire you to consider a contribution to what we think is a worthy endeavor, the Journal of Technology in Counseling.

© 1999 Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership - Columbus State University