Career Counseling: Let's Go Surfing - Use of the Internet for Career Counseling in Schools: Part III
Conclusion
In the end, the school counselor faces the challenge of being the 'expert' who can facilitate the use of any career-counseling program. Though a daunting task due to the vast nature of the Internet and the breadth of CX-Online, few other programs hold such potential to both streamline and ensure the delivery of effective career counseling for students. Every day new information becomes available and, as Mitchell, Levin, & Krumboltz (1999) have discussed, being prepared for the unexpected promotes individual development and career decision making. Mitchell et al. have encouraged the notion of open-mindedness in their model, which fits well with a program like CX-Online. Who knows what will be discovered tomorrow? The future can become an adventure to look forward to instead of a decision-making time to dread.
Herr & Cramer (1996) warn that "indiscriminate use of the computer may not be appropriate" and that "individuals must be assisted through a variety of techniques to use data in a personally meaningful manner" (p. 642). That said, school counselors are in a significant position to help students access information in a meaningful way. Shedding methods and procedures that are quickly becoming outdated and utilizing the ever-changing sources of information via the Internet depict the nature of the new millennium. Counselors will hear few arguments from adolescents who are eager to explore, question, experiment, and eventually establish themselves in the world.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.