“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make
him drink.” This old saying as
related to today’s counselor education students could be updated or reframed
to say, “You can lead students to websites but you can’t make them click.”
Despite the exponential advances in technology and the
use of the World Wide Web in the field of education, finding ways to demonstrate
and deliver services to students at all levels continues to be a challenge for
counselor educators (Sabella, 1999). Technological skills needed by human
services professionals include a common core of skills needed by all educators
and some skills unique to each discipline (Stone &
Turba, 1999). School
counselors in particular need technology skills to include knowledge of internet
resources as well as knowing how to help students access them, guidance and
counseling software, use of distance learning, use of listservs, and the
interest to keep up to date on the ever changing scene of computer technology (Turba,
1998). Further, they need to learn to use technology for monitoring student
progress and educational/career planning as well as to apply data to their
professional decision making (Martin, 1998).
School
counselors and counselor educators are increasingly recognizing the benefits of
using technology in many areas of their jobs and of increasing their resources
to help their students (Gerler, 1995, Sabella,
1996, Stone & Turba, 1999).
Such technology can significantly alter the work of counselors in the
areas of information retrieval and dissemination, college and career
exploration, actual counseling interventions as well as in establishing networks
of communication and support systems for clients (Van Horn & Myrick,
2001).
However,
school counselors need to be more actively involved in actually implementing
such technology into their jobs on a daily basis (Trilling & Hood,
1999).
Yet, recent studies have shown that many school counselors believe they have had
inadequate training in using computers in their work (Owen &
Weikel, 1999,
as cited in Van Horn & Myrick,
2001). Therefore, it is essential to infuse
such information, training, and knowledge of resources into their graduate
education. To help students develop such competencies, a major emphasis needs to
be placed on effective teaching and modeling by university faculty (National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1997).
Such
technology and training can include the use of electronic mail and newsletters
as a means of communication with students, parents and the community, learning
about relevant websites, networking and implementing counseling strategies.
Specific examples of applying such technology to counselor education can include
accessing online legislative information relating to schools in general and
counseling services specifically, using the internet to help students obtain
information about higher education, sources of financial aid, career
opportunities, and learning about mental health resources. Helping students
develop websites to post their own work as well as list resources and activities
for their students is another valuable skill to be learned.
Rationale
Counselor educators are viewing applied technology as both a teaching
tool and a necessary skill for their counselors in training (Van Horn &
Myrick, 2001). Acquiring technological skills is a developmental approach for
counseling students who must be supported by counselor educators to move from
“word processing to web pages to data analysis. . . ” (VanZandt &
Hayslip, 2001, p. 150). Counselor
educators are in a position to have access to many resources to share with their
students yet they realize that it is imperative to “shape” assignments or
point students in specific directions to maximize the effectiveness of the
assignments. There is an ever increasing amount of information available on the
internet and an essential skill for students to develop is not only to learn
about the resources, but to learn how to apply the information gathered to their
work in schools.
There are growing numbers of counseling courses and programs offered
online. And, there appears to be increasing external pressure from working
students as well as internal pressure relating to budget issues within
universities to provide on-line coursework. But there is also plenty of room for
the use of “online” assignments within a more traditional graduate program.
The authors have found that giving such assignments within their classes has
been a very effective way of helping their students learn about the content of
specific websites and make significant applications of the information gleaned
from the sites. Requiring an online assignment gets the students to “check
out” those important websites that they might otherwise overlook or ignore on
a “recommended resources list.” Further, the use of online assignments may
be a very useful tool when a professor may have to be absent from class while
presenting a paper at a conference or attending to other off campus professional
duties. The authors have used the
technique of assigning one such three hour assignment per course, the equivalent
of a weekly class period during a fifteen week semester. Examples of these will
be presented later in this article.
Organization
of Online Assignments
There are a variety of ways in which counselor educators can organize
online instruction. Assignments may
be done by individual course such as Career Development, Organization and
Administration of the Guidance and Counseling Program, Multicultural Counseling,
or Counseling Theories. Another
means of organization could be by topics that may be included within a
particular course or may be infused throughout a number of courses.
Examples of such topics could include, Legal and Ethical Issues in
Counseling, Professional Organizations and Publications (such as ACA, ASCA, and
ACES), and Resources for Counseling Children and Adolescents.
