Computer technology and the 21st Century school counselor.

Computer technology has affected virtually all aspects of life, including the way people communicate ideas, conduct business, and provide education. In the nation's schools, the use of computer technology is increasing at a rapid rate, including more Internet connections to classrooms, computer labs, and libraries (Trotter & Zehr, 1998). The percentage of public elementary schools with Internet access rose from 30% in 1994 to 88% in 1998. In addition, public secondary schools increased their Internet access from 49% in 1994 to 94% in 1998 (The Condition of Education, 1999).

Trilling and Hood (1999) emphasized that even though billions of dollars are being spent on connecting schools with information infrastructure, school counselors need to be more actively involved in implementing computer technology. Computer technology can significantly affect the work of counselors in the areas of information retrieval and dissemination, distance learning, college and career exploration, counseling interventions, networking and support systems, and training and supervision. The purpose of this article is to focus on different ways school counselors can utilize computer technology to work more efficiently and help students succeed.

Retrieving and Disseminating Information

Electronic Mail

Technological advances impact how people retrieve and disseminate information. School counselors can use computer technology to retrieve and disseminate information involving students, parents, and others (McLellan, 1999). E-mail, for example, is becoming a universal means of communication. It is opening communication and providing an expedient and efficient means of posing questions, requesting information, and responding.

McLellan (1999) recognized that email could be used to assist students and parents by providing direct channels of communication. For example, a parent might e-mail the school counselor to express concern about his or her son's adjustment to school and to ask if his behavior is typical of teenagers. The counselor could respond with a few general comments and describe a parent group where mutual concerns and interests are shared. The exchange of information is typically brief, can save counselor time, and provide parents with a timely response (Jongekrijg & Russell, 1999; Myrick & Sabella, 1995). In another example, students from one school can exchange notes and messages with students from another regarding common interests or concerns and become computer pals.

Web Sites

Counselors can also disseminate information to others through Web pages linked to their school's Web site. For instance, a guidance homepage can include links to a school's mission statement, the principal's goals for the year, or faculty profiles. A guidance Web site can also include descriptions of special opportunities and activities for students and parents offered through the guidance department such as small group counseling sessions and peer facilitator programs. In addition, a guidance department can create and post a master calendar that lists important events and dates such as days for standardized tests and college admission deadlines. An online guidance calendar, with supportive links and Web pages, also promotes public awareness about the role and functions of a school counselor.

One example of where this type of computer technology is being utilized is at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois. This high school's Web site (http://www.d230.org/sandburg/) has guidance links that connect to information on financial aid, career and college exploration, standardized tests, and summer internships and job opportunities. In another example, the Orange County Public School System in Orlando, Florida, has developed a Web site (http://www.ocps. kl2.fl.us/framework/sd/index.htm) to promote the county's academic and emotional expectations for students. The Web site contains educational frameworks, one of which focuses on guidance and student development. This particular framework touches on three areas or strands of development, including social and emotional, career, and academic. The curriculum expectations can be accessed through the district's Web site and are presented by grade level. A parent can choose a particular area of the curriculum and download student goals to access the educational requirements and expectations for students. The information on this Web site can assist parents in understanding how student development goals are related to the educational development and academic success of all children.

Parents, students, community members, and district personnel can be better informed about a school's guidance program when they consult the department's Web page. Drug aware ness programs (e.g., Red Ribbon Week) and career days can be promoted, and the community can learn of opportunities to donate time as well as money and participate in tutoring, mentoring, chaperoning, and other services. Parents might also view Web pages containing announcements about parenting resources or support groups.

Electronic Newsletters

Electronic newsletters provide tremendous amounts of information to large audiences in a relatively short amount of time with little cost. Electronic newsletters can be viewed through a set of Web pages and/or distributed through listserves that contain a listing of subscriber names and e-mail addresses. One example is Bits and Bytes (http://grove.ufl.edu/-wrsmith/f4.html), the Florida High School guidance newsletter, which features various topics of interest to students and parents accessed through the school's Web page. Each issue contains sections or linked Web pages that focus on career development, current events, and "hot" sites on the Internet, while also providing an arena for students to share their thoughts and opinions on a particular issue.

EdInfo (http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/ EDInfo/) is a free electronic publication that can be retrieved either through a Web site or mailed directly to a subscriber's e-mail address from the U.S. Department of Education. It describes educational initiatives, including grant invitations, learning activities, special programs, ideas for parents, and news about recent events in education. There are also numerous links to educational resources. Another newsletter, ACAeNews, is produced by the American Counseling Association and can also be subscribed to through its Web site (http://www.counseling.org/enews/). It is published bi-weekly and delivered via e-mail to listserve members or can be accessed through its Web page. It provides current information relevant to counseling including grant opportunities, professional resources, conferences, and news regarding state and national counseling-related events.

