This is the ninth in a series of blog “snapshots” of how Mercy students benefit from using iPad technology (and other tools) throughout the school day.
Photos by Larry Baker and Julie Earle
The Mercy College Counseling Program is more than a guidance service for choosing a college; it is a program designed to assist students in identifying colleges that are considered to be a “good fit” academically, socially, and personally. We strive to help each student develop her understanding of who she is, what is important to her, and what she hopes for her life after Mercy. To help us with this endeavor, Mercy utilizes a comprehensive online college planning tool called Naviance Family Connection. , a college and career readiness platform that enables self-discovery, career exploration, academic planning, and college preparation for our students. To introduce the various aspects of this resource to the student body, Counselors facilitate classroom lessons at various points during the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade years.
This spring, Mercy Counselors met with all freshmen students through their World History class. The focus of the meeting was to help students create their personal account with Naviance Family Connection. Counselors demonstrated how to create an account and assisted students with this task while they worked on their iPad.
Counselors also met with sophomore students through their English class. The focus of the sophomore classroom meetings was to introduce the students to the college planning and search features of Naviance Family Connection. Counselors demonstrated various functions of this online college planning tool and had students work along with them on their iPads as they explored things like: how to search for a college based on personal interests; how to learn about a college’s admission requirements; how to learn about major offerings at a college; how to know if a college is a good academic fit for a student based upon grades and test scores; how to begin building a “college list” of schools the student is thinking about, and how to build a resume to name a few. All of this leads up to the junior year – one of the most important years when it comes to college planning. We want students to have the tools and accurate resources to help them reach their post-secondary goals.
Tools like the iPad and resources like Naviance Family Connection have taken the college and career search and planning process to a whole new level.
— Kristen Casey, Chairperson of Counseling Dept.
Mercy Technology Innovation Team 