A
third example of organizing online assignments could be integrating them into
counseling supervision. In a
practicum or internship seminar students could be given assignments via
electronic mail and could be organized into cyberspace forums where they could
respond to each other’s contributions. The
weekly seminar would be an excellent opportunity for students and the university
supervisor to share resources that have proved successful in their work and to
collaborate on the development of a website that could be used with their
students. Further, if internships are being conducted at a long distance from
the university, online assignments and e-mail would be the primary way that
professors and students communicate with one another (Myrick & Sabella,
1995).
Following are some examples of online assignments that the authors have
developed for use in their counselor education classes.
In each case, the assignment is given well ahead of the due date and is
designed to take about three hours to complete. Instruction and specific
demonstrations are given with examples of how to access and apply the internet
resources highlighted in the assignment. On the developmental scale, the
assignments that follow are found relatively early in the preparation program
and the emphasis is to focus on the analysis and synthesis of information on the
world wide web. Searching for
resources on the web is an important, albeit less sophisticated, skill than
using technology for data analysis. Stone
and Turba’s (1999) article that appeared in the Journal of Technology of
Counseling outlined suggestions for using data analysis in the counseling
program. The intent of this article
is to explore sample assignments that develop the use of the web as a powerful
resource for aspiring school counselors.
Legal and Ethical Issues
Internet
Assignment
1. Go to the American Counseling Association (ACA) website
pertaining to the code of ethics: http://www.counseling.org/resources/codeofethics.htm.
Choose one of the 8 sections listed and write a paragraph summarizing the
main points of that section. How
does this section specifically apply to your relationship with the client
population with whom you will be working? Describe a potential ethical dilemma
you may encounter with this population.
2. Go to http://www.schoollaw.com/
and click on “Essential Links.” Go to “U. S. Government” and then click
on “OCR: Final Sexual Harassment Guidance.”
Summarize briefly the implications of the Gebser (1998) and Davis
(1999)
Supreme Court decisions concerning the liability of schools with regard to
sexual harassment of students. Describe a possible intervention that school
counselors can make to prevent such harassment among students.
3. Go to the National Information
Center for Children with Disabilities: http://www.nichcy.org/.
Click on Idea ’97 Information and then “summary of changes.”
Under Part IIB, “Assistance for the Education of All Children with
Disabilities” click on “discipline of children with disabilities.”
What provisions are made by this law for the school discipline of
children with disabilities? What role can counselors play in helping parents
understand the implications of this law for their children?
4. Find the “Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe
Schools” site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/Products/earlywrn.html.
Click on “Get the Document.” Go to “Early Warning Signs.”
Write a page on what you think are the school counselors’ legal and
ethical responsibilities in intervening with potentially violent students.
Mention two approaches they could take with this issue.
5. Peruse the American Counseling Association’s “Ethical
Standards for Internet Online Counseling” to be found at: http://www.counseling.org/.
Describe two issues surrounding confidentiality and privacy issues with online
counseling.
Organization
and Administration of Guidance and Counseling Programs
Internet
Assignment
1.
Visit the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA) website at http://www.schoolcounselor.org.
View the National Standards for School Counseling Programs.
List one major benefit of using these standards for each of the following
groups:
-
a.
school counselors
-
b.
students
-
c.
parents
-
d.
teachers
-
e.
administrators
-
f.
community
2. It is important for school
counselors to be familiar with their state’s K-12 academic standards and
incorporate them into their guidance and counseling program.
Visit the following website related to the Florida “Sunshine State
Standards” at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/sunsations.
Do a key word search for a sample lesson plan related to a guidance/career
education area. How would you use
that lesson plan in your guidance and counseling program?
3. School counselors are naturally
involved with their state’s student assessment plan in a variety of ways and
need to be familiar with the types of tests administered to their students.
a.
Go to http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/fcat.htm.
What grade levels does Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT)
cover? Describe the scoring for the
FCAT. How would you explain these scores in plain language to parents and
students?
b.
Go to www.firn.edu/doe/menu/sss.htm
Describe the relationship between the
Sunshine State Standards and the FCAT.
4.School counselors are an
important resource for exceptional students and their families.
Go to http://seriweb.com.
Choose one of the listed exceptionalities and follow the link.
Find a web-based resource for working with that population.
Write down the URL and a paragraph describing its offerings.
5. Find a web page devoted to
school guidance and counseling. An
example is the Norfolk Public Schools site
http://www.nps.k12.va.us/guidance/welcome.html.
