Help Middle School Students with Career Counseling Using Technology to Help Middle School Students with Career Exploration Karen Cook March 15, 2005

Why Middle School Students should explore careers? Possibilities beyond the school environment In eighth grade students select courses for high school Students take the appropriate courses in high school to prepare for their chosen profession

Career Assessment Career exploration should begin with students learning their areas of interest Complete a career interest inventory Two websites that provide inventories are Princeton Review http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz/career_quiz1.asp Education Planner www.educationplanner.com

John Holland’s Vocational Theory People choose jobs where they can be around other people who are like them It is the best known and most widely researched theory on this topic Many career counselors use it The website provides an online version of the inventory at http://www.educationplanner.com/careerkey/code/assessment1.asp?sponsor=2859

Career Worksheet Counselors can also use worksheets to spark students interest in career exploration Next is an example of a worksheet used at my internship

Career Programs Online Variety of career exploration programs available online Some programs are free and others are available for purchase Purchased programs require a login to the program using a user id and password Three Career Programs targeted to the Middle school population

Careership Online career exploration game The student clicks on one of the subjects shown in the picture The student enters the career subject, a list of careers within that subject appear The student selects a career and learn information

Choices Explorer Self-directed Online education and career exploration program from school into the home Access to over 900 career profiles Access to 330 post-secondary programs Access to 200 career videos

Discover Program Futuretown Park Take two assessments by clicking on Inventories icon Research careers by clicking on the six career clusters High School Planner accesses information on planning for high school Program is available for school and home

Career Programs Online Websites Careership http://www.mapping-your-future.org/features/careership/ Choices Explorer http://www.bridges.com/usa/product/k2middle.htm Discover Program http://www.act.org/discover/intermed/

Job Searching Online Students can use job searching websites to locate their careers in the job market Some websites include: www.careerbuilder.com and www.careerexplorer.net Provide information on the prevalence of jobs and writing and posting resumes Provides students with knowledge and skills needed for their future job search

Conclusion Technology and the Internet is a vital part of career exploration School Counselors and students can explore careers in a exciting way Career information is just a click away Assess at home Parents can be involved To view my website click here To view my research paper click here