How does technology empower you to build relationships with your students and increase the accessibility of the content you are trying to provide?

Last year I was fortunate enough to receive an iPad as part of my school’s 1-to-1 initiative. But the most powerful thing I have used the iPad for is not any particular app. With my iPad, I can look up the grades of a student I see in the cafeteria, and walk over to that student to give a compliment for something that has been going well. Or I can find students in the hallway and make appointments with them on the spot, instead of asking them to come by my office after school and hoping they remember, or don't have to catch a bus home.

Sometimes technology provides answers to questions you haven't even asked yet. For instance, I knew there had to be a better way to help students with their SAT registrations. I have been working with students one-on-one, answering the same questions again and again, and even helping more the next day when they didn't know how to get past a part while at home. But when Jeff Ream (@CounselingGeek) introduced me to Screencast-o-matic, I was able to create a step-by-step screen-share video to walk my students through the entire registration process. They could watch it day or night, as many times as necessary to help with the task at hand. The Tech Tool Video Blog posts on Jeff's blog inspired me to try something new, and now I have a tool I wasn't even looking for.

*Credit goes to my wife (@karen_wolfson) for introducing me to Explain Everything, which I used to produce some of the video.

Sometimes technology even helps you do things that really have nothing to do with technology in the first place.  I always want to uncover new and effective ways of working with my students, regardless of the medium. I like asking questions and learning from other people. I do this with my colleagues at school and through the people I meet at conferences and programs.  Yet a technology tool like Twitter has made it possible for me and thousands of other school counselors to connect and learn great ideas from one another, in ways that would have not been possible without it.

No matter your comfort level with technology, you might be surprised how it can help you reach your goals. Here are some ideas to get started:

• Check out Jeff’s blog, www.thecounselinggeek.com, and see how the unique tools he features will inspire you. You never know what will get your creative juices flowing.
  

• Visit SCOPE (The School Counselor Online Professional Exchange) and learn about more great technology ideas directly from other school counselors just like you. Between communication, organization and presentation tools, there is something for everyone to learn.
  

• Take a look at the questions and answers asked by school counselors on #SCCrowd.  Maybe you will see a discussion that relates back to a thought you have had and say, “This gives me a great idea I can try!”
  

Technology is a vehicle to take us where we are going. Where will technology take you?

Did you know that there have been 44 questions posted to #SCCrowd since the last Q&A Day 17 days ago?  Most of them have gotten at least one reply.  Many have gotten multiple answers and some have even led to extended conversations!

Part of the idea for #SCCrowd was to connect people with similar questions so they could all benefit from those answers offered by the crowd. But have you seen a question that resonated with you, and then actually gone back a day or two later to see all the answers?

I know that is not too practical...

Two nights ago, @adolwyn asked:

A couple of nights earlier, I had offered an answer to a similar question on #SCCrowd, as did a few other people. So rather than re-write the same things, I replied with a link to the other question and answers:

Her reply back got me thinking. With most of us following hundreds or even thousands of Twitter accounts, and everyone checking our timelines, lists and hashtags in different ways, how could anyone stay caught up and not miss anything?

So what is #SCCrowd? It started with a question...

I attended a professional development workshop in the fall of 2013 with this question on my mind.  During a break, I met another counselor in the crowd who I discovered was dealing with the same issue.  But she had already learned the answer, and happily shared it with me!
 
Two thoughts occurred to me at that moment:
1. I was quite fortunate to have met this random person in the crowd who had the answer to my problem, and,
2. There are probably many other people out there dealing with the same issue, and could have benefited from our conversation.

This is where the idea for #SCCrowd began...

#SCCrowd stands for School Counselor Crowdsourcing.  It's about getting answers to our questions from the masses. Chances are, someone in the crowd of school counselors has the answers we are looking for, or needs the answers we have.  #SCCrowd is an amplifier for this Q&A, to help find and share solutions.

Steven Anderson expressed this idea pretty well...

While #SCCrowd (and the corresponding @SCCrowd) started just as an idea, it has been thrilling to watch people form its definition over the last three months! In the beginning, some great school counselors and educators were truly instrumental in giving #SCCrowd a vital boost: collaboration with @karen_wolfson, @CZLaw, @SSpellmanCann, @tmscounselor and @ChrisWood415 led directly to the monthly Q&A Days on #SCCrowd. Thank you! (Please follow these great visionaries!)

Q&A Day on #SCCrowd is now held every third Tuesday of the month. It's a chance for people to ask questions, knowing there is going to be an active crowd watching, reading along and ready to help!  A unique feature of the Q&A is that people are encouraged to ask and answer questions throughout the day on #SCCrowd.  I'll admit, I didn't know how the first day would go, and went into it on a leap of faith. But I was quickly inspired by what I saw!  For example, on that first Q&A Day...

...I knew the crowd of school counselors was eager to help each other any time of the day!

The second Q&A Day then revealed that there really are others in the same situations that we might find ourselves in...

One development during this Q&A Day really demonstrated the mission of #SCCrowd. @TVHSCounselor asked three questions that afternoon, and started some great dialog between a few school counselors even before the live chat.  Then, when one of her questions was revisited that evening, nine more people helped come up with ideas!

Then she (along with 24 other people who participated) became a resource herself by answering more questions from the crowd as the chat continued!  And when asked at the end of the chat, "How can we support each other as school counselors?" she replied...

Awesome!

The latest Q&A Day was a huge success! There were over forty questions asked, fifty different people using #SCCrowd in at least one tweet during the day, and countless re-tweets and favorites and replies on top of that! @tmscounselor and @SSpellmanCann masterfully moderated another great live chat! And with comments like these:

...you can tell something is going right!

School Counselor Crowdsourcing has reached some incredible milestones just over three short months: #SCCrowd was featured by @ecmmason & @scopeistech4scs as one of the go-to hashtags for school counselors during the #onetoolatatime Tech Series. @SCCrowd has reached 350+ followers, and there are now tweets to #SCCrowd every day!

I am thrilled that this has been a welcomed resource for the School Counselor community already connecting through #scchat and other great school counselor hashtags on twitter. What are people saying about #SCCrowd?

A #SCCrowd Haiku Deck by @SSpellmanCann

So if you are a school counselor, an aspiring school counselor, an educator, or anyone in the business of empowering students, #SCCrowd is a place for you. Will you join the crowd?