DISTANCE EDUCATION AND CYBER- COUNSELING ON CAMPUS by Sumi Han and JeongChul Heo

Transcription

1 Chapter 9 DISTANCE EDUCATION AND CYBER- COUNSELING ON CAMPUS by Sumi Han and JeongChul Heo Introduction Technology is a part of the solution in delivering support and help for students. Universities and colleges today are educating the first cohort of students raised on technology, and who are part of the image-based learning generation as opposed to the print-based learning generation. Online images and communication are a comfortable and approachable modality for the current college generation. With this effective way to outreach and communicate, it was the goal of the student support services on campus (Hamilton, Larsen, McDowell, & Brown, 2008). In addition, technology in education and counseling is a critical trend that educators and counselors need to learn to use it properly and effectively (Carter, 2001; Vaccaro, & Lambie, 2007 Today's trend toward advanced technology also presents several implications for the education and counseling profession. For example, electronic innovations provide opportunities for individuals, who have been otherwise limited, to receive education and counseling (Flamez, Smith, Devlin, Ricard, & Luther, 2008). ). As a result, using technology can be getting interest in distance education and counseling services, and many researches have performed to approve the effectiveness of technology in the areas of distance education and cyber counseling (Bloom & Walz, 2000; Chandras, DeLambo, Eddy, 2005; Quinn, Hohenshil, & Fortune, 2002). Pope (2006) stated that the number of students taking online classes is 3.2 million: roughly one in six students enrolled in higher education took at least one online course which is a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off. More and more learners are exclusively utilizing distance education and they are highly motivated and better performed within online courses (Chandras et al., 2005). Due to increasing competition in higher education, more and more universities have begun to offer courses at a distance to meet the needs of busy and non-traditional adult students (Albrecht & Jones, 2001). Especially, lower costs and more flexibility in online courses can increase the number of educational consumers (Bloom & Walz, 2000; Vaccaro & Lambie, 2007). Fall 2009 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL 89

2 Cyber Learning with Technology: Synchronous/Asynchronous Telecommunication According to Flamez et al. (2008), although the majority of students preferred the traditional method of instruction, a notable proportion (38.6 per cent) did select the online format with most, at 70.6 per cent, citing convenience as the main reason for their choice. Other reasons for choosing online instruction included its format being a preferred method of study, and offering fiexibility in one's work schedule. That is, online students in this project were attracted to this option because of convenience, scheduling fiexibility, and simply having a basic preference for computer-based learning. Roles of instructor and student are clearly changing because of great infiuence of media and technologies in classrooms. Most learning environments now incorporate technologies to assist instruction and learning. Moreover, some are designed for student-oriented learning from the beginning (Heinich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino, 2002). No longer are instructors and textbooks the sources of all knowledge; a instructor becomes a director of knowledge access process instead of direct teacher. Technologies in classroom have been shown to allow students to control, increase motivation, provide connections to a real world, and lead to increased achievement when are tied to content standards and the needs of the students (Valdez, McNabb, Foertsch, Anderson, Hawkes, & Raack, 1999). On the other hand, the interaction between instructor and student seems to be of utmost importance in distance education (Johnson, 1999). Students usually expect that they can have more interaction and/or communication with an instructor and among classmates, which can be considered to be critical learning factor to promote. In addition, distance education is moving toward more interactive environments and popularized due to the availability of new technologies so that students can now interact with geographically removed instructor and peers in a real time. On the other hand, students' learning seems highly dependent on an interactive and responsive relationship with the instructor, regardless of class delivery mode (Saba, 2000). Therefore, instructors should consider effective synchronous/asynchronous communication tools to promote the interaction and communication between instructor and student, and among students. Synchronous communication in online courses usually includes a chat room event (e.g., a screen chat, a voice chat, and a writing chat) and instant messaging (e.g., MSN messenger, Skype, and so on). Video teleconferencing is another vivid synchronous method to promote interaction and extends the concepts of audio teleconferencing by adding video (AUessi & Trollip, 2001). On the other hand, asynchronous com- 90 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL Fall 2009