Online newsletters can also assist counselors with technical support. SchoolCounselor.com (http://www. schoolcounselor.com) is an electronic newsletter designed to answer counselor questions regarding technology and ways it might be applied. Using this site as a resource, school counselors can obtain help setting up their own electronic newsletters for distribution to selected stakeholders such as parents, students, and administrators.

Online Journals

Online counseling journals are another example of how new technology is affecting the dissemination of information. Counselors from all over the world can tap into current research and new techniques that are presented in journals on the Internet. One example is the Journal of Technology in Counseling (http://jtc.colstate.edu/). This online journal publishes articles on aspects of practice, theory, research, and professionalism related to the use of technology in counselor training and counseling interventions.

One distinct advantage of an electronic journal or newsletter over other types is that the full range of available Web resources can be linked to other resources. In addition, animated graphics, audio, and video can be incorporated. The information can be downloaded, saved to a disk, e-mailed to colleagues, or printed for use.

Distance Learning

Computer technology and the Internet are tools that allow education to be more accessible and convenient to people regardless of location. Classrooms and guidance offices in the 21st Century are no longer tied to resources in a traditional school building. Learners can obtain information from virtually anywhere as technology has opened the door to distance learning.

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.

Activities such as problem-solving dilemmas can utilize cooperative learning and computer-based instruction with positive outcomes (Brucklacher & Gimbert, 1999). In a study reported by Barron (1989), video technology was applied to assist at-risk students in the learning process. This technology was shown to be effective in enhancing learning due to the opportunities to notice sensory images. The video technology allows students to develop certain learning patterns related to visual and auditory cues and is particularly helpful for students with limited knowledge and low interest in the area being taught. Shulman, Sweeney, and Gerler (1995) recommended that "school counselors and technology specialists collaborate to create computer assisted programs enhanced by color, graphics, music and animation that can lead to more favorable attitudes on the part of students ..." (p. 77). The integration of applied technology and media-enhanced instruction can help to increase counselor rapport with students, engage students, and increase student interaction (Caudill, 1998; Cornell, 1999).

Networking

Technology has provided new ways in which people can connect with one another to form valuable support systems. E-mail, listserves, Web sites, chat rooms, teleconferencing, and computer bulletin boards not only assist in disseminating and retrieving information, but can also enable counselors to network with colleagues (McLellan, 1999; Myrick, 1997). A few examples include developing online mentoring programs, providing online legislative information to colleagues, and sharing experiences and recommendations about counseling resources.

Four Directions (http://www.tapr.org/4d/ info. html) is an example of an electronic mentoring project that matches Bureau of Indian Affairs schools with Native American volunteers. This program enables classroom teachers and students in rural and remote areas to connect with Native American volunteers in urban areas via computer technology. This online connection allows students to collaborate and share ideas with other Native Americans with various interests, occupations, and personal experiences. Another example of an online mentoring program can pair experienced school counselors in a district with beginning counselors or counselors new to that school system. Imagine a beginning counselor who is uncertain about how to start a peer facilitator program or is having a difficult time prioritizing a typical week to incorporate small group counseling. A mentor can serve to minimize or reduce the feelings of isolation and loneliness that new counselors may experience and provide timely advice and suggestions. This can sometimes make the difference between a counselor feeling encouraged or discouraged. Utilizing computer technology such as e-mail can make it possible for experienced school counselors, who may find it difficult to leave their school to be available to help new counselors.

Computer listserves and Web sites are also tools for networking and are quick ways to reach school counselors to confer about local, state, and national legislation. In addition, legal and professional issues associated with the school counseling profession can also be discussed over the Internet. The names and email addresses of legislators in a state or county can be placed on a listserve to increase awareness and save time and money. Legislators listen to their constituencies, and the Internet can become a viable means of communication on important issues affecting school counselors. This type of rapid communication has the potential to increase awareness and advocacy for school counselors in order to support student's academic achievement (Stone & Turba, 1999).

Training and Supervision

Advances in computer technology have played a major role in the changes to training and counseling supervision (D'Andrea, 1995; Gerler, 1995; Myrick & Sabella, 1995). Computer technology has been used to supervise counselor education students in their practicum and internship experiences. This type of supervision features a professional counselor supervising either one or a group of four or five students through the Internet. Weekly correspondence is established through e-mails, bulletin boards, or instant messaging (Myrick & Sabella, 1995). Group members read their messages and contribute information. An exchange often includes information about a counselee, the presenting problem, strategies used in the counseling process, and any concerns or questions. Specific tasks are occasionally asked of the supervisees such as describing one counseling activity or technique that was used and how well it worked. Tasks help structure the supervision experience, yet still allow freedom to expand on experiences and receive feedback and ideas from their peers (Myrick & Sabella, 1995). Supervision via the Internet can provide support and guidance that students require in their training experiences. Sampson et al. (1997) stated, "audio or videoconferencing can be used for conducting individual supervision, group supervision, and case conferences when face-to-face interaction is not feasible" (p. 209).

