Freedom Philosophy

I find that technology use in counseling is a bi-directional process of both providing solutions to needs I know exist and finding new uses for the technology I have in hand.

Doodle

As an example of the former, last spring I discovered the scheduling program Doodle so I could simplify the process of setting up multiple meetings per week. Rather than collecting and organizing the schedules of a dozen colleagues for each meeting through email, the online solution Doodle does all that for me. All I do is post a few times when I am available for a meeting, send out the link, and others indicate when they can meet. A visual picture quickly forms of when the meeting can take place and scheduling is done. As an additional benefit, because people can see the entries ahead of their own, subsequent responses are influenced toward mutually agreeable times.

iPad for School Counseling

One of the things I was bothered by during discussions with students was having to frequently disrupt the flow of conversation to gather around my computer when the discussion required us to go online to show look at a video or something else relevant to the topic at hand. With an iPad in my office, I can open up Safari and we can pass media back and forth very comfortably and naturally as a digital extension of the conversation.

Sometimes, I am the one who wants to share an illustration with a student to help them think over an issue in a different manner. The iPad is for me in counseling what the projector is for a classroom teacher. I use both Drop Box and Evernote to wirelessly share information between my computer, smart phone, and iPad. As I prepare for sessions with students, I can save images, poems, and other resources into drop box and have it literally in hand the next instant to share with students – no printing required.

An unanticipated benefit of the iPad for counseling occurs during classroom observations. I know that if I am in a class completing an observation and typing up my observation notes directly into my laptop, it looks and feels like I am only partially in the room. I think many would agree that when someone is working on a computer it always looks like they are doing something else. With an ipad, it is far less invasive as I jot down quick notes into a much smaller device and black out the screen instantly so I can leave it where I was and walk around the room. While this may change in time, I don’t think people consider the iPad a device for “serious work” so I don’t think it fosters the same “analysis paralysis” that can inhibit accurate observations as students censor what they do and say.

The Next Frontier

Just this week I picked up an application for the ipad called “WebPad” that enables people to draw and illustrate much like finger painting right on the screen. In turn this illustration can be shared (in real time), saved, and stored. I don’t have much of an Art Therapy background but I see enormous potential in this app for work with younger children or even older students and adults who find visual expression more accessible. I can also see WebPad  making it easier for people to share names or words that they may have trouble saying by simply scribbling it out with their finger.

Limitations

Even with the docking keyboard, the iPad is not going to replace my computer for much of the record keeping or work I need to do as part of case management. The creation of longer documents or complicated tasks such as editing Google Docs, entering information into our FileMaker Pro database or creating presentations are either not it’s forte or simply not possible with this device. However, as a piece of equipment that can dramatically impact the quality of counseling interactions with students, the iPad has already made a significant difference in my daily counseling practice and I look forward to where it leads me next. – AC

Counselling Study, Education, Technology

For my graduate program we were asked to address school ranking based on test performance in a forum discussion. I got pretty fired up about it and venting just to the people in my program didn’t have enough impact so I am sharing it on freedom philosophy as well.

Question – What concerns would you have about school rankings like those of the Fraser Institute based on achievement test results? If you are passionate about education and feel like you need some quick adrenaline check out this video by the same organization. Holy not educators Batman…

Here are some thoughts I expressed on this.

Point 1 - Academics are only a fraction of what makes a good school. As a parent and an educator, I am most concerned that my own kids and my students learn how to learn and how to love learning. While some fundamental skills are undoubtedly necessary, I would argue a case for the “intangibles” of a school as making the key ranking differences.

Such typically unconsidered factors would include: how interested are students (yes even high school) in going to school. How all school community members would rate the rapport between faculty and students. How satisfied the teachers are with their jobs. The quality and number of the extracurricular activities offered. The access the school provides to technology and web 2.0 tools. How varied the classroom practices are. Among others…

Point 2 -If the goal of education is to create people who perform well on standardized tests, then a system that is oriented toward that outcome is exactly what should be created. Performing well on standardized tests, however, is a near useless life skill as far as I am concerned. At this point, I am almost sick of the hype around 21st century education but considering the arcane nature of ranking schools based solely (soulessly) on test performance doesn’t the following make more sense?

“21st century education is flexible, creative, challenging, and complex. It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities” (Possibilities for 21st Century Education, 2008).

I am not worried about professional evaluation. I can teach students to do well on a test or I can help people develop into imaginative, motivated, voracious learners who know how to learn what they will need to know when they create the future. Unfortunately the differences between the two with regard to style of teaching, learning, and what it means to perform do not work well in tandem. One is teaching people how to succeed in a box that was created in the past. The other is teaching people how to succeed outside the box that hasn’t been created yet.

Possibilities for 21st Century Education. (2008). Retrieved July 05, 2010 from 21st Century Schools: http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/​what_is_21st_century_education.htm.

Images: As far as I could tell these images are open source. If I am mistaken please post a reply to this post indicating that and I will take them down.

Counselling Study, Editorial, Education Assessment, counselling, Education, Ranking