Siri Ming, BCBA

If you are conducting supervision or consultation at a distance, you are going to have a LOT of electronic files and a lot of electronic communication to deal with. There are a few ways you can handle this, and email and whatever you use now for a filing system on your computer can work for most of it, but at minimum you are going to need a way to send or share large (i.e. video) files. There are a number of services that allow free sending of fairly large files (such as YouSendIt), and sending of very large files for a subscription fee. If your clients are using a Flip video camera, they can set up a private flip sharing site, which has the added benefit of not cluttering up your hard drive with a ton of video files that you keep meaning to remove. You can also set up a MobileMe iDisk or a DropBox shared folder as a space for your clients to upload video and other files to, with separate folders for each client to maintain security. If you don’t have a lot of clients and are diligent about deleting (or asking clients to delete) video files, you probably could even get away with the free version of DropBox.

But if you do a lot of distance work – either supervision or straight client consultation, you will get a lot of organizational headache-saving bang for your buck with a service that creates more of a virtual office space. As mentioned in my previous post, Acrobat can provide you with “work spaces”, where your clients can upload video and documents, and an obvious benefit of this service if you also use Adobe Connect is that you can then have a somewhat integrated service for both your files and your meetings (I think! I haven’t actually used either of these services). My recommendation though, especially if you are willing to pay for a virtual office space/file repository, is to use BaseCamp for everything except meetings (for which I would use Skype or iChat).

The free version of BaseCamp will give you the ability to have separate “projects” for each client (since BaseCamp is at heart a project management tool, that is the terminology they use). Each project space has a file sharing area, to-do list capabilities, a message area, a calendar for major milestones/deadlines, and a “writeboard” — exactly like it sounds, basically a whiteboard space for text, on which you and your client can each write notes. I use the writeboard for commenting on my clients’ self-evaluations/notes and videos as I am watching video, rather than exchanging individual documents/files. My motive is to have as few files hanging around to manage as possible, and as little information coming into my email inbox as possible, and so I have my clients use basecamp for pretty much everything except urgent messages (like needing to reschedule, or a particularly urgent case question).

It is with the subscription version that BaseCamp really comes into its own for supervision and consultation, because with the paid version, you get the ability to track time on a project. I track my supervision time here, and my clients track their fieldwork hours here. It’s easy to generate reports and get an instant summary of hours completed, and I have a good check on the hours clients are counting as experience. A time tracking widget for BaseCamp makes it even easier. And yes, there’s an app for that too. Even better, there are several online invoicing applications (I use FreshBooks) that will import time from BaseCamp projects to generate your invoices. I figure the time I save on keeping track of hours and generating  and tracking invoices more than makes up for the cost of both these services.

So, here’s the bottom line on my recommendations for using technology in distance supervision:

• video: Flip
• meetings:  iChat if possible, Skype if not
• organization: BaseCamp + FreshBooks

Please comment with your suggestions and experiences, as well as questions!

There are two main logistical problems to be solved when you are doing distance supervision:

• Meeting logistics
• Electronic organization

Let’s start by looking at options for virtual meetings. The primary program that I use for meetings with supervisees is Skype. It’s free, reliable, easy to set up on either Windows or Mac systems, and lots of people already use it. The one drawback is that you cannot do multiple video chats, although I understand that that is a feature that may be coming soon, at least to the Windows version. Skype will allow you to screenshare, which is a really nice option when you want to play a part of your supervisee’s video to explain your feedback further or point out, for example, the point at which you might do something different.

Another great option if you are on a Mac (and your supervisee is on a mac) is iChat, which will do everything Skype does, plus allow for multiple video chats (e.g. if you are doing group supervision) and recording (Skype will also do this with some add-ons). Like most things Mac, it is easy to set up and use. If all my clients had Macs, I would be using iChat for all supervision meetings. As it is, Skype has served me well for many years now, and I find myself continually returning to it after checking out whatever the “latest” video conference software is.

