Follow Me on Twitter!

My favorite technology tool is Twitter and its companion Tweet Deck (dashboard for the hashtags I follow most closely). I use Twitter professionally  in so many ways, but most importantly to network with people and groups that interest me. I do NOT use it to share anything personal, that I save for my Facebook friends. I do belong to the Closed Facebook Group Elementary School Counselor Exchange which is a part of my online Professional Learning Network (PLN). You simply search for the name of the group and ask to join; there are more than 14,000 members and it is a great place to ask questions of other elementary counselors or share your ideas if you feel like you have something that would help another elementary counselor. The advantage (and sometimes disadvantage) of Facebook is there is not a limit to number of characters like Twitter so posts can be longer.

My school uses Twitter to communicate with our Tech savvy parents. I have had parents say to me, "I feel like I talk to you every day and know exactly what you are doing." At first those comments gave me pause but that is exactly what I want. I send out pictures of my classroom lessons so parents can ask when the child comes home, tell me what you learned from Dr. McCormac today? Keep in mind that a Tweet may contain photos, videos, links (count as 23 characters) up to 140 characters of text. I send out links to good articles on parenting, information about upcoming activities like College Wear Fridays, and ideas for helping the whole child to name a few. I do not follow parents (or students including former students). I am very aware that administrators and school board members follow me so I use it as a way to showcase my school counseling program.  It is very important to school counseling that we market and advocate for our programs and inform stakeholders how students are different based on the services we provide.

As I mentioned I am #notatasca17 but am closely following that hashtag and #asca17.  That is how I was able to learn that my Twitter account and a few other counselors who love Twitter were shared as part of an ASCA Conference presentation (slide above) and better yet get the link to the PowerPoint for Angela Cleveland's PowerPoint presentations Angela is very tech savvy and through Twitter I have learned a lot about how to improve my counseling program from @rsabella and @CounselingGeek

A big part of my PLN are Twitter Chats. These provide an online opportunity to engage with other school counselors around the globe! My two favorites are #scchat the first Wednesday of each month at 8 PM EST and #escchat usually two Thursdays a month. These chats typically don't "meet" during summer vacations. Sometimes they have co-hosts like ASCA or a graduate school counseling program. The moderator(s) select a specific topic like Small Groups or ADHD and pose about 8 questions in an hour and give participants an opportunity to respond. Just like on Twitter you don't have to "Tweet" you can just follow the chats called lurking (especially until you feel comfortable). I follow the chats on TweetDeck but you can also use TweetChat (search on your computer and bookmark).

Another feature of Twitter that many users don't take advantage of is the Advanced Search tool. Once you do a search say "elementary school counseling" then click on the Search filters on the left, then Advanced Search. Here you can add exact phrases, hashtags, a range of dates, etc. This can help you find a post you want to read again, a subtopic of your search, etc.

Twitter allows you to have a diverse and innovative network and drive your own professional development. As school counselors we sit through many required staff development activities that are great for classroom teachers but not helpful to us. With Twitter you control who you follow. For example when I first started using Twitter I only followed other elementary counselors and counselor educators but quickly realized I can learn a lot from secondary counselors as well. I also follow organizations that explore issues I am passionate about like mental health, mindfulness, trauma-sensitive counseling to name a few. As a user you get to decide how many people and groups you follow!

iPad Apps for Stress and Anxiety

I have 2 iPads which I use multiple times a day. The one at the top is a iPad Mini which I actually let kids use in my office and show Apps to parents during consulting sessions. The second is a standard iPad that I use to keep track of my program and also keep me centered. The Apps I recommend the most to families fall into 4 basic categories: a) Mindfulness; b) Breathing; c) Yoga; and d) Sleep. There are so many useful Apps to help people, including children, reduce stress and anxiety. Please comment if you have a favorite, mine is Smiling Mind!

