My New Counseling Tools for 2013-14


Counseling Tools 
This year school,  I have some new tools that I am going to incorporate in my office.  My goal in adding these tools is to become more efficient, keep better documentation,  and manage my time! 
Here are my new tools:

Our department created a twitter account to disseminate information regarding SAT/ACT dates, scholarships, school workshops, parent conferences, and lots of other resources.  Check out my twitter page to see the great resources available for high school counselors
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This is a great way to message your parents and students.  When you sign up for Remind 101, you will receive a number to send to your students and parents.  Once you give out your number, students and parents can respond to receive messages.  

This is really going to help me get out a lot of great information during the year.  

Download your calendar to this program and parents can request up to three possible appointment times.  Once you get their email, you can confirm an appointment time.  

This takes the guess work out of finding a common time!

Want to put a lot of information in a little space?  QR codes allow students and parents to use their electronic devices to scan and read the information.  

Saves on paper!

Create a radio station to get out information for parents and students.  

At the beginning of the year, I will create a radio station for my incoming freshmen and their parents.

Create and post binders for students to search  websites and information.  

I have several binders that I send out as resources.  Check out my pinterest page.

Google Docs
Thanks to the Elementary School Counselor Blog and JY Joiner Counselor Blog, I will be using more paperless forms this year to document meetings.  One form I created was the Senior Meeting form that I complete with my seniors at the beginning of each year.  All the answers will be saved electronically and sent to parents.  

I am very excited about less paperwork!!
See my form...

Infographics are interesting and informational.  Visual.ly is a free application that allows you to make your own infographics. 

 I have lots of ideas of how to use infographics and include information about our school (attendance, conflict, behavior, etc.) to share with students, parents, and staff.

This is a fun site that allows you to create animated movies for students.  

I created my first story about peer mediation and it was really easy.  

Haiku Deck makes a simple, beautiful presentation just perfect for counselors.  

Check out Susan Spellman Cann's site regarding Haiku Deck.

I am so going to do this!  On Voki, you can create an avatar with your voice to deliver information in classrooms (especially since there is only one of me).  

This is really cool.  I will share mine once it is finished.

This a very versatile site that allows you to keep up with blogs, create project based learning opportunities for students, keep a calendar, provide updates to students, and communicate with parents.

Check out all the ways you can use Edmodo.


Wix is a website that you can access for free to create webpages for your counseling department.  I am creating one for our department, each counselor, and my peer helping group.  

I will post our site when it is complete.

I love the idea of using images from your school to create inspirational posters.  I will be creating several posters to use during Bullying Awareness, Dating Violence Awareness, Conflict Resolution Day, and Apply to College Early Day featuring our students, teachers, and staff members. 

This website allows you to create videos to present information to your students in a fun and cool way. 

Finally, I think I have found a great way to categorize my time for our ramp application.  This site allows you to download the spreadsheet and log in all your activities.  Yes!

This is a great site to buy your business cards, pens, stationary, t-shirts, coffee mugs, calendars at a great price.  Check it out!!

I save millions of website, forms, photos, and information each year.  Diigo lets you access those links anywhere and share those resources.  Also, you can highlight information and put sticky notes on important information.  Love it!


Now, I would love to hear from other counselors about the tools that you are using to make your life simpler.  

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