A high-tech twist on the college fair.

A high-tech twist on the college fair. FOR OVERWORKED GUIDANCE counselors guidance counselorChild psychology A school worker trained to screen, evaluate and advise students on career and academic matters , students seeking detailed andrelevant information about colleges, and parents looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. advice onissues such as financial aid and standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] , virtual collegefairs can help. Guidance counselors in particular could use a little help. Despitethe American School Counselor A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in schools, and have historically been referred to as "guidance counselors" or "educational counselors," although "Professional School Counselor" is now the preferred term. Association's recommendation of a250:1 student-to-counselor ratio, the national average for 2006-2007 was475:l--and that was before the recession forced many districts to cutcounselor positions or leave vacancies unfilled. With CoUegeWeekLive and EducationXpo, the two big players in thefield, counselors have a one-stop shop One-Stop ShopA company or a location that offers a multitude of services to a client or a customer. The idea is to provide convenient and efficient service and also to create the opportunity for the company to sell more products to clients and customers. to recommend to students andparents, and one that has strong appeal to today's tech-savvyteens. Both fairs take place on specific dates and are set up initiallyto simulate a real college fair. The advantages of the virtualexperience, however, are quickly apparent: * Shy students can initiate an online chat rather than approachinga stranger directly. * Students can have access to multiple representatives from thesame school. These reps, who can include students as well as admissionspersonnel, can participate from wherever they are. With CollegeWeekLive, students can even view a live video presentation from acollege student's dorm room and can type questions for that collegestudent to answer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Rather than traveling to a location that may or may not be closeby, students can visit a virtual fair from their own homes. * Students don't have to navigate through a large, busy hall."Fairs are so crowded," says Angie Wilcox, guidance counselorat Hudson High School Hudson High School can refer to: Hudson High School (Florida) in Hudson, Florida website Hudson High School (Iowa) in Hudson, Iowa website Hudson High School (Massachusetts) in Hudson, Massachusetts website , about 40 miles west of Boston. "It'shard to talk to reps. With CollegeWeekLive there are no waits in line,no standing around." * Presentations from experts in the field are available on topicssuch as paying for college and writing a college essay. CollegeWeekLive's presentations are all offered live, during which timeviewers The Time viewer is a fictional device often used in science fiction. It is usually a device which functions along the same lines as a television, except that the picture depicts events in another time, either the past or the future. can type questions that a moderator will sort through for thepresenter to answer. Both CollegeWeekLive and EducationXpo offer accessto archived presentations as well. * Students can download PDFs of whatever publications collegeschoose to make available. At the end of the fair, they aren'tinundated in��un��date?tr.v. in��un��dat��ed, in��un��dat��ing, in��un��dates1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters.2. with paper. There is no cost to students, parents or guidance counselors foreither fair.