School Counselor Shopping List - February/March 2014

Hello fellow Geeks. I am going to start a new feature on The Counseling Geek this week – I am dubbing it the School Counselor Shopping List. I am not sure about you – but I am an avid online shopper, high quality item finder, and a seeker of good deals. I thought I could share some of my golden finds with you (and how I am using them in my counseling programs!

I will most likely post bi-monthly about some of the recent purchases (or wish list items) that have really been great for my professional growth, blogging, and counseling site purposes. I hope that this is helpful for some and I will try to give some personal experience reviews when applicable.

February & March 2014 Edition:

Sidewalk A-Frame Mahogany Sandwich Board Sign

(Price: ~$40 USD)

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This sign was a recent purchase for my department – our sister high school had several of these in their front foyer of the school with information about upcoming events, important dates, and other info. I got this in the mail about a month ago and have been really impressed. It comes with 4 liquid chalk neon pens (although I would order another full, real set while at it because I am not sure how long these will last) and is pretty sturdy. The ink is easy to use (I gave it to our art students with the info to put on it every week on Friday) and comes off quickly with things like glass cleaner.

It was nicer than I expected and after researching the prices – it was also about $30 – $50 less than competitor boards (do note the shipping is about $18). A big thumbs up from TCG here! Get a few for your school and you won’t be sad you did.

Sony HDR-PJ200 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom and Built-in Projector (Black) (2012 Model)

(Price: ~$270 USD)

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At the start of this school year, I decided that I wanted to make my parent presentations more accessible to families who cannot always make it in to school on the given night. My solution was to ask the school to purchase a video camera (along with tripod and video card – see below for suggestions) and use it to record each presentation. I then easily connected the camera to my school computer and uploaded the video to YouTube (can be edited via YouTube as well). This has been pretty popular with my parents and it also lets them get the bits they really want to know while not sitting through the bits they don’t. One note: highly encourage parents to attend if possible, the video is not a replacement for being there and getting to ask questions.

Overall review – it is a good buy for the money. You can spend as much or as little on a camera as you like, but from my review research and working with some of our audio visual inclined students – this was the one for the job. Records in full HD quality and microphone works well enough to put at the back of an auditorium and get the presentation (use a microphone though!) audio just fine.

Suggested accessories for best experience:

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53-Inch Camera Tripod with Bubble Level (Silver)

(Price: ~$15 USD)

A tripod is a must and this one is cheap, small for ease of storage, and simple to use. Don’t need anything fancy here.

Transcend 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card (TS32GSDHC10E)
(Price: ~$20 USD)

You need somewhere to store your video as you record – this card is quick enough (yes – speed matters) and has enough space to store about 2.5 – 3.5 hours of recorded HD video. This equates to about 2 – 3 presentations, but I remove them from the card after I upload to YouTube.

Book suggestions:

101 Solutions for School Counselors and Leaders in Challenging Times
(Price: ~$30 USD)

I highly suggest this book for any grade level and experience level school counselor or school counseling graduate students. Dear friend and colleague – Dr. Erin Mason – is one of the authors of this text and also founder of SCOPE. Support her and get awesome knowledge at the same time!

The Use of Data in School Counseling: Hatching Results for Students, Programs, and the Profession
(Price: ~$31 USD)

My second book suggestion and great read. All school counselors need to use data in their programs, but not all know how to do it well (myself included). However, as I read through this book by Trish Hatch of CESCaL and Hatching Results, LLC, my understanding and implementation grows daily. Cannot recommend more that you get this book and help your program!

Well that will do it for this edition of the School Counselor Shopping List for Feb/March 2014. Stay tuned for new things to add to your wish list in coming months and please share cool things that you have purchased with me (so I can try to get them and also so I can share them with others)! Email or comment with your info and products.

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*Full Disclosure* The items linked here contain an affiliate link that provides me referral credit through Amazon.com affiliate program. All reviews and suggestions are mine – purchasing through the link provides a small percentage back to me to support this blog. I thank you for letting me share these products with you. If you would rather not use these links – simple go to amazon.com and type in the name of the product in the search bar.