VSCA Presentation Groups fro Students

I am excited to be leaving for VSCA today to spend time getting PD face-to-face. It is also such a great opportunity to network with counselors from all over my state. Our Director paid our VSCA dues this year if we go to the conference. We all need to join our state organization because that is who lobbies for better counselor:student ratios and how our jobs get defined. Your state organization needs to be able to say they have XXXXX members! I am happy to be presenting on my favorite topic Anxiety, Stress, and Worry. If you would like to see my very long (that is what happens when I get a 3 day weekend before presenting) PowerPoint it is posted on my Livebinder http://www.livebinders.com/ While you are there you can access my session plans for the groups I am discussing like Worry Wise (Grade 2) and Its OK (Grade 3). If you are going to VSCA please come to my session and let me know you read my blog. I always enjoy speaking to readers face-to-face.

Breathe in for 4, hold for 7, out for 8

This relaxing breath technique has been around for centuries. I teach it to students in grades 3-5 who need more emotion regulation, especially those who get anxious. It should be practiced twice a day so it is a habit that is available when a trigger presents (like a test). I encourage them to practice when they get in bed at night because research shows it is a great way to fall asleep. Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in the roof of the mouth behind the teeth the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. You count silently in your mind. The App pictured above can be used as an aide if needed. I use it myself because most of us do not fully exhale which is key to promoting relaxation.

How and why to use Twitter

Twitter is a real-time information network that connects people to the latest information based on who or what associations and organizations the user chooses to follow. Each user gets to develop a profile and banner to represent themselves.  I use Twitter professionally and do not have a separate personal account. I follow and am followed by my Superintendent, School Board members, district staff, and parents. I also follow any counseling organizations I find, many mental health and education groups, and school counselors and related providers of mental health services around the globe. I use Facebook as my personal social media platform and never friend parents from my school. Twitter is a great free tool to:

1) Market your school counseling program. Twitter provides a vehicle to advocate for our profession,

educate our stakeholders, promote our activities, increase appropriate use of our services, and builds productive community relationships.

2) Get your message out. The content that is important to your counseling can be pushed out by using key words after the # symbol. For example, if one of your program goals is to improve attendance you can use #schooleveryday or #everydaycounts.

3) Provide access. Twitter gives you access to unlimited professional development like free webinars, podcasts, articles, etcetera on topics that interest you. Being on Twitter also gives others access to you as a resource.

4) Communicate and collaborate. You can communicate through postings to all your followers and you can send a tweet to a specific person using @mbmccormac. You can encourage your followers to take action based on the nature of your message.

5) Learn. Twitter is a huge part of my own Professional Learning Network.  I discover new ideas that help me improve my program and practice every day.

7) Connect to others. My favorite part of using Twitter is connecting with other school counselors. I have made many online colleagues and been fortunate to meet them in person at ASCA National Conferences. The best way to connect with counselors is participating in some of the regularly scheduled Titter Chats by #SCCrowd #scchat and #escchat.

8) Share. To get the most out of Twitter you should Tweet on a regular basis. When I find helpful articles, books, and other resources I tweet out links and pictures. I also tweet out what I am teaching in classroom lessons and special events sponsored by my program.

9) Get energy. I find the connecting and collaborating on Twitter keeps me energized from new ideas and feedback from colleagues.

10) Get support. If you have a question or need a specific resource you can send out a message to followers and most of the time someone will respond. If you use Twitter often people will start directing ideas to you based on what you have shared. When you open your Twitter feed you will see Notifications from your followers.

I want to suggest you try the school counseling Twitter Chats as a way to really take advantage of Twitter. The School Counselor Tweet Chat #scchat is the first Tuesday of each month at 8 PM EST. It is organized by @ecmason and @sch_counselor. The Elementary School Counselor Chat #escchat is the second and fourth Thursday at 8 PM EST. The best way to participate in a Twitter Chat is to download TweetDeck which is an App that customizes and organizes your Twitter feed. You can follow your home feed and 3 or 4 hashtags you want to track. (See mine above) If you don't use TweetDeck it can be very hard to keep up with questions and responses during a chat. Feel free to get started by just following the chats and once you feel comfortable join in. Twitter has many other features. For example, you can Tweet a poll which is a way of asking followers to engage. I have gotten feedback from parents in my learning community who tell me they feel like they "talk to me every day" because they read my Tweets. That lets me know Twitter is a valuable Public Relations tool!

