The impact of modern information and communication technologies in business counseling and career guidance through lifelong learning

Referent Phd-C MIHIL Alexandru Robert, alexandru.mihaila@dppd.ase.ro Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest Teacher Training Department Assistant Lecturer PhD-C SILVESTRU Catalin Ionut, catalin.silvestru@ie.ase.ro Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest Economic Informatics Department

Abstract : The time we live in is sometimes called the Computer Age because of the dramatic changes to commerce and all areas of social, cultural and professional life that have been brought about by Internet and computer networks. Human relationships have also undergone substantial changes. Unlimited access to these services is possible just by connecting a computer to the Internet. Through technologies promoted by it, the information society is a world of computers, the virtual world of the 3 W (World Wide Web), the Internet and the electronic mail (e-mail). All these are part of our daily approach to others, our jobs, and society as a whole. Keywords: lifelong learning, ICTs technologies, learning systems, business counseling, career training, virtual systems Introduction: We are in the age of the computer, era in which Internet and computer networks have revolutionized communication, commerce and all fields of social, cultural and professional life. Relationship between individuals has also suffered major changes. Using a computer connected to the Internet access to these services is unlimited. One of the technologies the Information society promotes is one of the computers, a virtual world of 3 W (World Wide Web), the Internet and electronic addresses (email). It's all part of our normal way to relate to our profession to others, to society at large.

Social sciences have also felt the influence of Information and Communication Technologies. Internet Counseling/Counseling via the Internet has gained ground in recent years against/to direct counseling. It is currently estimated that thousands of advisers currently use the Internet to offer services (Bloom & Walz, 2000; Grohol, 1998). Several names are used for counseling services using information and communication technologies: e-counseling, online advice, counseling mediated by computer, cyber-counseling. All these elements made the last generation to be "bewildered than ever. Given these coordinates, adjustment counseling and career guidance to these conditions is a necessity and the need for teenagers, in particular, to be advised and a priority target. Currently, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are widely used in information services and career counseling, with a wide range of applications. Technology causes the change of counseling and guidance services, the role of instrument and agent of change. Investment in information and communication technologies can improve efficiency as career counseling services, taking counsel from repetitive activity, such as disseminating information and taking samples for evaluation. These elements lead to the need for research that would underlain the achievement of a comprehensive software to capture, on the one hand, multifaceted reality of career orientation and, on the other hand, to offer counsel can provide advice as relevant and help those who require it. The research appears as both as a basis for investigation of multiple occupational profiles, but also to enlighten us on how problems of interpretation of the profile: the extent to which software will be offered completely supervised and interpreted by a person, if needed it can replace human subjectivity. The CAS {xe IAC}system (computer-assisted training) is an integrated hardware / software environment for interactions among owners of knowledge system and their targets, in view of active simulation of information accompanied by new operations and abilities. Integrating these technologies in education has already been approached and analyzed from various perspectives. Significant progress has been achieved: equipping schools with information technology, ensuring connection to internet, developing educational software, developing support-materials and providing lifelong learning

activities for teachers. Many programs or projects technologies in education.

have aimed at promoting new

Developing the global information system and the digital reflection online determined the dissolution of education types (formal, non-formal and informal) in an electronic format and the emphasis of technologies specific to the new context: classic, interactive and collaborative. The matrix of assisted teaching, presented in figure 1 reflects both the interactive features of the technologies and the migration, from educational point of view, from method to concept and from solution to support, and the transformation of teaching-learning-(self) evaluating activities towards training process. [9, pag 2]

Learning Aproach Theoretical Technologic Aproach Classical (Course - seminar) Interactive (e-learning) Collaborative (Assisted Training) Method Concept Process Solution Support Virtually

Figure 1

Counseling programs and computer-assisted career guidance can be viewed as an alternative to services that require personal contact or as a means to improve the quality of these services.

Currently there are many programs that use information and communication technologies in counseling and guidance, we can classify programs based on criteria such as: purpose, structure and content stored procedure to use (automatic or assisted by counsel), the theoretical model underlying the software, support used and the target population). By reference to different areas can be distinguished: Personal counseling; Career counseling; Academic guidance; Testing / Assessment; Training advisers.

