Written by: EduKate & Inspire, The Sunny Sunshine Student Support Store and Counselor Keri

Incorporating technology in school counseling can really engage students, but sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to use it in simple ways. Some Confident Counselors have great suggestions for how they use tech to improve their lessons and keep themselves organized.

How have you been using technology as a school counselor?

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Engaging, Smooth Lessons

The Sunny Sunshine Student Support Store I have found my students are more engaged in classroom lessons and group counseling sessions when I incorporate technology. I have updated many of my lessons in the PowerPoint format so it can be viewed on a SmartBoard or computer. I find by doing this and adding cute graphics, video clips or songs, student participation increases greatly.

When I can, I also like to add a game or review question activity that allows the students to get out of their seats to click the SmartBoard screen. An example lesson that includes a PowerPoint story and review activity can be found here Table Manners Social Story and Activity.

I have found that presenting my lessons this way helps to keep me on track and remember all my talking points with ease because it’s all on the screen. This strategy also helps to calm my jitters during formal observations.

– The Sunny Sunshine Student Support Store

Student Involvement and Organization

I have always been a techie person, so I love looking for ways to incorporate technology in school counseling. I am fortunate to work at a school that is full of technology. Each classroom has one-to-one devices, SmartBoards, and document cameras. When I teach my classroom lessons, I almost always use a Google Presentation to display content visually as I teach. I use a lot of media in my lessons including videos from YouTube and interactive websites.

One of my favorite classroom lessons that incorporates technology is my 4th-grade career lesson. Students research a chosen career based on their interests and then create a Google Slide about their chosen career. At the end of the lesson, we end up with a 20-25 slide presentation that students can click through to learn about their friend’s career interests!

Beyond counseling lessons, I also use technology to keep myself organized. Going digital has helped me become more efficient. I can easily locate important info and make adjustments from year to year. If you are interested in learning more about using technology to stay organized, check out my Digital Counseling Binder.

– Kate from EduKate and Inspire

Hands-On Activities

I love incorporating technology into individual and group counseling, as well as classroom guidance lessons! My lessons start with a warm-up dance, stretch, or other physical activity using YouTube clips to help students get jitters out and settle their bodies.

I have recently become really interested in using Google Slides, Forms, and Sheets in various ways. Google Forms is great for check-in/check-out interventions. Students record and enter their own data from feedback they’ve received throughout the day towards their goals. The data are easy to access and analyze.

Google slides is perfect for creating easy-to-access sorting activities that are totally paperless! My favorite digital sorting activity is this Think It or Say It task set. Google is such a game-changer when it comes to cutting down on paper, keeping track of and analyzing data, and making fun, interactive activities for students!

– Keri from Counselor Keri