Another option that is worth checking out is Adobe Connect. With the free version, you can do video chat with up to 3 people total. With the subscription versions, you can have from 5-20 people in a video conference and also have multiple “workspaces” for file sharing. This use of workspaces is similar in some ways to Basecamp, and leads us into the next topic: organization!

When setting out to do distance supervision, one of the first hurdles, and probably the most daunting to most supervisees and anyone not already doing distance consultation, is how to do the required “observation” of your supervisee. It is often the most time-consuming and frustrating requirement for supervisees. If you are doing BCaBA supervision, there is also the clear requirement as well to meet in a way that provides “two-way interactions involving real time visual and auditory contact”; although this isn’t clearly required for supervision towards certification, I would highly recommend it, and I’ll discuss options for this in the next post.

With respect to observation of supervisees, you have several options:

1. Have supervisees record video and send it to you to watch and provide feedback on prior to or during your meeting.
2. Have supervisees record video and watch it together during your meeting.
3. Observe the supervisee live through a webcam.

My opinion on which of these options is the “best” is heavily based on having been doing this type of supervision since it involved couriering VHS tapes and talking on the phone, so keep that in mind! I think which of these works best is going to depend on both the supervision arrangement you have and your own personal preferences. I’ll give you my thoughts on each here.

In all cases, I would require that supervisees self-evaluate their video/session prior to you giving feedback. Here’s an example of one of the self-evaluation forms that I use. Note that this requirement does mean your supervisees are going to spend a fair bit of time not only taking video, but also reviewing and evaluating it, and then uploading it.

Watching video separate from a supervision meeting is my own preference in almost all cases. This allows me as a supervisor to focus and take notes as I am watching, go back and take some data in the moment if I want to, and spend more time thinking about what the issues are before supervision, as I consider the supervisee’s self-evaluation and my own observations. I feel more focused and with a clear agenda prior to meeting my supervisee. The logistics of doing this are pretty simple–your supervisee just sends you the video electronically (more on options for this in a later post), you watch it and provide written feedback/notes, and then you meet to discuss the video, other cases, etc.

Watching video during supervision is an option I would consider for a couple specific needs. To me, this method would have benefits in group supervision in particular, as it would allow for case-sharing and peer feedback in an efficient way. I also sometimes use this option in combination with watching video ahead of time, to show specific segments that I want to point out particular points about, such as identifying when to reinforce a specific approximation when shaping. The logistics of watching video during a meeting require a meeting option that allows you to share your desktop.

“Live” supervision through webcam is an option that I have never personally done. I would see it as primarily being of benefit if you have a supervision situation in which you want to directly coach someone while they are engaged in their job, such as during a teaching session. It also has the obvious benefit of not taking the same amount of preparation time as recording and self-evaluating video does—which I would also see as a drawback in that supervisees will not get the same powerful teaching experience of watching themselves at work and self-evaluating that. Logistically, I would think you would need a fairly high quality webcam, and preferably a Bluetooth headset so that your supervisee could hear your coaching comments without them being blasted out of the computer speakers. At least, that’s how I would do it—if anyone reading this has done this or has further thoughts, please comment!

Finally, a note about preparing and submitting video. After struggling with the issue of file types, sizes of files for upload, editing video, etc. for many years and with a wide range of technical prowess of my supervisees, I have become a definite promoter of the Flip video camera. It’s quick, unbelievably easy to use (my 5 year old loves it!), and can be used with a small tripod to be attached virtually anywhere. It also comes with built-in software and a online video sharing site as an option for uploading. Note that whether your supervisees use the Flip or another camera, you’ll want them to convert the file to a small/lower resolution file size or it will take them many frustrating hours (I’ve had issues with it taking overnight even) to upload clips.

Well, I hope these ideas have been helpful to someone! Next time I’ll post about options for conducting meetings, and in a post to follow, I’ll review some options for record-keeping and file organization.