3 munication includes and discussion boards, which allow conversations to evolve and community to develop over a period of time. Both telecommunication tools have contributed dramatically to interaction and convenience of educational settings, and promoted a strong sense of community. Schwier (2002) maintained that synchronous/asynchronous communication strategies were suitable for different types of learning and community in learning groups. A combination of synchronous/asynchronous seems to be necessary to promote the learning efficiency and enrich the variety of teaching methods. Most colleges and universities in the United States and South Korea offer a wide variety of online courses (Dalziel, 2004; Han, 2007). Many online courses are asynchronous; for example, teaching and learning usually do not take place simultaneously. They usually offer the bulletin board, , message board, and so on. These asynchronous telecommunications are useful for students who live in different time zones and want to learn from home or the workplace. Synchronous/asynchronous telecommunication is getting critical with supporting effective delivery ways since many technologies with high speed internet are evolved and applied to education. Since synchronous/ asynchronous telecommunication tools are moving toward more interactive environments, educators seem to need to learn a variety of technologies in distance education (Barak, 1999). Cyber Counseling on Campus The unique feature of today's college students is that they grew up in a time of rapidly expanding technology. Comparable to earlier generations, the new generation has more positive attitudes toward technological information transmission and communication (Maples & Han, 2008). Therefore, new technology development takes for granted critical factor in various student support services on campus (Vaccaro & Lambie, 2007). With the internet becomes an increasingly prominent part of daily life, it will be an important component for counselors to explore in sessions (Han, 2007). Usually the internet mental health services are labeled as cyber counseling, internet counseling, or online counseling (Hackerman & Greer, 2000; National Board for Certified Counselors, 2005). The NBCC (2005) defines cyber counseling as "the practice of professional counseling and information delivery that occurs when client(s) and counselor(s) are in separate or remote locations and utilize electronic means to communicate over the Internet". Many counseling and career centers have responded to increased demand for information and technological change by developing internet Fall 2009 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL 91

4 websites. Moreover, when a Google search using the terms Online Counseling or Internet Counseling or Cyber Counseling produced nearly 228,380,000 hits (Google, 2009), this further demonstrates significant use of technological tools in the counseling profession. Cyber Counseling in the U.S.A. and South Korea Maples and Han (2008) indicated that college counselors and other student development professionals have added a broad range of student services by providing their work through technology both in the U.S.A. and South Korea. To be effective for today's college students, counselors should be technologically well informed and should be able to keep pace with advances in technology. Counselors also need to consider their competence in delivering services and determine that clients are intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of using the service. Some areas of counseling are better suited for online work than others, particularly areas of career counseling as well as academic advising and counseling (Maples & Han, 2008). Counselors may be more comfortable addressing career issues than noncareer issues over the internet because career issues are less enduring and traditionally respond well to counseling. However, it is also important to remember that clients who initially seek career counseling may be experiencing other clinical issues, some of which may not be appropriate for cyber counseling (Han & Heo, 2009; Lewis & Coursol, 2007). According to Han (2007), the technology is clearly becoming an integral part of daily life and both the college students in the U.S.A. and South Korea are coming to counseling sessions with their issues in mind. They will likely have higher levels of technology competence and use, and many of these students will not even remember a time when computers and the technology were not present. As this generation ages, the incorporation of technology facilities into practice will be increasingly important. As the college students in the U.S.A. and South Korea increasingly expect more advanced technology in cyber counseling, such as a real time chat room counseling rather than counseling, counselors will need to have the technology competence to follow them. Han (2007) also mentioned that the college students in the U.S.A. have more positive attitudes toward technology, but less positive attitudes toward cyber counseling than the college students in South Korea. That is to say, Korean college students feel more comfortable with a cyber counseling setting than American college students due to its anonymity and ease of access (Han, 2007; Korean Youth Counseling Institute, 2006). There is growing recognition that the cyber counseling will continue to expand at a rapid rate. It is now apparent that cyber counseling will 92 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL Fall 2009

5 emerge as a viable method of service delivery as we become increasingly accustomed to improved methods of cyber interaction which offer secure and reliable processes for embracing human relationships. Innovations in communication technologies have made it possible to conduct outreach and advocacy for underserved populations and members of multicultural groups. Although there are concerns with the safety of new technologies and the protection of clients involved in cybercounseling and other innovative practices, the profession is responsible for preparing the next generation to expand the array of ethical and effective services (Flamez et al, 2008). Implications With universities increasing the number of online courses and cyber counseling, students and faculty expect a quality distance education and cyber counseling environment, and the assurance that standards of education.and counseling online are equal to the traditional face-to-face courses and counseling (Flamez et al., 2008). There is debate on university campuses and in the therapeutic community about how best to use new technologies for the betterment of students' academic and psychological development. What is not debatable, however, is the notion that future technologies will become more interactive, exploration promoting, problem solving, communication and higher-order thinking with high motivation and interest. In the important trend of distance education and cyber counseling, technology is having a profound impact on almost every aspect of education, business, science, religion, medicine, agriculture, and mental health services. For example, Layne and Hohenshil (2005) described that new technology development takes for granted critical factor in counseling education and counseling assessment. Technology in counseling is getting a critical trend that convinces that counselors and supervisors must learn to use it effectively (Layne & Hohenshil, 2005; Vaccaro & Lambie, 2007). Moreover, technologies in distance education and cyber counseling will be able to promote more interaction and relationship between an instructor and a student, and between a counselor and a client. Bitter and Pierson (2002) explained new technologies can make students interact with their geographically remote instructor and counselor in a real time. In addition, students and clients represented high motivation and satisfaction in their online course and cyber counseling using proper technology (Chandras et al., 2005). Therefore, it is expected that these benefits of online courses and cyber counseling using technology can increase educational and therapeutic effectiveness. Moreover, educators and college counselors can also promote students/clients to get accustomed to Fall 2009 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL 93