Go to “Guidance Resources for
Parents and Students.” Follow a
link to a resource of your choice. Describe
how counselors could use this link to help students and their parents.
6. It is important for counselors
to know about the demographic data of the student population with which they
work. Such data can often be used
to provide support for programs for the students.
Go to http://www.census.gov.
-
a.
Click on the link “poverty” under People.
Go to “Poverty in the US”, then “current population survey
1959-2000”, then people, then table 3.
Examine the charts about children under 18.
What percentages of white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander/ and
Hispanic children fall under the poverty level?
-
-
b.
Then look up the poverty level for your state
(table 19) How might a counselor use this data to affect the school
counseling program?
7. School counselors need to have
access to information to help them motivate and educate middle school students
about higher education opportunities. Go
to http://www.collegeboard.com/
Click on “planning for college” and then “making the most of high
school.” This site is used for 8th grade students to help them get
on the path to thinking about attending college, particularly ones who may not
have been exposed to this information/options previously.
Choose one of the links to peruse and review.
Write a paragraph describing its usefulness to counselors working with
this population.
8. Being able to understand and
interpret data and use it for the good of students is an important counselor
skill. Go to http://info.doe.state.fl.us/fsir/
This is a searchable database about Florida school indicators.
Enter the school year, school type (elementary, middle, or high), level
of data (school, district, or state) and an indicator of your choice. Examples are absence, disabilities, free/reduced price lunch,
gifted, incidence of crime/violent activity, etc. Print out your data. How
could a school counselor use this data to help plan programs for their
population?
Career
Development
Internet
Assignment
Using the special web page created
for Career Development, please complete the following tasks. (To access this
page, go to http://www.coe.ufl.edu/faculty/clark/
and click online career resources)
1.Take a look at the World of Work
Map (ACT). Explain briefly how the
6 career clusters, 12 regions and 23 career areas are organized.
2. Go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Choose a specific occupation and print out the following information on
it.
a.
job description
b.
working conditions
c.
training/education needed
d.
earnings
e.
job outlook
3.
Go to campustours.com (virtual
tours)- Choose a university either by A-Z or by location and take a
virtual tour. What was appealing
about this site? What recommendations would you have to improve this site? List
3 things that you learned about the university that you didn’t know
previously.
4.Choose a website under Career and
Field Specific Site. (ex. Mental Helpnet Joblink, Chronicle of Higher Education,
etc.) Print out a position description in a counseling area that might appeal to
you.
5.Go to
collegeboard.com.
Click on the Advanced Search, answer the questions and find a university
that matches your preferences. Which characteristics were priorities for you in
making the search?
6. Go to the Santa Fe Community
College career resource center website. (http://admn.santafe.cc.fl.us/~crc/
a.
Click on career assessments on the web.
Choose an interest inventory such as Career Key. Print out your results
and write a paragraph summarizing results.
b.
Click on student financial aid resources. Under the “Scholarships”
section, research a source of financial aid for the population of your choice.
7. Go to Florida echoices.
This is a computer assisted career planning program which is free for
Florida students. Click on one of
the databases (occupations, post-secondary schools, graduate schools).
Do a search for an occupation or school that matches your interests and
needs.
8. Choose your 2 favorite career related websites that you have
discovered as a result of surfing the web as a part of today’s assignment.
Write a brief description of each as a recommendation for your classmates.
Tips
for Optimal Use of Online Assignments
There are a number of considerations to facilitate the smooth delivery of
and maximize the opportunities for students in using online assignments.
Counselor educators may decide to set up their own websites with resources
organized and electronic addresses called universal resource locators (URL)
listed for students. In this scenario, students can go to the instructor’s
website and click on the specific resources required for the assignment. An
example of this format is used in the “Career Development” assignment given
earlier. Another option is to spell
out the URL for each task on the assignment and the student is responsible for
typing them into the computer. A third option is for the instructor to give more
general assignments in which the student is required to search and discover
sites by topic or subject. In this
last case, there is more room for variety and variability in the tasks given and
responses made.
Instructors
who feel confident and are prepared to guide students through the process help
students feel more comfortable in using the technology as part of their
repertoire of skills (Stone & Turba,
1999). Such guidance is offered during
the first part of the semester so that students can complete the assignment at
their own pace and can use the resources offered as they need them. It is
essential that students understand the purpose of the assignment as well as how
to use the computer in accessing the resources. Demonstrating the use of the
Internet in general as well as specific websites is necessary.