ASCA Tweet Up 2016

One of my favorite events of the ASCA National Conference is meeting up in person with my "Tweeples." Twitter and other social media allow counselors to build an international Professional Learning Community. But it is great when at a state SCA or ASCA you get to meet in person the counselors you have been following and sharing with online. It happens annually at ASCA and hopefully someone in your state will organize a Tweet Up at your state conference. These are all counselors that participate in the regularly scheduled Twitter Chats during the school year #sccrowd #scchat and my favorite #escchat. During the school year the #escchat is from 8-9 PM on the second and fourth Thursdays each month. Each one covers a different topic and it is generally about 7 Questions & Answers moderated by 1-2 school counselors. Even if you don't like to tweet, please join us or follow the chat feed that gets archived for those who were not able to participate live. An online PLC is so rewarding to an elementary counselor like me who is the only counselor in my building. Spread the word.

Twitter Helps Counselors Connect with Families, Staff, and Other Counselors

At dismissal on Friday I went outside to the parent pickup area to give a resource to a new parent. I ran into 2 parents that I know but have not seen face-to-face since before winter break. They both told me that they feel like they talk to me every day and know in detail what is going on with the school counseling program because they follow me on Twitter. They thanked me for posting frequently with good tips for parents and Their feedback let me know it is worth the time to "Tweet" on a regular basis. I send links for parents, announcements about meetings and upcoming activities, and what themes are being covered in counseling lessons, among other things. For example, on Friday we have done a 5th grade level career day so I had tweeted about it and thanked our volunteers. I have many more parents following me than ever look at my school counseling page on the school's website. I use my Twitter account mainly for professional reasons and am always very aware that the Superintendent and School Board members are among my followers.

Staff follow me as well and frequently "Retweet" what I share. For example, if I am sharing what I am teaching in grade 3 the teachers will "retweet" it on their class Twitter feed. We also use a school district #APSSchoolCounselor to share with the other elementary counselors and @APSVirginia to share with our whole system.  I also participate monthly in our district's Twitter chat and the following counseling chats: #escchat #scchat #sccrowd. I use Twitter as a major component of my personal learning network. I enjoy meeting counselors from around the country at conferences who participate in these chats.

College and Career Month April is STEMazing

Our school is focusing on college and career exploration this month. We kicked it off today with our monthly college wear day. Throughout the month we will have career speakers come to classes and two grade levels will have special "career days" so students can choose what speaker they want to hear. I am fortunate that my teachers cooperate with the counseling program and understand they have a role in career awareness too. Based on our data, we decided to focus on the STEM Career Cluster and STEM skills this year. Our girls do not score as high as the boys in the upper grades in math and science and many voice a negative attitude about themselves as math learners. We have been able to get STEM speakers but the challenge has been finding females to serve as role models. Our program uses the 6 components of college and career counseling developed by the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy https://8_Components_WEB_111107.pdf

Gami Directions or Lesson Introduction or PSA

If you have an iPad for your counseling program try out the Tellagami app. I purchased the Educators upgrade so I could customize the character more. A Gami is a 30 second prerecorded message. Making a Gami is simple: 1) Customize the character; 2) Record the message; 3) Save and share. I usually email it to myself. You can use a Gami to give directions you repeat over and over. You can make a introduction to a lesson. You could also make a PSA, like for National School Counseling Week. It only takes 5 minutes to make one once you have done it. The students love them!