6 develop their theory and technical skills with active interaction and high motivation which can be activated by technologies. References Albrecht, A. C, & Jones, D. G. (2001). High Tech/High Touch: Distance Learning in Counselor Preparation. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). AUessi, S. M., & Trollip, S. R. (2001). Multimedia for Learning (3rd ed.). Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. Barak, A. (1999). Psychological applications on the internet: A discipline on the threshold of a new millennium. Applied & Preventative Psychology,S, Bitter, G., & Pierson, M. (2002). Using Technology in the Classroom (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Bloom, J. W., & Walz, G. R. (2000). Cybercounseling and Cyberlerning: Strategies and Resources for the Millennium. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Carter, D, A. (2001). Interactive distance education: Implications for the adult learner. International Journal of Instrctional Media 28 (3), Chandras, K, V., DeLambo, D, A., & Eddy, J, P (2005). A survey of online counseling course satisfaction/dissatisfaction of graduates by race and gender and recommendations for online course development. Retrieved March 22,2009 from Dalziel, C. (2004). Ontine Courses and Distance Learning. Retrieved May 8,2009 from Flamez, B., Smith, R. L., Devlin, J. M., Ricard, R., & Luther, M. S. (2008). Learning styles and instructional preferences: A comparison of an online and traditional counseling course. Journal of Technology in Counseling 5 (1), Retrieved July 27,2009 from Google (2009). Online counseling or Internet Counseling or Cyber Counseling. Retrieved August 31,2009 from Hackerman, A. E., & Greer, B. G. (2000). Counseling psychology and the internet: A further inquiry. Journal of Technology in Counseling 1 (2), Retrieved February 2,2007 from Hamilton, J., Larsen, S. M., McDowell, B. A., & Brown, S. (2008). Using online technology for student support services. Journal of Technology in Counseling 5 (1), Retrieved July 27,2009 at 94 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL Fall 2009

7 Han, S., & Heo, J. (2009). Career counseling on campus in South Korea. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal 24 (4), Han, S. (2007). Cyber counseling in the U.S.A. and South Korea: Attitudes and needs of the millennial generation and the net generation on campus. Doctoral dissertation. University of Nevada, Reno. Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E. (2002). Instructional Media and Technologies for Learning (7 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Johnson, J. L. (1999). Distance education and technology: What are the choices for higher education? Journal of Education Computing Research 21(2), 165-lSl. Korea Youth Counseling Institute (2006). Cyber Counseling Center. Retrieved March 2, 2007 from Layne, C. M., & Hohenshil, T. H. (2005). High tech counseling: Revisited. Journal of Counseling & Development 83, Lewis, J., & Coursol, D. (2007). Addressing career issues online: Perceptions of counselor education professionals. Journal of Employment Counseling 44, Maples, M. F., & Han, S. (2008). Cybercounseling in the United States and South Korea: Implications for counseling college students of the millennial generation and the networked generation. Journal of Counseling & Development 86, National Board for Certified Counselors & Center for Credentialing and Education (2005). The Practice of Internet Counseling. Retrieved September 9,2005 from Pope, J. (2006). Number of Students Taking Online Courses Rises. USA Today. Retrieved August 31,2009 from Quinn, A. C, Hohenshil, T., & Fortune, J. (2002). Utilization of technology in CACREP approved counselor education programs. 7o«r/ia/ of Technology in Counseling 2 (2), 1-24 Saba, F. (2000). Research in distance education: A status report. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 1 (l),l-8. Schwier, R. A. (2002). The interplay of content and community in synchronous and asynchronous communication: Virtual communication in a graduate seminar. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology 28 (2), Fall 2009 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL 95

8 Vaccaro, N., & Lambie, G, W. (2007). Computer-based counselor-intraining supervision: Ethical and practical implications for counselor educators and supervisors. Counselor Education and Supervision 47 (1), Valdez, G., McNabb, M., Foertsch, M., Anderson, M., Hawkes, M., & Raack, L. (1999). Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. About the authors Su Mi Han, PhD, is Professor, Counseling & Educational Psychology, at Seoul Cyber University, Seoul, Korea. Previously, she worked at the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, College of Education, University of Nevada, Reno. She was a Counseling Professor, LL Welfare Foundation, and was a Counselor for the Seoul Broadcasting System. With M. F. Maples, she co-authored in 2008 the article, Cybercounseling in the U.S.A. and South Korea: Implications for Counseling College Students of the Millennial Generation and the Networked Generation, published in Journal of Counseling & Development, 86 (2), pages She co-authored with J. Heo in 2000 the book Career Counseling and Psychology, published in Seoul by Kowin publishing. Contact her as follows: Su-MiHan Seoul Cyber University 193 Mia-Dong, Kangbuk-Ku Seoul, Korea (zip code: ) Tel: (0, (0) JeongChul Heo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno. Contact her as follows: Jeong-Chul Heo 7750 Mariner Cove Dr. Reno, NV 89506, USA Tel: (H), (0), (0 96 Career Planning and Adult Development JOURNAL Fall 2009

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