The methodology of this research is complex, combining knowledge of both psychology and sociology, computing and statistics. By making the applications of standardized employment tests, interest tests, questionnaires for students, teachers, parents, friends / entourage, switch to a psychosocial interpretation of these results in order to establish categories of profiles and also to statistical interpretation of these results to provide a complete picture able to capture an issue so complex An advantage of using such software in advice and career guidance has many advantages like: Shortening the application, including all stages and, especially, efficiency interpretation of results; Processing, displaying and printing results, the time gained in this way could be for individual conversation between counselor and student;

Ability to communicate interactively with the computer and make comparisons quick to tone interaction results and data analysis; Reducing costs the price of a computer that can be stored in any number of psychological tests is lower than the classic psychological tests; Adaptation of test items according to subject response (e.g.: computer is programmed not to submit an item with a high degree of difficulty, if the subject did not respond correctly to two successive items with a difficulty level or below to complete the testing conditions subject does not respond correctly to 5 consecutive items of a certain level of difficulty); Approach using computer skills, which have featured in traditional test objectives; Minutes of which are psychological formulate some recommendations and "predictions" about the topic;

Limiting us to environmental education, recommended increased activity aimed at carrying out self-knowledge by using questionnaires of interest and personality tests, is also putting emphasis on developing and providing professional representation specific information (addresses of educational institutions conditions for admission, etc.).. In this software can make connections between different sites and educational institutions where the student can extract advised first-hand information on how to access that educational institution, etc. Admission methodology. In the present context, the new information and communication technologies are constantly developing, counselor must adapt to these developments, making it necessary to create such software, designed not to replace but to counsel is a tool designed to optimize activity. In the light of these changes we think that the following quality criteria must be established:

1. INFORMING AND COUNCELING: The learner must know/must be informed of each principles, the tasks and role that the authorities have over the educational and training system. 2. LEARNING PROGRAM/TRASINING/INTERNSHIP: A learning plan must be made, agreed on by the authorities and it will have the objectives, expectations results and how to comply. 3. PERSONALIZATION: One way of education or training purpose must be adequate personal learning process, skills and motivation and should help develop or expanding them. 4. LANGUAGE MATTERS: the languages skills must be at a level that can provide the opportunity to attend the training program and counseling. 5. 6. 7. 8. LOGISTIC SUPPORT RECOGNITION REINTEGRATION AND EVALUATION COMMITMENTS AND RESPONSABILITIES

Is a necessity for the educational institutions to make a switch from academic mindset aimed at developing specific centers of excellence to customer oriented strategy that swiftly corresponds to customer needs. By doing this and by the development of the new counseling strategies, the teaching institutions will have the advantage to improve their ability to anticipate customers needs and even create new demand. According to a study conducted by the Center for Innovation in Education in 2009, 89,7% of teachers say that there are computers available for pupils , yet only 50%
of teachers say that the school provides the number of computers needed for their activities.

Education stimulates not only the cognitive dimension of their psychic system, but also self-discipline, self respect and respect towards others, thinking before making important decisions, responsibility of the individual for its acts. Computers, as many and as performing as they might be, are incapable of helping children become successful people. Moreover, they cannot solve social-emotional issues the teacher deals with: conflict states, social inequities, pupils lacking interest and unwanted behavior. Teaching is based on social abilities that stimulate the development of harmonious secure relationships.

The intensifying of teaching and administrative activities from the past years do not provide time and space for preparing within school. In order to highlight the impact of ICT use on pupils and students, a study has been conducted at the end of 2009 [2, pag 16]. The results are presented in table 1. :

Tabel 1 Impact of ICT use on pupils ,

Which of the following behavioral changes have been observed by you as result of using computers during teaching hours (a) Higher interest to learn (b) increased frequency to class (c) Better focus (d) better working in teams (e) Better school results (f) Improved communication

Percentage per selection of answer

1 = totally disagree 14,1 % 15,6 % 4,8 % 20,6 % 8,2 % 14,3 %

2 10,9 % 12,5 % 19,0 % 9,5 % 9,8 % 12,7 %

3 14,1 % 7,8 % 15,9 % 12,7 % 24,6 % 22,2 %

4 23,4 % 26,6 % 30,2 % 22,2 % 26,2 % 28,6 %

5 = totally agree 37,5 % 37,5 % 30,2 % 34,9 % 31,1 % 22,2 %

competences (g) Better project management (h) Improved problemsolving capacity (i) More positive attitude in class 14,5 % 11,3 % 14,1 % 17,7 % 12,9 % 14,1 % 11,3 % 21,0 % 6,3 % 22,6 % 24,2 % 25,0 % 33,9 % 30,6 % 40,6 %

The use of advanced technology in school is designed as to represent a cognitive tool, through which new information and mental structures are developed (there are educational programs that place pupils in various situations, based on some data VRT: virtual reality technology). VRT stimulates and improves understanding of more abstract scientific concepts, as well as making experiments easier to control and safer (for subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology and geography).

