Service Delivery from the Guidance Office is seeing big shifts:

Students in my middle schools are no longer just readers of or listens to information put out by guidance counselors. Within the password protected Blackboard site our District has set up for me for guidance curriculum, we have Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Videocasts, Email, Homepages, Calendars, Discussion Boards, Questions forums, Guidance PowerPoints, Articles, etc. Our students are able to interact with the information we post and with each other as they share their thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for application of guidance curriculum. Because we have more than one middle school, we are able to put students in touch with students from other buildings within a safe internet system. As students learn that our site is a Read/Write site we are getting more and more participation.

 Right now I am doing a project with my 8th grade gifted students on Blackboard. We are using the message system, discussion board, Blogs, Wikis, course documents, etc to learn more about the 7 Habits and how they can be applied. I have three middle schools so my time in each building is limited. Being able to communicate with students through Blackboard enables me to better meet their needs. In the future, I can see doing group counseling through password protected Wikis or chat rooms within our system. 

When I first started learning about Web 2.0 technology in the classroom, my brain hurt and I thought this would be over my head. After only a few weeks of training, I see Web 2.0 tools helping me provide great  service my students more effectively. Using technology in the guidance office is a shift that my colleagues were originally surprised by and resistant to. Now after seeing what I am doing, they want a guidance page set up for our whole Guidance department so they can do what I am doing. The more students we reach out and help students and their families, the more other staff will see the usefulness of Web 2.0 technology in all areas of education.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/4917/studentsoncomputersgl3.jpg

I agree with the authors of the Wikispace bcejan08pls  who stated, “Connectivism, a learning theory developed by Siemens, supports the students of today’s society.” My students are online daily making connectings to other students in our district through Web 2.0 social networking sites.  They share knowledge relating to the processes, products, and content of their learning.  Because of their sharing they are growing more than they could do alone.   No longer to students learn alone, they are living in a Web 2.0 technology age and to keep up, they must join communities of learning using Web 2.0 technology. 

Ideas for Guidance Podcasting include:

• Students telling their experiences and advice for transitioning to a new school or grade level.

• Guidance Counselors recording interviews with students about Time Management, Study Skills and Test Taking Strategies.

• Guidance Counselors recording the upcoming calendar of college speakers, standardized tests, or other guidance activities.

• Guidance Counselors giving strategies for dealing with stress, decision making, goal setting, implementing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and bullying.  bullying.   CAS007 – Bullying: Intervention Strategies for the Victim and Bully w/ Dr.  Walter B. Roberts.  Airdate 2/16/2006.   I would recommend using this Podcast in staff development or with students in small group or individual counseling as you work with the bullies, bystanders, or the targets.   

• Guidance Counselors recording presentations for students or parents who could not attend (this may need to be longer than the 5-10 minutes maximum-it depends on the content and who the presenter is).

 The easiest way to begin is to create a podcast or vodcast (video podcast) of  a presentation or topic you have already worked with for years.   Check out Podcasts for Educators, Schools and Colleges for help getting started.    The Counselor’s Podcast™, a service of the Naviance Network™, features leading voices from the  school counseling community speaking on topics of professional interest.  The CounselorAudioSourse.net is another great site for examples of  School Counselor Podcasting. 

 http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d29b62a286909165517b

http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/category/6/68/58/

 Speaking of teenagers, Chuck Norris said:   “WE CAN’T MAKE THEIR DECISIONS FOR THEM, BUT WE CAN GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TOOLS THEY NEED TO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS.” 

What tools or skills do they need?  What is an effective teen? 

Are they reactive or proactive?

Do they know where they are going?

Do they prioritize the things they have to do?

Do they see life as a competition?

Do they talk first and then pretend to listen or listen actively?

Do they cooperate with others or do they think they are better off doing everything by themselves?

 Are they so busy with life that they do not have time to:

•         Spend quality time with family and friends

•         To do their homework

•         Read good books

•         Exercise

•         Take time for nature or other inspirational

Here is a presentation on this topic:

http://tagcblog.googlepages.com/home

Social Bookmarking Plan for Teens 

Social bookmarking is one method teens can use to help them gathering tools to help them make right decisions.

Go to http://del.icio.us/    Create your own account.  Think about what is important for you to know and apply as you make right decisions.  Decide what keywords or tags you wish to search for and do a search.   Remember you are the creator of how these tags will be used in organizing and storing your information.  Create your own list of saved sites and put in  a tag of tagcblog so I can find your list.  Email me at tagcblog@gmail.com when you are finished.