Instructor Guide
A working guide for counselor educators, supervisors, and program partners using the Polaris EdTech Activity Library in your teaching. Written by Dr. Olivia Easley from real classroom use.
The Activity Library at polarisedtech.com/library.html is a growing collection of interactive, single-file HTML activities you can use in your teaching. Every tool is self-contained, runs in any modern browser, works on phones and laptops, and is free for you to use with your students.
The library groups activities two ways:
Both views show the same tools, sorted differently.
The library, this guide, all facilitator guides, and the class roster share a single instructor passcode. Once you enter it, everything unlocks for the session.
You do not have to give students the instructor passcode. In fact, do not. Instead, send them direct links to specific tools.
/library.html is passcode-gated, so students cannot browse the whole catalog./activities/... URLs are publicly accessible via direct link. When you paste a link into your LMS or an email, the student opens it without any passcode.polarisedtech.com/activities/foundations-of-counseling/study-guide.html.Most tools do not record student data. Study guides, Jeopardy games, sort activities, walkthroughs, worksheets, and reflection tools all run entirely in the student's browser and leave no trace. That is intentional. Most classroom use is either shared live or turned in through your LMS.
A small but growing number of tools do track student responses and feed them into an instructor roster you can view. When a tool has tracking, students see a short intake screen when they open it, asking for their name, email, and optional class code before they can begin.
Open polarisedtech.com/roster.html and enter the instructor passcode. You will see:
Students see a clear disclosure in the intake screen: their name, email, and choices will be shared with their instructor, and nothing else is collected.
The Foundations drawer contains all the interactive activities for an introductory counseling course, organized by topic within the drawer.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/study-guide.html
A browsable, searchable study guide covering the major topics of an introductory counseling course. Students can browse by category, flip through flashcards, or test themselves with a self-check quiz.
Use it for
Independent CPCE/NCE prep, assigned pre-class review, or an open resource students revisit throughout the semester. Best posted early in the term and referred back to before each unit.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/jeopardy-review-game.html
A two-round classroom Jeopardy game with team scoring, sound effects, per-clue think timers, and a mute toggle. Runs on any laptop plugged into a projector or shared screen.
Use it for
Whole-class review before an exam. Put students in small teams, project the game, keep the pace brisk. Ends with automatic scoring. Typical runtime is 30 to 50 minutes.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/jeopardy-instructor-guide.html
The complete answer key and rule sheet for the Jeopardy game. Every clue with its correct answer, plus optional deeper prompts you can pose to the class after a team responds.
Use it for
Open on a second screen or a printed copy while running the game. Never share this URL with students.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/Amina_Case_Study_Slides.pptx
A PowerPoint deck introducing Amina, the client whose case runs through several activities in this drawer. Provides background, presenting concerns, and initial clinical impressions.
Use it for
Lecture-style introduction before assigning any of the Amina sort or ethical decision activities.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/biopsychosocial-sort-amina.html
Interactive drag-and-drop activity where students sort details from Amina's case into the biological, psychological, and social domains, with immediate feedback.
Use it for
Practicing the biopsychosocial assessment framework. Works well as a small-group activity where teams debate placement before checking answers.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/addressing-model-sort-amina.html
The same sort mechanic applied to Pamela Hays' ADDRESSING model. Students identify which cultural and identity dimensions apply to Amina and consider the counseling implications.
Use it for
Introducing intersectionality and cultural humility. Pairs naturally with a discussion of what identities are salient in the counseling room.
/activities/foundations-of-counseling/addressing-vs-biopsychosocial-sort.html
Advanced version. Students see how the same case detail can belong to more than one framework at once, and how frameworks complement each other.
Use it for
A later activity in the sequence, after students are comfortable with each framework individually.