New doors have also been opened for counselor educators who have been hesitant in utilizing computer technology in preparing school counselors. Power Point presentations have become more common, and many professors are viewing applied technology as both a teaching tool and a necessary skill for counselors. Counselor education students can learn how e-mail can be used to form networks. School counseling programs can teach their graduate students how to create Web pages so that they will be able to develop Web sites at their schools.

School counselors are also implementing technology in their staff development trainings and peer facilitation trainings. Media-enhanced instruction such as Power Point presentations can engage audiences using sounds, visuals, and demonstrations (Cornell, 1999). For instance, a school counselor could use either a large screen or closed circuit television to project a Power Point presentation to the entire school staff on effective classroom management techniques or ways to modify the curriculum for students with special needs. The presentation could also include additional technology such as links to Web sites that provide additional information, examples, and case studies. With the assistance of the school counselor, a committee of teachers might share their work with the staff and others in the district through a Web page linked to their school Web site. There could also be links to resources for working with special needs students. Computer technology makes it easy to locate information and even easier to present it to others. In the near future, consultations and meetings will include technology that will make it possible for counselors from different schools to confer with one another face-to-face without leaving their offices.

Facing Limitations

Advances in computer technology provide exciting possibilities for the school counseling profession. However, this technology also brings with it several challenges and ethical issues that need to be addressed. Some of the concerns for school counselors include lack of confidentiality, limited training, and inequality of resources (Sampson et al., 1997).

An ethical issue that arises with the use of computer technology and counseling is the possibility for a lack of confidentiality (Sampson et al., 1997). Technological advances such as listserves, e-mail, the Internet, and videoconferencing can create environments where privacy is not necessarily guaranteed. Supervision via the Internet can lack privacy, and school counselors need to be aware that information regarding a student must be protected (Jongekrijg & Russell, 1999). The same security needs to be utilized when working with videoconferencing to make sure that highest amount of privacy is maintained.

Limited training is another obstacle that faces school counselors using multimedia interventions. Implementing computer technology as a counseling strategy requires the necessary equipment and software training. In a study exploring the use of computers in school counseling programs, Owen and Weikel (1999) summarized that "whether they [school counselors] used a computer extensively or not, many respondents felt inadequately prepared to use computers in their work as counselors" (p. 181). There is a need for more technology training for school counselors. Moreover, given the speed with which computer technology is developing, there is also a need for continuous training where counselors can learn and collaborate with one another on new advances (D'Andrea, 1995). School counselors sometimes find it challenging to incorporate technology in new and different ways due to a fear of change and learning new skills. In addition to the lack of technology training for school counselors, there is also a lack of research on utilizing technology with students in counseling interventions. According to D'Andrea (1995), there have been few articles in the professional school counseling literature that focused specifically on practical ways in which school counselors can utilize computers to promote student development.

An additional challenge is the inequality of computer access and resources that faces school counselors and the implementation of technology (Milone, 1999). For example, while some school counselors are learning to create guidance Web sites listing student requirements and a calendar of events, it must be noted that not every family will have access to this information. Not all students have the same access to computer technology and this can affect how much information they receive (Vargas, 1995).

Conclusion

Computer technology has changed the way professional school counselors must fulfill their role (Myrick, 1997). These changes incorporate the many ways information is retrieved and disseminated to others such as utilizing e-mail, videoconferencing, Web pages, online journals, and newsletters. Computer technology has opened the doors to distance learning through videoconferencing and online high schools and provided different ways for students to explore college and career opportunities. The prevalence of computers in schools has provided a new tool to enhance counseling interventions, an efficient way for counselors to network with one another, and a convenient option for training and supervision. The present and future of school counseling needs to address effective utilization of computer technology and advanced software to help students succeed (Hardesty & Utesch, 1994). Additional training and resources must be actively pursued in order to make these changes a reality. Computer technology is here to stay and will become a significant factor in the success of the 21st Century school counselor.

References

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Stacy M Van Horn is an elementary school counselor, Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, FL, and a doctoral candidate, Counselor Education Department, University of Florida, Gainesville. E-mail: [e-mail].

Robert D. Myrick, Ph.D., is a professor, Counselor Education Department, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville.