Harms, Weigel present at ACES
Dr. Victor Harms and Dr. Stephanie Weigel presented at the Association for Counselor Educators & Supervisors (ACES) Conference held on October 26-29 in Nashville, TN. The pair's presentation was titled Maximizing Technology, Connecting Leaders and Helpers, Improving Future Counselors' Performance.
Dr. Weigel explained, "We demonstrated how we use software designed to present students with a realistic client interaction. The software 'collects' the students' responses to clients in order for the instructor to assess and provide feedback on the counseling microskills demonstrated by the student. We also demonstrated how we use Adobe Connect to provide role play experiences and group supervision."
Harms added, "technology originally was used to replace face-to-face. In the process we have actually discovered that it can not only replace face-to-face, it can actually be more effective in several ways than the traditional face-to-face."
The presentation highlighted some of the benefits that technology has brought to the Bellevue University counseling programs including allowing students to record their role playing and self-assess their performance, while providing educators with a permanent artifact which can be evaluated and charted throughout the program.
Approximately 1,400 counselor-educators attended the conference.
"As the demand for online courses increases, so does the need for assessment of student outcomes," Weigel said. "The technology we are using in the program addresses both of these needs."