Introducing computers in schools has both positive and negative impact on the pupils psychic development. The mental representations of pupils can be enriched and restructured through computer simulations of various notions.

For example, in geography classes pupils can visualize phenomena the teacher talks about (the role of tectonic movements in changing earth surface), mathematic scientific principles related to speed can be simulated in physics classes, in biology the pupil can build multiple interconnections that exist in the food chain. Thus, not only is an extension of cognitive sensitive processes developed, but also of creative thinking, of imagination, pleasure to discover and improve intellectual performances. Nevertheless computers distract children attention from activities specific for their age. The prolonged time spent in front of the computer can trigger also psychological problems,

of which the most frequent are depressive moods, determined by insufficient playing and physical effort.

The pupil develops critical thinking in contact with a variety of technological information. (S)he processes data stored in memory, questions, looks for answers using preexisting mental patterns or adjusting them to context. Making the pupil more familiar with multiple ways of approaching the studied subject stimulates the capacity to synthesize, to identify common elements in various concepts and categories used.

The advantages of using new technologies in education is various, including reducing time consumption, possibility to adjust personal education programs, possibility of rapid adjustment to changes and new knowledge from various areas, extended opportunities for interdisciplinary education and also significant reductions in costs for lifelong learning.

The internet expansion is a direct consequence of its impact on society, its number of users is continuously increasing. The Internet through the World Wide Web service, has become the main means of information and communication , and is considered a great technological and social success. The evolution of human civilization has known a new stage, of higher quality, in which information holds main place, known also as information society or knowledge-based society.

Looking from the perspective of ICTs, educational institutions have more communication channels at their disposal to reach their customers and provide the necessary services using as a main focus the World Wide Web and its potential. New technologies as smart phones and e-readers enable students to be in constant interaction with the faculty and access all learning materials that are being constantly updated in order to make knowledge transfer closer to reality.

The learner has access to packages that can be customized for each of them at reasonable price and more suitable to the individual needs. Using all new technologies enables faster exchange of knowledge and creation of finding solutions, that brings us to a rise of new organizational forms, especially virtual organizations. In that way the learning process becomes fluid and actually represents a form of virtual reality which leads to situation where the subjects dont go to work or the academic institutions but live the work or at the learning site. One of the most new technologies used in the learning process or counseling process is the usage of email communication where students communicate with professors regardless of time and space (asynchronous meetings), leading us to the potential for these technologies. We can imagine what can be achieved using a process that will have as result an upgraded system that would, via a specialized web site allow students to exchange students notes and working materials, or to create and customize their own databases of literature clip offs turning them into knowledge bases. The system will also serve as learning forum by hosting chat rooms and forums, and beside libraries for downloading books also the periodical issues libraries or other, creating virtual communities with their own culture that has the possibility of self improvement. The development and the usage of this systems will create digital competences that gives to a person a sound understanding and knowledge of the nature, role and opportunities of ICTs in everyday contexts: in personal and social life as well as at work. Individuals would also understand how ICT can support creativity and innovation, and be aware of issues around the validity and reliability of information available and of the legal and ethical principles involved in the interactive use of ICT. Use of ICT in learning process requires a critical and reflective attitude towards available information and a responsible use of the interactive media developing to individuals an interest in engaging in communities and networks for cultural, social and/or professional purposes. From each individual this requires effective management of ones learning, career and work patterns, and, in particular, the ability to persevere with learning, to concentrate for extended periods and to reflect critically on the

purposes and aims of learning. Everyone should be able to dedicate time to learning autonomously and with self-discipline, but also to work collaboratively as part of the learning process and to share what they have learnt. Using this method will ensure a permanent development of the learning process according to the necessities at hand. "Age does not belong to interconnected intelligences smart cars, but to people who build networks, may combine intelligences, knowledge and creativity to culminate in welfare and social development."

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