Including the online assignment as part of the course syllabus is another
option for introducing the requirement early in the semester. Although the
assignments may include some local as well as state and national resources, each
instructor can adapt these assignments to the needs of their local student
population.
The authors have found that it is important for students to have a
“product” as a result of the assignment.
Simply asking students to go to a website does not ensure that they check
it out or apply what they might find there.
Having them answer questions about the site, or make
comments/recommendations about the site, which are turned in to the instructor,
is essential to the intent of the assignment.
After all, once instructors have led students to the website, they want
to be certain that students have not only “clicked” but have learned
something from the experience. After
the assignment is due, it can be useful to have students take turns coming to
the front of the class and typing in their favorite URL to share with their
classmates. As a follow up, they can e-mail the URL with a brief description to
the instructor or a teaching assistant who can compile a group list of favorite
sites to be distributed to the class or posted on the instructor’s website.
Such collaboration in the classroom can set the stage for future professional
sharing.
Grading of these assignments can be handled in a variety of ways, as can
traditional assignments. The authors have found it appropriate to include these
as part of the class participation portion of the semester grade.
Conclusion
Students have been very receptive and enthusiastic about the use of
online assignments. They comment
that the requirement makes them check out and make use of resources with which
they may not otherwise have been familiar. Further, it offers them opportunities for interventions and
strategies to use with their practicum and internship clients.
Trying out websites, which may include such things as financial aid
information, virtual college tours and interest inventories enables them to grow
personally and professionally. Having
to think about how to use data from the U. S. Census website gives them a new
vision of what obstacles and opportunities may exist in their clients’ worlds. Applying such knowledge is a big step in developing their own
philosophy and accompanying strategies regarding their work in school
counseling.
One
student commented in a course evaluation:
I thought the internet assignment was great. More than anything else, it helped me
to know what is available online. I’ve discovered that the
information and ideas can be applied to
different areas of counseling in addition to career development. In my
internship site I assigned a couple a personality assessment we used from the
resources we tried in class in hopes they could have a more concrete and
positive way of talking about their personality differences. I have even been
recommending some of these sites to my younger sister who going to be a junior
in high school. She loved the Virtual College Tour site and has found out a
lot more about colleges and financial aid because of my help.
Another
student enthused:
I
loved the online assignment as it really opened my eyes to a lot of resources
that I had no idea were even out there! I was clueless that specific data on
individual schools was available on the Internet; it made me realize that it can
be really helpful to know the population demographics of your school and
district when you are trying to plan your school counseling program. I will
definitely go back to those sites.
A doctoral student serving as a
teaching assistant for one of the authors stated:
This
is such a great way to organize resources for the class! It gets the students to
try a good sample of websites and to help them become knowledgeable about their
use with students and families. They’ve been excited about it, too. I’ve
learned a lot from helping with the assignments and am definitely going to use
some of these methods when I am a counselor educator.
Through efficient, effective use of technology, counselor education
students will be in a favorable position to become even more effective
professionals who will be able to work with their students/clients in a variety
of new ways. They can indeed be brokers of resources, will have the skills to
seek out and implement a variety of strategies in their work and will have the
knowledge of how to apply data to help their populations.
Online assignments are one important means to help our students learn and
practice these skills.
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Gebser v. Lago Vista
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Myrick, R. D. &
Sabella, R. A. (1995). Cyberspace: New place for
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B. & Hood, P. (1999). Learning, technology, and education reform in the
knowledge age or “we’re wired, webbed, and windowed, now what?” Educational
Technology, 39(3), 5-18.
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R. (1998). From supporters of academic rigor. In Stone, C. B.
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Horn, S. M. & Myrick, R. D. (2001).
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Mary Ann Clark, Ph.D., NCC, is an Assistant Professor
in the Department of Counselor Education at the University of Florida. Dr. Clark
was a school counselor at the elementary, middle and high school levels as well
as a school administrator for twenty years, working in both stateside and
overseas school districts. Inquiries regarding this manuscript can be directed
to Dr. Clark at maclark@coe.ufl.edu.
Carolyn B. Stone, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor in
Counselor Education at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dr. Stone spent 22 years with the Duval County Public School system in
Jacksonville as teacher, elementary and high school counselor and Supervisor of
Guidance Services. Dr. Stone has served as the Principal Investigator for a
DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest grant, Transforming School Counseling, at UNF
to include new skills for school counselors such as using computer technology to
advocate for students.
