Putting Passion Into Practice

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This week I am presenting to the Alberta Guidance Council. Their closing keynote was unable to come so I get a chance to share with other Alberta School Counsellors what I am most passionate about School Counselling and technology. I get to put my passion into practice. One of the things that matters to me most after I have heard a presenter is if I am able to put into practice what I have heard by using something I learned or receiving a resource that I can use later. So I really hope this blog post provides you with several resources you are able to use long after my talk.

Here are some resources from my presentation:

Technology doesn’t always work the way you want it to as was evident today, so here is the start of my presentation Putting Passion Into Practice a Powtoon presentation.

We need to understand the students we work with. They are an Instagram generation and we can help them most by understanding their world and learning to use technology in a positive way to assist them.

Here is the Haiku Deck Putting Passion Into Practice that I shared.

The Putting Passion Into Practice  smore has resources that I discussed.

I know how important it is to have a back up plan and luckily I did, but such a great lesson today to remind us when presenting to download your presentation directly onto your computer /and or blog. Hopefully this blog will give you what you missed during my presentation.

I want you to know as a School Counsellor you are extremely vital to the well-being of students in your schools and play an important part in helping students #reachhigher. You are a leader and can demonstrate that daily in your schools.

I was extremely fortunate to attend this years American School Counselling Association conference where I met and collaborated with lots of amazing school counsellors who are connected and want to make a difference for the future of school counselling. I especially love that I got to surprise my twitter and now F2F friend Erin Mason ( she did not think I was coming to the conference ). Meeting F2F was fabulous and has made our connection even closer.  I had so much fun throughout the whole conference and the fact that we first met on twitter made the conference even more special. I felt like I was at home when I arrived. Another of my favourite parts of the conference was being present for Michelle Obama’s speech. I felt so happy to be present at such a historic moment for School Counsellors and the profession. I really wish we had someone as special speaking and advocating on behalf of School Counsellors in Canada.

Here is a clip from Michelle Obama’s Speech recognizing the importance of School Counsellors at this years American School Counselling Conference ( if you look very, very close you’ll see @sspellmancann at 1 min 22 sec. with @tmscounsellor I am the excited one with the Canadian iPhone camera taking a pic.) The whole speech can be found on YouTube, but below you can see a transcript of her talk.

“Your work lives on in their hearts and minds, and in the hearts and minds of everyone they touch.” Michelle Obama

For a transcript of the First Lady’s remarks, click here. You might get the inspiration you need to reach higher to make a difference in your school.

I love how Michelle Obama ended her speech. In the words of Michelle Obama here is what School Counsellors need to know:

” So here’s the thing, ASCA members ( SCHOOL COUNSELLORS my insert) — whenever you get tired — and I know that you do — whenever you get frustrated or overwhelmed — and I know that you do — I want you to think about the extraordinary ripple effect of your work, because it’s real. I want you to think about the impact you have not just on every child whose life you transform, but on the family that child will raise, on the business where that child will work, on the community that child will one day serve. I want you to think about how long after those kids graduate your work lives on in their hearts and minds, and in the hearts and minds of everyone they touch.

So today, I want to end as I started –- by once again saying thank you. Really, thank you. Thank you for your compassion and determination. Thank you for the boundless love you show our children.

And I for one, as your First Lady, I am grateful for all that you do. And I look forward to working closely with you in the years ahead to give all our young people the bright futures they so richly deserve.

Thank you all. God bless.”

I believe through technology you too can make a difference.

TOP REASONS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELLORS TO USE TECHNOLOGY:

1. To Connect by

  • Using Apps

Thanks to Suzanne Tiemstra for sharing some favorite apps she uses : Kids Help Phone App,  Heart Math App, Reach Out Apps,  and  Panic Attack talk down App . You can see some of my recommendations in the smore and my livebinders.

  • Blogging  … Make your learning visible

School Counselling blog roll. So many great resources here you’ll be like a kid in a candy shop.

  • Developing and sharing ideas like Ten Reasons To Live
  • Using Flipboard Click here for and example for new School Counsellors
  • Utilizing Google Docs ( you can collaborate below )

( you can add your name to this google doc . for School Counsellors if it is not already here )

( you can collaborate  and get many resources in this google doc . on Mental Health in High School )

  • Using Google hangouts
  • Posting to School Counsellor Hashtags

#SCCrowd

#cscchat Canadian School Counsellor Chat 

#scchat  

My Pinterest board:

Erin @ehordyskiluong’s board:

  • Listening to Presentations by other School Counsellors

Carol Miller’s Tech Savvy Counselling presentation

Ross Wolfson’s presentation:

  • Connect on Twitter

Here is Alec Couros  @courosa video to get you thinking how twitter can help you.

  • Use Tellagami to connect with students and families

Here is one I made on “A JOY SEARCH instead of a JOB SEARCH”

  • Use Videos like Animoto to introduce yourself to students because “Video trumps text ” a quote that I like to use from Dean Shareski.
  • Try Vlogging
  • Connect and share on You tube

You tube videos we use to help students:

2. Collaboration

See how you can collaborate … check out the docs in Google docs

3. Collating resources 

Here is a great School Counselling Kit from the fabulous Danielle Schultz

4. Continue to professionally develop

Twitter is the best tool to do this or you can join a Google plus community

5. To Engage Students

hopefully all the resources here you can adapt to engage your students

6. To Ensure that School Counselling is Never Boring

An introduction to Ed Jacobs and Impact Therapy

Elementary School Counsellors : Here are some great videos you can use in your School Counselling Program.

Middle School / Junior High Counsellors:

A great Pinterest board for you to start following

High School Counsellors:

A must follow board:

School Counsellors need to know:

  • You are capable
  • You can curate
  • You save lives
  • You can commit to learning one new tool in the next week
  • You can be on the cutting edge in a very short time
  • You are a School Counsellor and you matter

Gratitude

I am grateful everyday that I chose this fabulous profession of School Counselling.

The Science of Happiness

Who are you grateful for? Tell them …

I am a School Counsellor

I was a School Counsellor the moment I realized students needed help and I could make a difference

Throughout the day I can be called upon to assist, encourage, intervene, give support, make serious decisions and more

I am privileged to see the potential in each and every student

Honoured that students and their families allow me to help them

Thankful that I have chosen a profession I can be proud of and one that allows me to leave a legacy

You, the parents allow me to enter your world and help the most precious gift you have been given in life your child

Students matter to me and I will counsel your children from my heart, always maintaining a professional response

I am a School Counsellor and I will never take that responsibility lightly

I will have the courage , strength and hope to do what is necessary

I will provide a place and a space where you can trust what I do

Knowing that you have allowed me to spend my precious days with the future

I am a School Counsellor and for that I am filled with gratitude each and every day

Susan Spellman Cann

End of the year thank you to students from your School Counsellor. Click on this smore . You can edit and make one of your own.

Thanks for the opportunity to present today at the Alberta Guidance Council and the wonderful introduction from my dear friend @HelenMacKinnon2 . She led us down memory lane when we used to lead conferences for the AGC. Now we get to watch such great leaders take on the very important job of connecting Alberta School Counsellors. I appreciate  the warm wishes this morning from my PLN.

I feel so grateful to have presented today and love that School Counsellors in Alberta may be willing to take the challenge to learn about one new tech tool this week.

I know that you all will continue to make a difference for our Alberta youth and use many of the resources available to you . If you ever need my help I am just a click away!

Enjoy!!!

Connections Have Transformed Me

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I continue to learn and connect with great people who share most eloquently what I would like to say. Thanks Paul for such a great post on our connected experience . Rhonda , yes it is all about the people and you all have enriched my life as well as helped me to become a better person. I cannot believe all the digital literacy skills I have developed while gaining new friends. How lucky am I? Thank you to Alec Couros, Mia Zamora and Howard Rheingold for having us participate in #ccourses. It was fun!

Connections have transformed me and allowed me to help School Counsellors do what they do by utilizing technology to impact students in a positive way. Thanks to all of my PLN in ETMOOC #etmooc and OCLMOOC  #oclmooc who continue to inspire and encourage me especially Alec and my co-conspirators . I am grateful !

Words Can Change The Way We Perceive Others and Ourselves

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Words really do matter. I am in the process of developing an online presentation for adults on mental health and wellness so that they may assist students in their post – secondary programs. As I think about what I will say I recognize that my words matter. What I say could potentially influence educators. What they say to their students could potentially transform what happens for the students and their families. Mental health literacy matters,  stigma matters , words matter.

Sometimes I hear people use words way too loosely when describing someone with a mental illness or someone who has special needs or challenges. They may say so and so is an ADHD kid or so and so is bipolar, an alcoholic etc.  It matters to me when I hear words used inappropriately as I believe strongly that we are people first ( the labels used like ADHD are only a very small way of telling us something about someone). We are so much more. Who we truly are cannot or should not be described in a few words.

So the next time you find yourself using the label first STOP and THINK about the power of your words. Jack or Jill may have a million attributes that are positive and when you use one word to define them you are missing such huge pieces of who they truly are. So eliminate so and so is a developmentally delayed child etc. and say their name and the many wonderful things about them. When you do this you start to perceive them differently. You also begin to treat each human being , each child in your care with so much more dignity and respect.

Words really do matter

Words can bring about acceptance

Words can change our brains

Words can hurt or heal

Words can hold back or help

Words can break hearts or touch hearts

Words can build others up or tear them down

Words allow people to tell their stories

Words give people their voices

Words can challenge us to be resilient

Words can give us the strength to carry on … to give us HOPE

Words can ruin someone’s day or make someone’s day

Words have the power to change others and change ourselves

What words will you use when speaking about and to your students today?

What Is An Open Leader? Open Leadership Webinar #oclmooc

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Are you thinking about what it means to be an open leader?Click on the archive to find out more , you’ll see a webinar by Christina Hendricks and Dr. Erin Mason : Archive of Open Leadership Webinar.

School Counsellors Do Indeed Have a Hashtag ( this is for George and all my fellow Canadians)

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Attribution for picture and a Haiku Deck on School Counsellors matter here

I am inspired yet again thanks to fellow Canadian and educator extraordinaire  George Couros @gcouros  to write a blog post about the fact that School Counsellors do indeed have hashtags and use them on a regular basis.

American School Counsellors are on the web in droves as you can see if you follow the  #scchat hashtag. I am fortunate to connect with other School Counsellors who are from all over the world especially through #SCCrowd and you can join us . I am proud to call myself a School Counsellor because it is so much more than what a Guidance Counsellor used to be. Read more here. School Counsellor Chat #scchat was the leader of the way and we can join in as caring Canadians who are passionate about School Counselling and want to make a difference.

I am a School Counsellor 

I was a School Counsellor the moment I realized students needed help and I could make a difference

Throughout the day I can be called upon to assist, encourage, intervene, give support, make serious decisions and more

I am privileged to see the potential in each and every student

Honoured that students and their families allow me to help them

Thankful that I have chosen a profession I can be proud of and one that allows me to leave a legacy

You, the parents allow me to enter your world and help the most precious gift you have been given in life your child

Students matter to me and I will counsel your children from my heart, always maintaining a professional response

I am a School Counsellor and I will never take that responsibility lightly

I will have the courage , strength and hope to do what is necessary

I will provide a place and a space where you can trust what I do

Knowing that you have allowed me to spend my precious days with the future

I am a School Counsellor and for that I am filled with gratitude each and every day

Susan Spellman Cann

It isn’t as easy to connect with other School Counsellors from across Canada. There are a few of us that connect on a regular basis often using the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat :

@ehordyskiluong

@CharlieOsenton

@TrentLangdonNL

I know there are so many more of you like @Michelle0102197 @BriseboisJoanne  @brie_jen @JodieHeywood1 @helenMacKinnon2 @JenMTrigger  @mikesmacneil @BoskertheSC @kimtremblay13 @MacISSuey  @MzMoynihan that can and want to connect on a regular basis, but you may just need to be aware of the basics of how twitter and a PLN can change how you practice. For some of you, you may even need to know that there is a hashtag and how to use it.  We are here to help you anytime. Just ask and we will support you in any way we can. Join in by adding your name to this doc. You can find it by clicking School Counsellors Collaborating here.

There are so many more School Counsellors that I have added to my PLN since I wrote this blog post.” There are so many amazing School Counsellors doing so many fabulous things”,  in July of 2013. We really are trying to get more Canadian School Counsellors Connected on twitter so if you do know of any please send them our way and we will definitely start using the #CSCchat  Canadian School Counsellor chat that Erin and I created long ago hoping more would come on board.

I am so grateful to be a School Counsellor in a time when we can connect and learn and grow from and with each other due to the internet. So please join us as we make a difference and learn together. Check out SCOPE one of the best resources for School Counsellors you will find on the net.

Our next International School Counsellor chat is on Tuesday , October 28th at 6:30 MDT . Join @rawolfon and I . It is our one year  #SCCrowd anniversary. We look forward to meeting, connecting and collaborating with you.

OCLMOOC Week 1: School Counsellors joining in and you can too

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Check out attribution in Haiku Deck here

If you have been thinking about joining in #oclmooc, but have been a little hesitant then you need to read Paul Signorelli ‘s post on our first session with Dave Cormier, I am positive it will peak your interest. It is fabulous . You can find it here. I love that Massive does not neccessarily mean big. It means “Massive Potential”. I would add that Mooc’s have the massive potential to make a massive difference for you. Here is the archive to last nights session.

The Possibilities Are Endless.

I am so happy to see School Counsellors joining us in this Mooc. @bridgethelms , @c_morton,  @tmscounselor, @BriseboisJoanne and @HelenMacKinnon2

The wonderful learning from Moocs transfers into what we do with students. We learn and they get the benefits of what we learn through connecting in this positive way. Even if you are not an educator Moocs can make a difference.

I am so pleased at how quickly @gailmwhite8 ( a lifelong learner extraordinaire) who is joining a cMooc for the first time has jumped into the learning. I look forward to seeing her growth in the month ahead and learning along with her and you.

If you or anyone you know is interested in the Open Connected Learning Mooc you can still join in. Check out this smore here for how to connect and for more information on why I love Moocs click here by Verena Roberts.

I look forward to connecting with you in one of our communities . Check out our calendar and our google plus community here and share your learning. We look forward to it.

Screen Shot 2014-09-26 at 1.42.33 PM

If you want to know ” Who Matters?”  click below:

Who Matters ? 

You really do not want to miss #oclmooc

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All you wanted to know and more about Open Connected Learning Mooc. If you have never joined a MOOC before , this is the MOOC for you. Join us!!!

Image by Aaron Verones
Image by Aaron Verones

New To Blogging and Twitter for OCLMOOC

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When I thought about starting a blog I must say I was very scared. I was scared of making mistakes. I was scared no one would want to read what I had to say. I was just plain scared. Fortunately all the encouragement and support I got in ETMOOC made a huge difference.

I must admit I did not watch tutorials on youtube when I first started blogging, but I believe they would have been very helpful. Here are a few: Video Tutorials on blogs and twitter .

Here are some basic instructions that might be helpful:

1. Go: Yes go … do it … go to wordpress.com or any other platform you want to use. I went to wordpress and stayed there because it is easy at least for me to navigate.

2. For those of you new to blogging click on the coloured words and that will bring you to a link that usually goes where you can find more info. on that word. I did not know that when I first started blogging.

3. Click on sign up. Yes , I knew you could do it!

4. Enter all the information they require.

5. Go to your email and activate your account. 

This is a great start . Remember your blog address (url) cannot be changed, but the blog’s title can be changed anytime.

  • Start writing , even if it is only a little at first. 
  • Press the publish button. I know it can be scary, but you can edit even after you publish. I still do all the time.
  • Your #OCLMOOC participants will encourage, support and comment on your blog.
  • Encourage others to help you and comment on their blogs.

Enough for today HAPPY blogging !

 

Digital Citizenship … It Matters … OCLMooc

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made with  @HaikuDeck  by Susan Spellman Cann

Why does digital citizenship matter so much? For me it matters because students matter and really when it comes down to it my family matters. I want to be a good role model for them. I want to leave a positive legacy one they can be proud of. Do I make mistakes? Of course I do, but I want to make a difference for my students and my own children and the only way to really understand what being a good digital citizen meant was to dive in and learn online and so it began in #ETMOOC .

A little over two years ago I did not blog, vlog, tweet or know what a google hangout was and now I get the privilege to be a co-conspirator in an Open Connected Learning Mooc #OCLMOOC. It will be an amazing experience for Alberta even though it is open to the world.

In week 2 of #oclmooc you will be exploring digital citizenship we hope you step out of your comfort zone and step into “Awe”

As an educator I want to understand everything I can about digital citizenship. Here are a few places to start thanks to @courosa Click here: Digital Citizenship resources by Alec Couros .

If you’d like to see what others are saying about digital citizenship check out #DCMOOC ‘s blog hub by clicking here: Digital Citizenship Massive Open Online Course blog hub.

To hear a students perspective click here: Paige Woodards blog .

Here are a few curated resources on Digital Citizenship:

I love this video by Shots of Awe, hopefully you got to see one of his videos in Week 1 of #oclmooc

Feel free to post any resources you have on digital citizenship in the comments below.

I look forward to our discussions in #OCLMOOC .

School Counselling Apps you can use

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1. Anxiety: Have your students been struggling with anxiety?  MindShift by AnxietyBC, is a mobile app designed to help teens and adults cope with this problem.

2. Conversation starters : Conversation Starters is an app to get the conversation going and could be used in a a group small or large.

3. Haiku Deck : An i pad app you can use to create stories with and for students. Here are some for School Counsellors:

4. Flipboard : Flipboard is a great way to collate information you want to share in a visual way. Here is one of mine called Lessons for New School Counsellors

5. Stress relief : Breathe2Relax is an app that will help students. It is a portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.

6. Toxic thinking : A great app for students. Toxic Thinking app is an app that explains what toxic thinking is as well as listing triggers and appropriate actions.

7. Who’s Frank? :An anti-bullying app designed by Mount Royal University in collaboration with MRU and Bishop Carroll High School’s movement against anti bullying . Who’s Frank Anti- bullying app . See more here: #whosfrankyyc .

There are so many great apps to use. Please share your favourites in the comments below.