Infographics

I think infographics are great probably because I am so visual but they are also a great way to display data. Here is one of my favorites on how to beat stress with yoga my.happify.com/hd/yoga-poses-for-stress If you want to make an infographic on any topic or display data about your school counseling program check out www.canva.com

Apps to help children sleep

A parent asked me today for resources to help her third grader get to sleep. She explained that since school started each night has gotten worse. After listening to what they had already tried, I gave her my usual recommendations and asked if she also wanted to consider using an app or two to see if one might help. I use a few myself when I have trouble winding down.
Establishing a relaxing routine for bedtime and avoiding exposure to bright light as the body prepares for sleep are important. Reading or being read to gives the child a chance to begin to relax and unwind (along with many other benefits). Some families have found that saying what they are grateful for or writing a gratitude journal entry ends the day on a positive note.
For those children who still have trouble relaxing and allowing sleep to take over, there are a variety of apps. The electronic device could be put on the floor under the bed so the light is not a problem. Children may respond to one of these type of apps: guided meditation, nature sounds or white noise, breathing practice, or relaxing yoga. Some of these are free and others cost less than $5.00.

Preschool – grade 1

Arabian Nights by Relax Kids

Enchanted Meditation

Sleepasaurus

Grades 2 and older

Sleep Meditations for Kids by Christiane Kerr

Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson

Sleep Genius

Smiling Mind

AmbiScience Sleep Aid for Children

Breathing Zone

Stop, Breathe & Think

Breathe2Relax

Relaxing Sounds of Nature Lite

Naturespace: Relax Meditate Focus Sleep and Relax

Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep

Yoga in Bed

I welcome additional suggestions.

An Elementary Counselor's PLN

PLN

My personal learning network had evolved over the past 3 years. I still use Blogger for my blog and follow many other counseling related blogs, especially those linked to SCOPE http://scope4scs.org/. I love Twitter and Twitter Chats. I have #escchat #scchat #sccrowd on my TweetDeck and this week #NotatASCA15. It is great to have up-to-date information on what colleagues are learning at the ASCA National Conference even though I could not go this year and to be able to participate in a Twitter Chat tonight with counselors at the conference as well as though monitoring what is happening online. My other current favorites are Livebinders (check mine out my shelf), Google+ (hangouts, and Docs), Facebook (Elementary School Counselor Exchange), ASCA Scene and of course YouTube. There is so much virtual professional development available for free! Today it is as easy to access as looking at my Twitter feed and following people and organization relevant to school counseling.

Twitter Chat to Discuss Book

Last night my school tried a Twitter Chat for the first time.  The librarian, the technology coordinator, and the student services team met to organize it and agreed on the questions we would discuss about the book, Growing Up Social (Chapman and Pellicane).  We had two purposes: 1) to discuss aspects of the topic how to find balance in a tech driven world; and 2) to drum up interest in our in person book chat next week in the evening.  The six of us that organized the chat and each posed one question during the discussion all loaded Tweet Deck on our machines so we had a feed to our specific #NESbook. If you have never done a Twitter Chat what-is-a-twitter-chat-and-how-to-make-the-most-of-it We were only successful in having another 6 persons tweeting but others could have been reading the feed. The best thing we did was have multiple people pose the questions, because it flowed like a normal conversation. Our biggest mistake was the time slot we picked (7-8 pm) which in hindsight was terrible for parents with children at home.  We realized in our debrief this morning that time slot is fine for evening meetings at school when parents are free of child care responsibilities (because they have a babysitter or spouse doing things with kids), but the wrong time for this type of activity. The staff that participated all loved the discussion so now we are thinking how we could use it for staff discussions. 

Using Twitter Chat for online book discussion

I mentioned before that this year our staff/parent book selection is "Growing up social: Raising relationsl kids in a screen-driven world" by Chapman and Pellicane.  To promote discussion as we are reading the book we assigned a hashtag and we are planning a Twitter Chat 2 weeks before our evening Book Discussion. In the past we have tried both Blackboard and our web page to discuss books.  I will let you know if using this social media tool works. 

Staff Parent Book Sharing

Each year at my school the Counseling Advisory Committee selects a book for staff and parents to read and then we either do an online book discussion or a face-to-face session.  This year we are trying posts on Twitter and a evening discussion in March.  We announce to book before the holidays to give folks plenty of time to obtain a copy and read it.  Chapman and Pellicane's book was released in 2014.  It offers parents help to:

• Equip your child to be relational rich in a digital world
• Replace mindless screen time with meaningful family time
• Establish simple boundaries that make a huge difference
• Read what's working for the screen savvy family down the street
• Prepare your child to succeed down the road in relationships and life
• Learn healthy ways to occupy your child while you get things don

Great Resource for Technology

I watched 5 thirty minute free webinars today mostly about how to use Google better on this site
simplek12.  The webinars were very well done and they have many archived and others coming up soon.  There is a free membership and also an enhanced version with a cost. You can sign up and network even if you only have the free membership. I recommend checking it out.

The Big Disconnect by C. Steiner-Adair

This book is a must read (won best non-fiction book of 2013) if you have not already done so.  I plan to share it with staff and parents when I return to school in August. The author points out youth are being taught in the digital age to "accept being routinely ignored and treated as unimportant." The author is a clinical psychologist who sees: 1) an increasingly destructive gender code starts younger than ever; 2) social cruelty has become in vogue and more intense via social media; 3) popular culture deletes childhood by normalizing violence, sexual exploitation, and pornography, once adults-only domains; and 4) the tech accessible to children at this age far exceeds their capacity to manage their use of it or anticipate the consequences of their misuse. The author encourages parents to use this message to encourage children to report concerns and ask for help... You can always tell me. I will never be mad at you. Even if you have gone someplace online where you weren't supposed to go, it's more important that you tell me.  There is nothing you can tell me that I can't handle. The author emphasizes that "common sense and manners matter and must prevail in tech-assisted communications. I think this book is a valuable resource for families to address the tech revolution unfolding in homes today.

Rolling out 1 to 1 technology

Among several new initiatives my school will start in the fall is a 1 to 1 technology initiative giving all second graders iPads. I still think this is scary! I am going to suggest we download, print, and laminate the great posters found on commonsensemedia site. We are also planning workshops for parents. Any other suggestions?

Screen free week May 5-11

 

Screen-Free Week is an annual, international celebration when schools, families, and community groups pledge to spend seven days without entertainment screen media.* Instead of watching TV, surfing the web, or playing video games, they read, play, think, create, get physically active, and spend more time with friends and family.

*Screens are so important to modern life that sorting out what’s entertainment and what’s work or communication can be difficult. You absolutely don’t have to stop using your computer for work or school—but if screens of any kind are interfering with your family time (including meals), you may want to think carefully about how you’re using them.
WHY Celebrate?
Regardless of whether children are consuming “good” or “bad” programming, it’s clear that screen media dominates the lives of far too many kids, displacing all sorts of other activities that are integral to childhood. Excessive screen time is linked to poor school performance, childhood obesity, and attention problems. And it is primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing.
Screen-Free Week is a fun and innovative opportunity to reduce our dependence on entertainment screen media, including television, video games, computers, and hand-held devices. It’s a chance for children—and adults—to rediscover the joys of life beyond the screen. Check out commercialfreechildhood.org for more useful resources.

Let's Talk Technology! Parenting in the Digital Age

We (Instructional Technology Coordinator, Librarian, and Counselors) met our goal of getting at least 40 parents to attend our parent evening event (process data).  I know the SMORE flyer (posted earlier) got their attention and the topic is one on the minds of many parents, even those in kindergarten. We began the evening by showing the short video "Go Figure" that provides facts and figures about online use by children and teens.  We then did a 2 question poll of the audience using "smart" devices (we had a few of the schools ready in case a parent did not bring one of their own).  We just set up a class though www.socrative.com (it's free and simple).  We did a brief presentation using materials from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/educate-families  We also shared the technology use family agreement available on this web site. We planned ahead of time 6 questions to focus the small group discussion.  We divided the parents into grade levels (k-1, 2-3, 4-5) and had 1 or 2 facilitators in each group.  The discussion was very lively and parents wanted to hear what other parents are doing to manage technology so it does not overrun their children's lives.
We had a 3 question evaluation.  Our key perception data was the average score for "did you find the evenings discussion useful" was 4.76 (on 5 point scale).  We will repeat this event again. For parents who are interested and cannot attend, we posted the PowerPoint and handouts online.